From the monthly archives:

November 2004

Giving is not just for Christmas

by Nick Rosen on November 30, 2004

in CITY SCAVENGER, COMMUNITY

keep on giving
Beal – giving is “cathartic”

RECYCLING is part of the post-consumerism we advocate at Off-grid. But FREECYCLING goes one better.
Freecycle founder Deron Beal calls it “the worldwide gift economy. ”
At freecycle.org members give away things they would otherwise throw away. They also post want ads on their 1277 local web sites around the world. The (local) recipient collects – for free. The energy spent on transport is far outweighed by the energy saved in avoiding bringing one more item into a crowded world.

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Ecover – the only ethical multinational

November 30, 2004
Ecover – the only ethical multinational

On an industrial estate ten miles outside Antwerp, the Ecover detergent factory sticks out like a sore thumb. The other buildings are nondescript sheds with grey or beige metal roofs. Ecover’s factory is topped with a bright green lawn.
It’s not the immaculate sward beloved of suburban gardeners, more of a meadow, really. But it blends in with the [...]

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30 Organic suppliers in the UK

November 25, 2004
30 Organic suppliers in the UK

Here are some of the best UK Organic suppliers From the Sunday Times Organic Guide
1. Heal Farm
Good value for money. Farmhouse produce that’s home-reared or made in the farm’s kitchen. Multibird roasts include duck filled with goose breast and orange and walnut stuffing (£38.75, serves eight) and turkey with chicken breast and cranberry stuffing (£52.85, serves 10). Christmas in [...]

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Organic Christmas Recipes

November 24, 2004
Organic Christmas Recipes

We all know its an orgy of pointless over-consumption. But despite our moaning, most of us succumb to the jingle of bells and the mulling of wine, telling each other its “for the children” or “the old folks.”
So later in the week we will feature the founder of freecycle.org telling us how to give the gift of giving. [...]

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Beach Hut Crazy

November 23, 2004
Beach Hut Crazy

Part of the reason for going off-grid is the obscene price of property. But even high-earners will be appalled at the £140,000 asking price for a small beach hut in Dorset.

Crazy places – crazy prices

Hut 180, and the 344 like it, sits on a spit of sand and shingle between the natural lagoon of Christchurch Harbour in [...]

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Tony Juniper — how to be Off-grid

November 22, 2004
Tony Juniper — how to be Off-grid

Tony Juniper cycles and walks whenever he can, but the Director of Friends of the Earth UK freely admits that it is not always possible to live a 100% pure green life. And he told Off-grid he was inspired by the “spiritual” environmentalism of the Southern hemisphere rather than the “science-based analysis” we use in the West.

Inspired [...]

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Green and Gold

November 18, 2004
Green and Gold

He’s the heir to business millions and she’s the former model who swapped the catwalk and high heels for wellies and a life down on the farm. Together they are, according to The Guardian “the eco movement’s most glamorous couple.”

Golden Greens
Sheherazade Goldsmith lives with husband Zac on a 300-acre organic estate in Devon. Zac took over editing the [...]

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More progress for UK solar industry

November 18, 2004
More progress for UK solar industry

A new factory in North Wales could give the solar energy market in the UK the impetus it needs. The Sharp Corporation, the world’s major producer of photovoltaic (PV) products, initially expected that the new Wrexham plant would turn out PV panels for residential and commercial installations at a rate of 20 MW worth per year. But orders quickly exceeded [...]

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Looking to nature creates a second chance for Welsh Farmers

November 16, 2004
Looking to nature creates a second chance for Welsh Farmers

Faced with a dramatic 75% decline in farming through disasters as diverse as Chernobyl and BSE, many Welsh hill farmers decided to pack up and try a new line in work. Not the three families that make up the Cwmni Gwynt Teg (’fair wind’ in Welsh) cooperative. When faced with disaster in 1997, this ingenious [...]

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