Saving the Planet, One Community at a Time

Recently I wrote about my two key design principles:

• Achieving the lowest possible cost of living, along with the highest standard of living (and being environmentally and emotionally comfortable).
• Saving the Planet.

My last blog was about cost of living, so now we're on to my other key design principle: saving the planet.

I’m assuming that anyone who is interested in this project falls, more or less, into the “progressive, green, environmental” camp, rather than the “climate-change denying, nuke-the-bloody-whales” camp.

But even in the "green camp" there are quite a range of options. I suspect that Susan and I might fall towards one end of some scale: we have solar PV, a solar battery, all our light bulbs are LEDs (our electricity costs with 4 people in our house are less than £20/month). We have insulated walls and roof, we have 12 rainwater barrels, we grow vegetables, we keep chickens and have already ordered our bee-box. And of course we recycle: most vegetable matter is recycled via our chickens.

I could go on (and on!).

The Principles of Permaculture

A few years ago we went on an expedition round the UK to visit communities, permaculture gardens, regenerative farms, all sorts—and our journey took us to the Lake District where a lovely friend of ours offered to put us up while we were there.

On our first evening we sat in her lovely kitchen, chatting while she prepared a meal for us—and we were silently horrified as she prepared the vegetables and threw the detritus into the general rubbish. It turns out that she doesn’t even have a compost bin: shock, horror!

But then, why would she? She doesn’t really do any gardening. Her house is rented and has a small strip of grass between the house and the boundary. She hasn’t done any of the things that we have done (it’s not her house)—the focus of her interests lie elsewhere (she runs her own business as a business coach).

Tips for Living Green

I suddenly realised, sitting there, that there are are thousands of people who would be green, or more green, if it was more convenient.

And that’s my second focus. I don’t care if you want solar PV, or to be connected to a micro grid, or an energy efficient house,

I want it to be that, simply by living in our “village” you’ll be living a green existence, whether you want to or not.

We will have an efficient energy system, efficient waste disposal, water recycling, good transport. If your interests focus on “ecological stuff” as do Susan’s and mine, then fine: join in. But if you want to focus on your web-design business, or your coaching consultancy, or your horological interests—do that, knowing that all the green stuff is taken care of.

And now on to the third leg of my two leg argument: the rest of the world.

The Centre for Alternative Technology

Have you ever visited the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth in North Wales?

I’ve been going there for so long that I can not only pronounce Machynlleth, but I can also spell it without looking it up! It’s a great place for learning about straw-bale construction, Walter Segal houses, and all sorts of interesting ideas, and if you have leading-edge interest in all this stuff it’s a great place to visit.

But when you’re there (especially during the summer holiday season) keep an eye on the other visitors who are there, who have dropped in as one of the highlights of the North Wales tourist trail. Take a wild guess as to how many of these people will change any part of their behaviour, even by the smallest jot, as a result of their visit to the CAT. Not many is my estimate.

We in NFCH can build our village in such a way that we embody the latest “green everything” and know we’re doing out best, and yet our efforts will not delay the climate Armageddon by as much as 30 seconds.

What I want is a village that looks as near to a "normal" housing development as possible (except that it should be harmonious and comfortable) . I don’t want to give people even the slightest possibility that they can look at what we do and say, “that’s all very well, but it’s not for me”. I want them to say, “that looks nice, I could see me living there”, and then we tell them what a house in a village like ours would cost. What the rent or mortgage payment would be, what the lifestyle would be, and have them clamouring for something similar. 

Only when all the Mr and Mrs Ordinarys clamour for what we do will things change. At the moment there are thousands, probably millions, who would live a more ecological, sustainable, regenerative life, if only it wasn’t so difficult. And boring. I want to show people how easy it would be.

But, I believe, that means, for instance, no straw-bale houses. You can totally snow me with all the advantages of straw-bale houses: I know them all already, probably more than you, but I can just hear Mr and Mrs Ordinary’s response to the idea that they should live in a house of straw. They can already hear the big bad wolf huffing and puffing.

Whereas Beattie Passive can build their PassivHaus standard houses to any design our architect can come up with, with or without our actively putting in sweat equity, and have already completed and have people living in close to 300 dwellings. And those houses have a close to zero heating cost, are easy and cheap to build, and look like whatever you want.

So the purpose of this whole blog is to explain which of the things I've encountered over the years are most likely to lead to housing that many people want, and will positively contribute to saving the planet.

I've got a lot more to say in the building technologies post, including what makes a Passiv Haus, and why you would want one.