The Touchwood Project

Another Power Off experience, this time from urban New York. Kerrilee, who wrote our first guest post on how to make a recycled magazine basket, had this to say… -Rachel Greetings! I figure, since this is my second guest post, I should probably introduce myself a bit…. Read the rest of this article >>

It was wonderful, magical, like Christmas! The weather helped, with sunshine and no wind. At night, stars mesmerised me as the scent of wood smoke drifted down to my eager nostrils. Joy! The time has just flown by, and to be honest life was so enjoyable without the electricity that we are only re-introducing it selectively – I call that a success! We rode our bikes to the local Stenness store, only a 5… Read the rest of this article >>

My problem: How to stay warm this winter without spending money. The house is cold and heating it is expensive. My frugal-living philosophy tells me you don’t need to spend money to be green, despite what all the retailers say. But can I?… Read the rest of this article >>

Last night I realised that our campaign to promote hitchhiking on Orkney is nothing new — it simply revives a time-honoured tradition. Yep, a kind of hitchhiking used to happen all the time on our island in the form of people stopping to give lifts to each other. Why’s the bus service so bad? Over a cup of tea, Malcolm heard the story from James Stockan, our councillor for Stromness and Hoy areas, while… Read the rest of this article >>

We’re taking the plunge. Malcolm and I are selling the car and going car-free. Bring on the circus bikes! Going car-free in a rural location Unlike when I lived in Washington DC you didn’t really need a car, not having one on Orkney is highly unusual. Pretty much everyone drives…. Read the rest of this article >>

Our quest to have fun, be playful and enjoy living green has started to move in another direction lately: getting rid of the car. Given that it’s 11 miles from our house to Kirkwall and the nearest bus stop is 2 miles away, walking or conventional cycling leaves me feeling apprehensive (the wind! the cold! I’m so not that fit!). So if I’m going to give up something as freedom-giving and effort-saving as a… Read the rest of this article >>

Today we caravanned along the road to check out the first straw bale house being built on Orkney. Our interest is both personal, as a home for ourselves, and for Touchwood, as potential accommodation eco-cottages. I have to say, it’s a strong contender in the quest to find the best eco-friendly, locally available and enduring building material. Nick Morrison and Amazonails… Read the rest of this article >>

I have this photo on my wall as inspiration for the kind of accommodation I’d like to build for Touchwood, if we build an eco lodge. I’m thinking 6 or so of these, to house 2 – 6 people each. Simon Dale and his wife built this house for £3,000 and 1500 hours of labour in some woodland in Wales a few years ago. Aside from the inviting architecture, the idea of building housing that doesn’t cost a fortune is… Read the rest of this article >>