I now know a lot more about the project though. It started about ten years ago. There had previously been a history of people and communities building low-impact houses on land in this part of Wales. These had inevitably come into conflict with the authorities, in particular rules on planning.
One of the people who spent all of his adult life in these alternative communities was Paul Wimbush(now known as Tao). It must be said that Paul's appearance is between that of Robin Hood and Jesus! But at the heart of it he is a true visionary. He lives in the smallholding along from Cassie and Nigel with his wife Hoppi and a coule of teenage children. We were treated to a whistlestop tour of their place by Tao and it was truly inspirational.
As far as I can work out, just over ten years ago Paul decided to start up a low impact eco community but determined to work within the rules of the planning authorities. I don't know quite how, but at some point Pembrokeshire Council adopted a scheme known as One Planet Development. This allows for people to build on a piece of land as long as the house is low impact and you go back to working the land.
'The aim is ambitious: in a small country where people on average use three times their fair share of the world's resources, Wales wants its One Planet people to use only the resources they are due. Which means a simpler smallholding life, spending and travelling less, growing and making more.'
An old sheep farm came up for sale, 70+ acres. The original idea was to divide it up into over fifty plots, but that ended up being nine, so about 7 acres each. Apparently the rules get a lot more complicated when such co-operative ventures go into double figures of participants.
And so the project started. One Planet Development has now been rolled out across Wales. It is not seen by the authorities as a model for wider society, but it does give permission for a niche to exist. If only Fenland Council would do the same! The chances of that are probably less than zero, but if I ever work up the enthusiasm maybe I will sound them out. I'm sure there was a time when it seemed as if Pembrokeshire Council would never entertain such a thought.
Anyway I said that Tao and Hoppi's place was truly inspiring, so I will leave you with some images and some more information about their plot.
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A celebration of Tao's carpentry and design skills, this was built to house his milking cattle,
now sadly gone due to the complexities of selling raw milk.
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| From a distance Tao's newest project, the temple-like Earth Centre, rises imposingly above the smallholding. |
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| A retreat space |
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A goose house to envy!
Being on a hillside means that water can run from pond to pond.
Incorporated into this is a grey water harvesting system which runs into an S-shaped reedbed.
As with my smallholding, Tao uses the animals as helpers. The geese are in charge of keeping the grass down in the orchard.
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Elephant grass growing as a biomass crop for shredding into compost and as mulch.
You can never have enough biomass in a productive garden, especially a permaculture one,
capturing the sun's energy and putting into the soil. The polytunnel contained a small pond
and rocky landscaping to store the day's heat and to provide a home for friendly predators.
It was an ideal spot for a touch of warm relaxation and reflection.
Both these ideas will be coming to Swallow Farm in the near future!
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Tipis act as a venue for events and doubtless go back to Paul's time in Tipi Valley.
There are many buildings and places for volunteers to stay.
Tao had about half a dozen volunteers staying while we were there.
Our place may not be so famous or so idyllic, but volunteers do seem like a good idea
and I think we still have a lot to offer at Swallow Farm. We have big ideas for the future.
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