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Permaculture Slideshow
Permaculture is one of the key elements of an Eco-Hamlet. Here's a nice slideshow by Peter Cow that gives a flavour of what it's all about:   .....
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What is an eco-hamlet? A hamlet is a settlement that is too small to be defined as a village. An eco-hamlet may well have many of the characteristics of an eco-village, but be too small to fit the definition of one. It may also be too small to be defined as a co-housing scheme, but share many features of one. Eco-Hamlets UK started with the aim of creating one such settlement, but attracted so much interest that our aim is to help people create many of them all over Britain.

Why create an eco-hamlet? For people who wish to live in a sustainable way, with like minded neighbours to share resources with, while having their own private space, it is difficult, if not impossible, to find suitable sites in the mainstream housing market. Land with residential planning permission is very expensive and mostly held by large house building companies, so a settlement on this scale is possibly the largest that can currently be created by ordinary people.

What would it look like? The Vision and Ideas pages suggest some possibilities, but they are only limited by our imagination (and the planning system!). It would probably consist of a small group of houses, and possibly houses divided into flats. In rural areas, it could have surrounding land occupied by smallholders, making at least a partial living from the land, and where food, fuel and other resources for the settlement are grown. In built up areas it could have gardens large enough to provide some of the residents food. The homes could be occupied by people working on the land, running sustainable businesses based on the site, working locally within walking or cycling distance, and retired people who would be available as extra pairs of hands to help out wherever needed. Using the ethics and principles of Permaculture, it would be a fair and sustainable community, where resources are used productively, nature and people are cared for, and people are able to live happy and fulfilling lives.

Who would live there? To buy and develop a suitable site would need a number of people with money available from savings and the sale of their houses. There would also be people with little or no money to invest, but with energy and skills to contribute. There would be a diverse mix of ages, skills and activities, as would be found in any community, but there would be a shared vision.

Where would it be located? Potentially Eco-Hamlets could be located anywhere in Britain.

I may be interested, what do I do now? Read the rest of this web site (by following the links below), and get in touch if you would like to get involved. This organisation is at a very early stage, and ideas will develop as more people get involved.