Natural Earth Eco Living Garden Villages & Projects.
Affordable Eco Homes.
Creating affordable Eco Housing Developments, living closer to nature.
Increasing personal security through lowered living costs and plentiful local food.
To protect and enhance existing environments and wild life.
Forest Garden Eco Village Projects are designed to create a way of living that gives us a way to live closer to nature, with the opportunity to construct a low cost affordable house with an adjoining plot for a permaculture/ forest garden/ organic/ bio dynamic/ flower garden.
Supporting increased food security and low cost living - affordable eco housing.
These Garden Eco Living Projects will be living examples, that can then be adapted to different areas and different countries.A way of living that increases our connection to nature, enhances our well being, reduces our indebtedness, helping to preserve the earth her living eco systems and resources.
Not everyone who wants to live in a Natural Earth Eco Village intends to be a mini farmer/permaculture/ forest gardener.
People can still purchase a house and flower garden plot to their chosen size and enjoy the fresh produce grown and sold in the onsite produce shop.
Graham Bell has the oldest established forest garden in this country. His plot is one fifth of an acre and produces more than a tonne of food per year and is the most wonderful examples of what can be achieved in terms of food quality, quantity, variety and to also increase biodiversity. The plot only takes around two days input a week.
“Can I commend you to make every garden and woodland you find as productive as this (his own forest garden). These will become our food banks of the future.” Graham Bell.
We are now looking for a site for The First Pilot Project -
To purchase a farm/smallholding or suitable land or co- join
with an existing farmer landowner.
We wish to find suitable plots for individual eco living plots and larger sites/ farms for several homes and also full village sites.
SEE OUR CROWD FUNDING PAGE
The first full village project to include:-
* Residents choose size of plot - within available sizes. Each plot to include planning consent for an Eco House, to be designed to require little or no heating with workshop space and garage, if required. Your house can be a self build or chosen from one of our architects designs that can be built for you.
* Community Spaces/Buildings
* Retreat and Learning Center to offer courses for locals residents, schools and people from wider afield.
* Children's Natural Earth Schooling Center. Offering Nature School Based Learning.
* Eco café and Eco Produce and Product Shop.
* Natural Earth Healing Retreat Center and Spa.
* Nature Meadows and Flower gardens.
* Aromatherapy and herb garden.
* Wildlife Reserve and Animal sanctuary.
* Plots are to include fruit trees, nut trees, ornamental trees, berry bushes, vegetables, herbs, flowering plants, green houses/poly tunnels and pond eco house and workshop.
* Larger scale farming to be included.
Houses can be Eco houses, straw bale,hempcrete, wooden etc.
Whilst the design and size of the house is not necessary limited the emphasis is more of our connection with the outdoors.
People live independently on their plot as in regular housing settings, this isn't a communal living setting.
The Garden Villages development will be completed in phased stages.
Natural Earth Eco Living and Associated Projects are based on a basic charter promoting ways of living that bring us all towards a closer alignment to nature in our everyday living.
The eco housing projects aim to bring the opportunity to own an affordable eco house, helping to alleviate and reduce current debt/ reducing financial pressures with lower housing costs and utility bills.
The housing plot is to include land for an adjoining permaculture / forest garden or regular garden – helping to increase personal and local food security, whilst at the same time supporting and increasing biodiversity.
We wish to also support/create smaller development projects including - individual plots.
Costs and things to consider:
Each affordable plot would vary in price, and if loans are needed ethical banking such as Triodos Bank could be accessed.
Further costs and transitions of money would include:-
Cost of the building of individual house.
Water supply.
Installing water filtration system.
Eco energy supply.
Cost of planting the plot with trees and vegetation.
To establish your garden plot would vary in cost, depending whether planting was from seeds or from already established plants. The plots could have up to 300 different varieties of fruit and nut trees, herbs, berry bushes, vegetables and flowers.
A slower possibly more enjoyable way and cheaper way is to grow from cuttings and seeds enjoying taking things slowly whilst planting it up.
