From: "simon" <builders@simondale.net>
Subject: Low Impact Building - Come and make another hobbit house
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:32:17 +0100
Dear friends,
It's been a long time since some of you signed up as being interested in coming to join in with some low-impact building in the style of our hobbit house. For the last three years we have been trying to get planning permission for a settlement of similar dwellings with the Lammas project,in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. Many of you have been a vital help by writing emails of support. Thankfully and excitingly all of our efforts have finally paid off and WE HAVE GOT PLANNING PERMISSION!!! HOORAY!!!
So now it is our extreme pleasure to give you the invitation we had always intended this email list to be for. We have set up a temporary camp on our land and are now ready to invite you to come and join in the fun working on building a first dwelling. It will be an earth sheltered, straw bale and round timber building similar to the hobbit house on our website. We are also working on the land to create microclimatic permaculture and forest gardens. As if this wasn't enough, there are also opportunities to see and get involved with the rest of what is probably Britain's first authorised low-impact eco-village.
If you come, you will get the opportunity to participate and learn whilst we get help with the project. No previous experience is necessary although a practical outlook and any specific skills will be gladly welcomed. You will be largely self-reliant whilst here. You will have to bring your own camping kit including full waterproof work clothes and be ready to participate in a shared self-catering operation. We'll provide basic sheltered space to cook and have a fire, a compost toilet and water. We will also be able to faciliate buying of groceries and other provisions. Whilst visiting you are entirely your own responsibility.
We will share knowledge and learn, share some dinners and songs round the campfire, make a house from roundwood and straw, work hard and have fun. We can only take a limited number of people so if you'd like to come please telephone to book in, our number is 07773372280. We'd prefer it if you can come by public transport as road access and parking is extemely limited (if this is not possible for you ring us). We are in North Pembrokeshire near Clunderwen railway station. Clunderwen is a short train journey from Carmarthen which has a National Express coach service. We can arrange to collect you from the station.
We expect this roundhouse to take one or two months. We will have continuing opportunities after this working on other buildings and parts of the land. There are also opportunities available to work with the other families involved in the project.
And of course for all those who are hoping to do something like this themselves, an important precident has been set with the approval of this project. Lammas is the first project to be granted permission under a special low-impact policy. This policy is currently only available in Pembrokeshire and faces possible removal from the local development plan in 2011. Meanwhile however, the Welsh Assembly is asking all regions to adopt similar policies for 'one-planet' development (meaning that developments should have a one-planet ecological footprint). So if you want to work some land and live a simple and ecological life, come on down to Pembrokeshire now,or watch the other Welsh regions over the coming years.
So thanks again for all your support so far and we hope to see some of you soon!
With love, Simon and family.