There’ll be a seed swap day on 14th Feb, inspired by Brighton’s original Seedy Sunday – details here.
On June 6th 2009, nearly a hundred activists converged on a piece of derelict land at Kew Bridge in south west London to create an eco-village community based entirely on sustainable technology and construction techniques.
This eco-village occupation is inspired by campaigns like The Land is Ours which campaigns peacefully for access to the land, its resources, and the decision-making processes affecting them, for everyone, irrespective of race, gender or age. for more information, please visit:
Please post any seeds or postcards or anything you like to:
The Eco Village
2 Kew Bridge Rd
Brentford
TW8 0JF
site phone number – 07967864370
In December we had a six month celebration and invited people from the community to a fire party. It was a great success.
In September last year, villagers cheered when Hounslow councillors put off a plan by St George to build 164 flats, a riverside pub, a business hub and a piazza on the site.
The development is not due to be discussed by a council committee before March and, with local elections taking place in May, a meeting may not take place until June – meaning the eco-village may remain for another six months.
Over the last 4 months we have gradually improved our living conditions on the site. We have a full working compost toilet, a kitchen and a roundhouse. Still 100% relying on donations and the rubbish you throw away, we have built up our community from nothing!
The best improvement so far is definitely our homes. You may have gone past us on the bus and seen a tarp village, assuming that it was all tents – but its not! We have learnt to build our own houses out of hazel wood poles. By bending them into arches, tying them down and then insulating with blankets and tarps, we have created wonderful little living spaces that are easy peasy to do!
We still maintain that we are essentially a community garden. We encourage everyone from the local area to pay us a visit and share their ideas about what we should do with the land, as well as getting them to help us plant our vegetables and also just to chill out and get to know us all.
We will hold a public meeting every Thursday night at 7pm on site, and we shall try to make every Sunday an event filled open day.
Needless to say, we still welcome everybody from all over London and the world. We have had quite a few international visitors lately! Everyone is welcome to come and stay as long as they follow site rules which include no drugs and alcohol, as well as being considerate to others and you must actively participate as a member of the community.
We especially welcome anyone with any skills or knowledge which may be useful or interesting. We encourage people to hold workshops to share their skills, whether it is about common law, herbal remedies, yoga, or even how to make didgeridoos or repair bicycles! Or even if you know nothing but just want to learn, come along too!
Our week:
Mondays – Closed (we go and protest outside MOD and downing street)
Tuesdays – Fridays – Open 11-1 and 5-7pm
Every Thursday – 7pm Public meeting
Every Friday – Wild Food Friday 10am – a walk around Richmond park tasting and learning berries nuts and mushrooms
Saturdays and Sundays – Open 11-6
(By ‘Open’ I mean the gate is open and we give tours. If you want to come and help us then please just come in anyway!)
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You are welcome to come and visit us and stay over if you like, but:
1. You must sleep in the Hexiyurt guesthouse as we don’t have the room for any more tents. The guesthouse can accomodate about 6 people, so it may be best to ring us prior to your visit to check if there is enough room for you!
2. The Hexiyurt has to be cleared of your stuff by 10am so it is open for visitors and as a workshop space. (you can store your things in the mansion shed instead during the day)
3. You are welcome to stay up to 7 days, after which time you must leave as to give others the chance to stay over.
4. If, after staying for 7 days, you wish to move in permanently, we will have a meeting to discuss it, to determine if we have enough room, and then shall hopefully welcome you in!
Capacity is a big issue on site at the moment and we are unlikely to allow many more people to move in on a permanent basis. However as winter freezes over we might lose a few members and have room for some more. If you are desperate to stay with us then showing us that your are a good, hard worker who gets along with most people on camp and who is polite and courteous to all will defiantly help you 🙂