The aim is to establish housing and living that is affordable, sustainable and also nourishing to mind, body and soul.
There can be courses to help people to learn how to establish their own forest garden living area and also in learning how to preserve, store produce and seed save.
Aspects to food growing plots:
A large portion of the plot area devoted to an orchard space, fruit,nut trees etc.Each plot can be encircled by a band of trees to encourage wild life.Bees and hives can be used for honey and pollination. [Benign living beehives methods].The plots not big enough for animal rearing other than for free range chickens, bee keeping maybe a few goats for a little milk and cheese.For people eating animal product foods, these can can be purchased through the onsite organic produce shop, etc..Local organic food vans could do house to house calls and also share any excess produce, helping to reduce food waste, as people would be more likely to buy just what they need for a few days, instead of bulk buying from the supermarkets and food going off.
Some Wild and Native Fruits of Britain
Sea Buckthorn
Gooseberry
Apples
Hawthorn
Plum
Blackberry
Raspberry
Sloe Berry
Blackcurrant
Rosehip
Pear
Cherry
Crab Apple
Elderberry
Strawberry
Rowan Berry
Natural Earth Healing Retreat Center and Spa.
Well Being and Healing Retreats
Healing with foods, herbs, homeopathy and many other holistic treatments, inspired by centers such as The Hippocrates Center.
Nutrition - wholesome modern cuisine including raw foods, forest foods, wild local plant foods to help achieve an alkaline diet.
Emotional healing therapies.
Healing through being in nature, flower/ aromatherapy gardens.
Workshops, group and individual treatments and sessions.
Spa and swimming pool area.
Aromatherapy and herb gardens.
Cookery and food preparation skills.
Also, included within the Forest Garden Area there will be a learning retreat center and café.
Giving - Cookery and food preparation, foraging, preserving and storing food skills.
Skilling courses.
Eco Farming and Growing centre.
Natural Earth Child Schooling System
* Child Led Learning
* Nature Based Learning
* Empathy Based
Learning
* Children Teaching Each Other
* Experienced adults to bring in expertise when children show an interest in an area when necessary.
* Nature deficit disorder is now being recognized for the impact it is having on the well being of children and adults, this way of living and teaching could certainly help to overcome that.
“Our children no longer learn to read the great book of nature from their own direct experience or how to interact creatively with the seasonal transformations of the planet. They seldom learn where water comes from or where it goes. We no longer co-ordinate our human celebrations with the liturgy of the heavens.” - Wendy Berry.
We may be asking ourselves what kind of a world we are leaving our children.
What skills, knowledge and priorities have we passed onto them.
Some of the reasons to live this way:
The Natural Earth Garden Villages promote a light living approach encouraging people to repopulate in the countryside, without losing biodiversity in our countryside, enhancing existing areas and increasing biodiversity.
We can live and be in the countryside without using more concrete or building confining housing estates or flats.
Reduced cost of living with your own affordable eco home with access to local food production, people then have reduced financial pressures and worries.
Britain was once 85% forest it is now approximately just over 3% forest, forest garden living can help to turn this around.
A recent study stated that we have only one hundred harvests left in our soils as the mycelial fungal system is being broken down through over ploughing.
Forest Gardening, permaculture and other low dig methods of growing do not destroy this fungal system to the same degree.
The Eastleigh Study by John Reeves shows how a high mycelial level in the soil with organic growing methods produce increased levels of minerals.
Forest Garden growing has a high mycelial network helped by the low dig way of growing.
Regular farming systems use high levels of pesticides; they add nitrogen and phosphates to the soils and often become depleted of other minerals that are needed for health.
Biodiverse lawns can help grow plants we often consider to be weeds, but they are actually needed for pollinators and insects.Also, bee colones have been declining, putting for our food supply in danger. Around 80% of crops grown for human consumption require bees and butterflies to pollinate the plants.
