Sat 27th May - June 2nd

Our food co-op gets started, an internal food purchasing scheme within our community that we hope to extend out to other people living nearby. We buy in wholesale, mostly organic food and sell it to individuals to supplement communal food. A space is cleared for the first low impact temporary dwelling - Georgie and her children have been prioritised for the first heated individual space. Work continues on the longhouse, and the floor is finally completed. Creating/finding flat space on this valley side is one of the biggest challenges for putting up structures. A site is found for our tipi which will be used for meetings, workshops and relaxing. The site is prepared, and the tipi erected. We are contacted by Carlton South West television, who are interested in incorporating us in a documentary, but we do not feel ready for that level of attention at this early stage.

Sat 20th May - Fri 26th May

Cheap tools found at a car boot sale enable us to start design work on the shed next to the growing area. There is already a building there which can be renovated. Work continues on the long house and the raised beds in the growing area. Everything in this first year is temporary, we are growing annuals and building easily dismantlable, re-useable shelters. A local log cabin designer asked us if we were willing to sell him some of our Larch trees. Unfortunately we had to turn him down as we feel it is too early to make any big changes to the site, habitat and canopy. We will carry out full surveys of all the wildlife, plant life, trees, streams and sunlight patterns throughout this first year. This bank of information will be used as the basis for our full permaculture design for the site in all seasons. Permaculture is all about relaxing and observing to start with. Relaxing! If only...

Sat 13th May - Fri 19th May

More work is carried out on paths, including some bridge building over the streams. We get a BT land line put in, to our joy, and we can now stop relying on mobile phones which we prefer not to use. Our visitors seem surprised to find a phone line in the middle of a woodland.

We start to research bulk food buying and a community composting scheme. We find a fruit and veg wholesaler nearby which drastically reduces our food bill and hence provides more money to go towards tools and materials. A journalist from the Western Morning News visits.

Sat 6th May - Fri 12th May

Our new canvas tarpaulins arrive and the field kitchen is renovated to be larger and drier. Work continues on the communal dry space or 'long house' as it has been referred to. Hurdles, planks and tools are now all in production in the workshop. A design for a better compost toilet is agreed upon and work has started on it. We have been using an army style Elsan compost toilet until now.
Raised beds are made in the growing area and many annual seeds and seedlings are planted. A bird expert visits to carry out a survey for us of our musical feathered co-residents.

Sat 29th - Fri 5th May

The field kitchen is improved, adding work surfaces and a table. The design and location for our temporary communal dry space is decided upon and work starts on that. It will eventually house visitors, some residents, meetings and maybe office space and equipment.
We are visited by Rupert Lane, the head of trees and woodlands from the National Park Authority (NPA), and a reporter from the Herald Express.

A green wood workshop with a pole lathe is built next to the field kitchen.
Two planning officers from Development Control at the NPA pay us a visit to see the site and we discuss planning issues and procedure.

Sat 22nd April - Friday 28th

Eleven members of Afffinity Woodland Workers Co-operative (AWWC) arrive at Steward Wood and set up tents and a field kitchen. We visit our immediate neighbours and leaflet Moretonhampstead. Much time is spent reinforcing the paths to keep them from getting too muddy in all the April rain. There are problems with the website and mobile phone reception, which are eventually ironed out. Work begins on our temporary office space.

diary index