The building of my clay cottage at the Lynedoch EcoVillage is well underway. Foundations have set, the first few rows of conventional bricks are in place and the clay brickwork has begun....

On the 13 January, the foundations were dug for the first home at the Lynedoch Ecovillage (and it just so happens that it is my home). It will be the first of 42 dwellings in what will become a mixed income residential development designed and built along ecological lines to reduce capital cost, monthly household cost and overall ecological footprint...

"If a path to the better there be, it begins with a full look at the worst."
Thomas Hardy, 1887

As we enter the new millennium, serious questions are being raised about the sustainability of the suburban model. The End of Suburbia is a documentary that explores suburbia and its rather bleak prospects as fossil fuel demand begins to outstrip supply. Some scientists and policy makers argue that the inevitable decline in availability of fossil fuels is upon us presently...

I recently spent some time in Ghana where the primary focus of my trip was to do a Permaculture Design Course. The short definition of Permaculture (a contraction between the words "permanent" and "agriculture") is...

Cape Town, as scenic as it is, has a rather nasty side to it when the wind doesn't blow. This usually happens in the winter months, in-between the frequent cold fronts that move in from the south pole bringing with them northwesterly winds and rain. These 'in-between' days are idyllic; blue skies, temperatures approaching 30° C and, something which is rare in this coastal city, no wind. But this is as much a curse as it is a blessing...