We can also create forest food gardens in our own home gardens and spaces in towns villages etc. Designed to suit the weather zone you live in, looking at the space and designing a low maintenance food garden.
Other Inspirational Projects we can gain learning from:
Monty Don’s visit to Cuba showed a wonderful example of people growing organic vegetables and fruits in every little available space in cities.
People achieved food stability after economic instability hit their country and they were forced to start feeding themselves. This example could be used as inspiration in Britain and other countries helping to increase food security to all people and helping with rising food prices.
Local Food Security would be a security net in case of economic or world instabilities. I would suggest we move in this direction at the quickest pace. Land in towns, cities, villages.Gardens can be used to grow food including the perimeters of surrounding towns etc.
Many places Worldwide have growing projects established, we can read about some of these in the Permaculture Magazine.
Pam Warhurst in her “Edible Landscape” projects in Sheffield have established food growing areas, helping to create more food secure communities.
Warren Draper in Doncaster is helping to reverse poverty with permaculture food growing. Many other projects have made great inroads in creating community resilience and food security for people.
The work of Patrick Whitfield contributed so much to the permaculture movement. Martin Crawford’s, Forest Gardens books give us great direction and inspiration.
There are waiting lists for allotments in the UK, so we need to access, more available land.
We need planning permission to be made easier to be able to create Natural Earth Eco Living sites.
In Britain 87% of people have access to a garden,which would allow them to grow some foods, garden share and food swaps, even if people don’t have a large garden space it is surprising the amount and range of foods that can be grown in a regular sized garden.
In war time people have grown around 80% of the nation’s food needs.
Our projects also aim to help encourage food growing in many ways most people live in urban areas, people can grow in their gardens and flat terraces and micro foods indoors.
Community Supported Agriculture provides opportunities for growing.
Local food security helps people using food banks to benefit from the healthy foods that are grown.
Community bring and share meal gatherings and celebrations are also a great way of sharing food grown and people getting together without lots of expense.
Seed Sharing events and get together's are also becoming more popular.
“Pay as You Feel” Café, often from donated food (which may have gone to landfill), or grown foods, are emerging to help share food, not dependent on money.
Projects in Tanzania have created plots that are now producing bountiful harvests.
"We want to bring it back to Eden. This land once had trees all over it. We want to heal the land.
This natural, gentle, systemic approach manages to restore both the environment and people’s lives.” - Heather Tomlinson.
The Earth
Nature needs us as much as we need nature, nature reacts to us and we react to nature."
Every plant, every blade of grass will react to you with love, and these plants, as living beings are capable of collecting for you all the best energies of the universe. They collect them for you. Plants feed on just more than the energy of the soil." - Anastasia the Ringing Cedars.
James Lovelock reintroduced the Gaia theory into western culture which recognizes that the earth as self-regulating and not just a ball of resources for us to use up.
Gaia is the Greek name for living intelligent sacred earth.
More people actually live in cities and towns than live in the country side; Forest Garden Living would help to reverse this trend.
The mycelium fungal layer and our soils vitality, nutrient and mineral content can be greatly supported and improved by a more connected relationship and understandings.
"The very concept of creating a scented garden is rooted in ancient history.From the earliest times,the culinary and medicinal properties of herbs and aromatic plants have made them a vital part of human existence. From material necessity to aesthetic pleasure." The Essential Aromatherapy Gardens- Julia Lawless.Our financial accounts each year, rather than being aimed at money and profits, could be seen in terms of our accountability to ourselves, each other, nature and animal species.The earth goes through different cycles patterns in time, increasing our ability to grow food, store and seed save can help us to be more equipped in case of challenging times.
Quality of our Foods
We want every person in the world to have the highest of quality food. It is an injustice for there to be food deprivation for anyone, or for high quality food to be exclusive only to people with more money.
Forest Gardening, agroforestry, permaculture, organic, biodynamic and foraged foods all contain vital and improved levels of vitamins and minerals. See Rutgers Organic University Study.
