Get offa McCloud

So what exactly are we doing and what inspired us ?
Like so many we started watching Grand Designs and got hooked. I think it was the Huff House episode that introduced us to the concept of ecobuild and the Passiv Haus concept. Visits to the big exhibitions followed and the realisation that whilst Huff was pretty expensive there were many alternatives. There followed the inevitable plot searches which merit a post of their own . It was luck in the end that found us our 4 acre plot with permission for two semis, the planners and neighbours were happy with one big house so we were ready to go . After an exhaustive process (another post ) we selected an architect . Again ,somewhat by chance we chose as a result of GD. We watched the Hoo House episode and liked the style so much that we googled the architect involved. This is how we ended up working with Jerry Tate - a wholly satisfactory experience (thus far!) www.jerrytatearchitects.com/index.htm
SO our plan is for a build to Passiv Haus standards which for newcomers means very high insulation and air-tightness so that energy input is minimal - for many months of the year if not all we aim to have very little heating input. Some of that will be from our own wood ( see next post ) into wood burning stoves. From our field we will grow coppiced wood, fruit trees and keep hens pigs and sheep.

This gives the headlines of our project- the blog is designed ( in no particular order ) to describe how it goes , inspire others and learn from our experience and that of others.
So here is a picture of what has sustained us on our many site visits. It is a 'Kelly Kettle ' www.kellykettle.com/?gclid=CKa4_7rVqasCFagntAodaQzwLA, a sustainable way of making a hot drink out doors. In essence the body is a water jacket which also acts as a chimney for the small twig fire which is contained below . Early days involved much huffing and puffing and mixed results . Now , largely due to a store of dry twigs and the hollow dry stems of umbellifers (cow parsley or hogweed) we can have a hot drink ready in 3 minutes - a boon after a hard days work outside.

Why are we doing this ?

This was one working title for the blog based upon our frequent reaction to our eco-build project !
However it also addresses what we hope to achieve from the blog . In part it is simply to chart our way through what we think will be an interesting journey . But mostly it will be to share our learning and where possible pick others brains based on their experience and learning.
It is the dream of many to do a self build and sustainability project . We hope to realise that dream but know there are many gaps in our knowledge which we have already had to fill the hard way ie guessing , trying or plain getting it wrong . If others can benefit from this then we have started an online community .
Today's learning concerned rabbits . These are of plague proportions on our rough land . However of course they are also a source of meat for the pot . I have long contended that if I could not personally catch , kill and cook meat then the only defensible position is to become a vegetarian . Now is the time to put this to the test . But first - shooting lessons. I had a great tutor in Sam Grice at Long Acres (http://www.longacresshooting.com/index.html) and learnt a lot today . Most surprisingly he taught me that having shot a rabbit it is important to squeeze the wee out of it so that it does not spoil the meat!
I took this at face value - my daughter declared it was the shooters equivalent of tartan paint - or taking the pee out of the novice on his first day !
Todays photo is of our gundog - as you can see she has a long way to go - another example of us not necessarily doing things in quite the right order or priority .

Getting Started

So I thought the plot search was hard . The design was difficult . Not to mention the chain saw and tackling the brambles. But no - it was learning to blog and worse - learning to blog from your web-literate daughter. The problem really came down to the title . Apparently 'eco-builder' is taken and was pronounced as boring any way .

So Gate post it is - inspired by the traditional image of the local dispensing wisdom whilst leaning on a 5 bar gate- with a modern twist . All we need now is some wisdom - we have the gate and the blog .

What will we blog? Well our experiences of taking a field and converting it to a sustainable way of living in terms of energy and food. We know that total self sufficiency is unlikely but we want to have a go - without adopting a hair shirt approach. And having some fun on the way.