Lost Middle-Class Tribe’s ‘Secret’ Eco-Village in Wales Spotted in Aerial Photograph
September 18th, 2008No permit? Not taxed? Must be destroyed!
Well, the near-victims fought back and won.
(Must see pictures.)
Via: Daily Mail:
For five happy years they enjoyed simple lives in their straw and mud huts.
Generating their own power and growing their own food, they strived for self-sufficiency and thrived in homes that looked more suited to the hobbits from The Lord of the Rings.
Then a survey plane chanced upon the ‘lost tribe’… and they were plunged into a decade-long battle with officialdom.
Yesterday that fight, backed by more modern support for green issues, ended in victory.
The eco-community in the Preseli mountains of west Wales was set up in 1993 and lived contentedly away from the rat race round a 180-acre farm bought by Julian and Emma Orbach.
In 1998, it was spotted when sunlight was seen glinting off a solar panel on the main building, which was built from straw bales, timber and recycled glass.
Research Credit: M and S
Nice looking place. But I’d hate to have to mow that roof.
The place I’m living now was originally something fairly similar to the one described in this article. As far as I can tell, they first started here about 40 years ago. They did simple log cabins instead of round houses and had less of an enviornmental consciousness (I guess the world seemed unlimited back then). No solar back then, so they just did without electricity (milk and butter stored down in wells and whatnot). What ended up happening was that all their kids moved away and through attrition their community dwindled to the point where only a few of the original settlers remain. Worked out good for me of course, but the general idea needs to be thought through better to make it continuing. This was a bit larger of a community as well (though on about the same acreage). Just as a small example… note the raw wood used in the structures in these pics… that stuff has a pretty short shelf life. You’d need to change them several times in a single generation. If they had the same problem as they have here, then the kids will be gone and the older folks will be too old to make such continuous repairs. Make no mistake, I applaud their effort, but I’d suggest some careful planning before attempting to emulate them. On the brighter side, all of the remaining folks nearby me are incredibly healthy and alert – I’m the baby of the area at 40.