Forest Garden Living
Evidence is mounting to suggest the Amazon rain forest was in fact sculptured by people, a huge forest garden slowly and carefully shaped to create an eco-system that sustains itself and the humans who live in it.
In the UK we can transform our mono-culture landscapes into vast polycultures –
"Food forests formed of native edibles as well as plants that provide timber, fibers, medicines and eco-systems services." - Amelia Lake.
"Many indigenous communities do not have a word for ‘wild’ they recognize themselves as part of nature, not separate from it. The wild should not be a place we visit it should be something we are, an integrated whole that includes humans." - George Monbiot.
It is not that we should remove, exclude ourselves from living in nature, quite the opposite, I believe we just need to tread more lightly and reconnect to the pulse of nature.
Plants and trees talk to each other they help each other too.
Plants sing and create a harmony along with the birds.
The mycelium fungal layer has been called the "wood wide web", or the earths internet for plants and trees.
“For all mans supposed accomplishments, his continued existence is completely dependent upon
six inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.” - Confucius.
Living in a ways that minimize harm to life, people, animal, plant, woven into our ways of living.
Our Emotional Need for Nature
"I go into nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in tune once more."
– John Burrows.
"For the glory of the garden glorifieth everyone." – Rudyard Kipling.
From all corners of our thinking and living, from mental health to sustainability, the answer brings us back to living closer with nature.
Instead of being in a system that produces high stress and increasing debts and worries,we can easily direct our vision and energies into living and aligning with nature.
“Human beings long embedded within their environment, have always been sensitive to the meanings that surround them, those contained within plant communications, as with all communications, generate feelings in us in response. We know the touch of the world upon us, that we have been caressed by meaning.”
“The plants release the Earth’s subtle chemistries through their intertwined, interdependent synaptic feedback loops faster and more completely than researches or anyone can write them down, their meanings pile one on top of another until the linear mind is overwhelmed. They shift the fabric of our world and touch us in ways too complex for our conscious mind to grasp. Nevertheless, we can grasp them - they come in gestalts to the attentive mind and caring heart, concise reflections of planet and earth inter-relationships. In knowledge whole and complete. The trees are the teacher of the law.
Chimpanzees actively test Aspilia plants for activity by holding a leaf in their mouth for extended periods of time before deciding to pick it or go onto another. As they sit, allowing VNO (vomeronasal organ) to analyze the chemical content of their chosen plant, in return the plant analyses the saliva of the chimpanzees. In a short period of time it begins altering its chemical production to enhance the necessary chemicals needed by the chimpanzees for healing." - Stephen Harrod Buhner.
What is being done to people, animals and the earth?
As our relationship with the earth has become fractured, so too have our lives become fractured.
We are over stressed, over worked with increasing levels of mental health issues, many unnecessary physical illnesses, despite all our progress, society still struggles, another way has to be forged, built on gentleness, caring and respect for life.
This gentle way of living takes great courage to see within ourselves and our lives.
"No-one knows what the long term effects will be of trashing the planet’s diversity, exterminating plants, animals and micro-organisms in an orgy of vandalism for a short term profit.One thing is certain it will not be to the benefit of human kind” - Tony Wardle.
Social and domestic breakdowns become lessened when we have a support system in place that ensures people have access to enough food and feel safe and secure, not living with large financial debt worries and burdens.
When people,societies know that they are secure it change lives for the better.
As most people live in urban areas our projects also aim to support and encourage urban greening and growing initiatives, forest gardening, permaculture, agroforestry, orchards, organic allotment areas in and around cities, towns and villages, wild growing, foraging, seed saving and tree and garden planting.It is a crime, to me, that everyone is not able to step outside into some form of garden, it is especially sad for children.The raping of the earth’s resources, the plundering of the seas, the destruction of the rain forests, the disrespect and cruelty to the earth, plant life, and animals and to man, has reached a peak.
