The Ecological Land Co-operative
Originally published in the Winter 2012 issue of Permaculture magazine; that article can be found here
The below extended version republished in the Jan 2013 issue of Country Smallholding. Full illustrated feature (including comment pieces from others) available here. The magazine's editorial also concerned itself with the topics raised
And the Spring 2015 issue of STIR magazine featured an updated version, taking a different slant, which can be found here
An imaginative and exciting scheme was launched to provide would-be smallholders with affordable land and low-impact dwellings. But then it was blocked by a local council, and has now gone to appeal. The story highlights how our planning process can frustrate so many 'good life' dreams. Shaun Chamberlin, who helped launch the scheme, explains
Nearly half of the UK's land is owned by just 40,000 people (0.06% of the population).1 For those Country Smallholding readers only too familiar with the difficulties in securing affordable access to land, this will not be a comforting statistic.
The secret truth behind environmentalists’ favourite argument
When environmentalists argue amongst themselves, whether at some formal debate or late at night over a few drinks, I confidently predict that the argument will go like this. One will say (in one form or another): "There's no time to wait for radical change or revolution; the crisis is overwhelmingly urgent, we simply have to act within the frameworks we have now".
Of grief
Let me tell you a story. It’s a story about our land — our home — and our ability to live peaceful, harmonious, respectful lives upon it and in partnership with it. And it’s a story about the big bad political structures and corporate institutions that conspire to...
Land, and the army marching to claim it, in the UK and around the world
The right to access land matters, in a fundamental way. It is a place to live, a source for food, for water, for fuel, and for sustenance of almost every kind. And land management also has profound impacts on our ecosystems and environment, and thus on our well-being...
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