permanentlybrilliant
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a forest garden ... or food forest ...
Picture
We use, on average, one kilowatt hour a day in our house, including Teenage Use.  The average kwh usage in the UK varies from 3,300 to 9000 per year depending on where you look for the data. Either way, our usage of on average 365 kwh a year is doing pretty well. Sort of permacultural resource management, only on the inside.

We have a washing machine, for which we only use cold water or water heated on the wood burning stove; low energy light bulbs; radios, modem, laptops, phones, and music. We have no: dishwashers, tumbledryers, microwaves, coffee machines, hair dryers, irons, electric kettles (next time you pop the kettle on, just take a peek at your electric meter. You may need to sit down on a handy shock-absorbing chair), Xboxes, WIII, hair straighteners, nintendos, or halogen lightbulbs ... oh, and no telly. And as yet, no one has died as a result.If you want to chat about this and let us know what you're doing, and how well it works, let us know! Just go to the forum...we'd really love to hear what you're doing...
Click on each photo to see more. Come on in! The kettle's on...


Kitchen plus free-range food plus free-range teens means fabulous meals. :)
One home-made table. Many, many meals. (involved g-clamps and a dressing gown cord. We're nothing if not resourceful. And we'd run out of clamps...)
Kitchen. Creativity Central.
Wooden well insulated house def a move in the right direction against asthma...yay!
Cooking up an off grid storm...
Spring...so much stuff starting to move under foot...
Dog Protects Teen From Threat of Having To Wash Up...
A bathtub of salad and strawberries...
Harvested rainwater heated on the woodburning stove in a second hand washing machine using vegetable soap flakes powered by our off grid panels. There's always a way to do things a bit better. :)
Spring: seedlings under mini cloches to fend off the chickens and rabbits and slugs...
The wonderful sparkle balls made by the Green Therapy team...
Welcome!
And the comfrey is GO!!!!!
Wellies. If it wasnae fer yer wellies...(with thanks to W. Connolly...)
Foxgloves, red campion and nasturtiums...you can hear the pollinators all round
Warning: WILD FLOWERS.....
Pollinator Pit Stop. :)
Thyme, chamomile, basil, oregano, plus foxgloves, sunflowers, poppies, nasturtiums and sweet william - always a lovely welcome home. :)
Porch = Perfect Spot for Kitchen Herbs.
Compost toilet handwashing area. Rainwater. Air. Soap. Nuff said.
Permaculture is all about polypurposing! And that's exactly what a compost toilet is. :)
Put your phone down. Close your eyes; and listen. :)
Uncle Dan reading a bed time story to Tommy. :)
First lesson in cutting bread with a *sharp* bread knife...
Boy. Hammock. Book.
Girl. Hug. Bezzie.
Teenage. Chill. Hammock.
Look what just walked into our porch...we fed it lentils and rice (that's what they need apparently) and it rested in the workshop for 48 hours. Then carried on...we named her Frieda. :)
The spot for lunch for many, many WWoofers. :)
WWoofer James making tyre seats from scraps of wood..
Have pallets. Make sofa.
Lots of outside on the inside...
Not Grand. Just Enough.
A house full of memories. :)
Laying an extra floor to increase insulation means altering all the doors....measure twice, cut once...yeah, right. ;)
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