A new way of living, a more fulfilling life has to be made, forest garden living can help to offer us part of this new way.
Reasons to move to Garden Village Living Projects
In any event of individual, local or world instability it is vital that people have local food security, creating worldwide local food networks.
With an increased need for food banks, forest garden food space projects could help provide high quality fresh produce.
I suggest we need not remove man from nature to ensure nature’s survival, in fact man and nature should inter-twine. Man needs to retrain itself to live more lightly and in harmony with nature and no longer destroy and ignore nature, and then we may witness a way of living that so far has not yet been realized.
Over population in not necessarily the world’s curse but the manner in which we live on the earth is.
In so many instances the old outdated systems have turned people, animals and the environment into a life of slavery, servitude and explotation - denying us all full expression of our potential for health, happiness, well being, creativity, rights and freedom within a debt based financial bondage .
Most of us feel that the world and life should and could be better. Forest garden living can help us live the dream we have largely been denied.
What does it mean to be human? A true human being can be known because he truly cares, not just in word but in action. The true human being is magnificent in nature he is a creator and a manifestor, but surely he is only truly great when he creates without harm and with respect.
“Establishing a forest (garden) in most of the places people actually live is probably the most important step we can make to human survival”- Graham Bell.
Natural Earth, Garden Villages Eco Living Projects can help establish ways for people to feed themselves, no human being should have to worry about food and no one should have to go hungry.
Many people want to feel more connected to the earth and to each other, no matter what their living situation may be, big garden or no garden. For most of us, myself included this is a new journey and there is a lot to learn, learning from each other.
Together we can make the way easier and more enjoyable.
For what are we
Without each other
And a world worth living in
For what are we
Without the bird song
The rustling of the trees
The flowers that fill our senses
The pollen that feeds the bees,
For what are we
That we may have forgotten
That the earth is our garden, our home
Given to us, to protect
From all that destroys
But to share
With all life, animal, plant and man
For us to make beautiful.
For what are we if we have gained all the wealth
Fame and power
Of the world
But we have sold our soul
And the soul of people, animals and the earth.
H. Louise Ashley.
To Find out more about the Project and to see what stage we are at
Contact - Naturalecoliving@protonmail.com
We are looking to buy/own a farm./small holding/share part of a farm/ land which we could then develop gradually into a full garden village or a scaled down smaller version.
The pilot project could then be a blue print adaptable to different areas, settings, needs, locations and countries.
We are also looking at Projects that could be put together where farmers/landowners can participate in the project by selling off around 50 acres of land for the Natural Earth Eco Garden Eco Living Projects.
With assurance that the integrity of the project will be maintained and the land would not be able to be sold off for regular housing developments/shop/retail/industrial developments etc.
We are now looking for financial backing, sponsors, donators, farmers, possible suitable land and hopefully soon people that might be interested to own a plot within the development projects.
Many people are interested.
Initially we may only be able to include a small group of people for the first farm / land project so that under the worst case scenario we couldn't get full planning permission on the first site we would still be able to live and use the farm for eco growing, farming, retreats and courses etc. between us.
While we still continue to move ahead for full approval for plots and sites big or small, to be granted full permission within the -
Natural Earth Eco Living Charter for Light Living,umbrella.
We show that there is good reason why people should be able to have access and to own their own piece of land to be able to live within the guidelines of this charter.
Hope this project may also inspire others who wish,
wherever you may be,
to create something similar.
H. Louise Ashley. Concept Designer for Natural Earth Eco Living.
Also
Poet and author, wisher of a better world.
Books:
“Survival in a Wounded World.” Poetry Book.
”Finding a New Way”Book
Designer and Founder of Natural Earth Eco Clothing
www.naturalearthecoclothing.com
Singer Song writer of her band LOUE found on Bandcamp.
Public Speaker on World Improvement Issues.
Contact Details- Naturalecoliving@protonmail.com
Copyright©2018LouiseAshleyNaturalEarthEcoLiving