Trouble in Paradise

Its some time since we reported on Dr Dylan Evans, who resigned as a lecturer on evolutionary psychology from the University of the West of England in Bristol to become Director of the Utopia Project in Scotland. Dr Evans, 41, wanted to test the theory that by 2040, the warming of the Earth and ensuing climate disasters will mean any survivors will live as Stone Age hunter-gatherers. Could man survive a social breakdown, he wondered

To this end, in April he sold his house in the Cotswolds to set up a commune in the Highlands called Utopia. The first to join him was Adam, pictured here in an Airline blanket he acquired on his way to the UK. Members have to live in a post-global warming environment and find a “new way” of existing. That means sleeping in yurts, growing your own veg and developing a series of ruels and practices that others might follow.

A Daily Express report that within three months of its launch Utopia fell foul of spectacular Big Brother-style rows was rather over-stated, as was their claim that Dr Evans’s case was “married” in a potato shed to a woman called Boe who came to the commune with her children Zen and Rainbow. At the last count, there were only three inhabitants left and Dr Evans has retreated to his mum’s house in Reading to “get his head together”.

The Independent newspaper reports that: Dylan Evans’ leadership and presence would be invaluable. Actually, he isn’t here a lot. Evans, it transpires, has come and gone, physically and mentally, since the project began. He has also stopped providing funds for food and other necessities while Utopia becomes self-sufficient. He sold his house to finance the project but admits to spending irresponsibly at the start.

In fact, Dylan is the one thing that could dismantle the entire experiment. When the 17 tons of logs arrive, he can’t talk for an hour for fear of how to cut them up. Later he admits that his anxieties ran deeper than just log-cutting. “The logs were symbolic of the enormity of what I’d taken on and I just froze. The volunteers understood at first, but…” He cuts out mid-sentence, overwhelmed by the reality. He also reveals that his concerns for society’s future go no further than mass immigration and inflation. Not quite the apocalyptic vision on which Utopia is founded.

But, for now, Utopian life continues. Agric tends the crops. Tommy feeds the pigs and collects the eggs. Others arriving soon will oversee future projects, such as the construction of a hydro-power system in the stream and a root cellar for winter storage. It’s unlikely that Dylan’s mental hibernation will dramatically disrupt the day-to-day workings of the project, though it is frustrating for those on the ground. The fear is that he will pull the plug entirely, barely four months into an 18-month exercise.

The charming fellow pictured above in a British Airways blanket has already caused an issue on camp. One of the original volunteers, he has left behind a legacy of weirdness and laziness that all present are happy to expound on. “He was a chancer,” says Tommy, a graffiti artist from Belfast. “He had these convenient ideas about The Great Spirit ordering him to avoid rectangles, which meant he couldn’t work in the garden.”