Eco Has Landed?: Kew Ecovillage report
Last Hours | 14.07.2009 20:29 | Climate Chaos | Ecology | Free Spaces
England is hit by a heat wave and we are all out enjoying the sun. What a great time to arrange a trip to visit the Kew Ecovillage in west London. I make the journey to London and stay with friends. The morning after, I wake to find that the heat wave has officially ended and London has once again returned to a palette containing many shades of grey. Drizzle trickles down the train window as I make my way to Kew Bridge Station where I am intending to explore. I’m here to discover more about what a group of individuals have been doing since they reclaimed some disused land a month earlier. Land now being used in an attempt to exhibit a more sustainable form of living.
I am warmly met at the gate by two of the villages inhabitants who enthusiastically talk me through what has been happening since the site was originally occupied. The sun has made a brief appearance and I take this opportunity to try and take a few pictures around the site.
I spent a couple of hours talking to people who all expressed the positive experience they’ve had since becoming involved in the site.
The site itself is a typical wasteland over grown with greenery. In the plots, the new inhabitants have started to grow a variety of plants including some vegetables. As well as this they have set up structures for communal living including a shower, kitchen, quiet space and living area. Tents are dotted about the site but a large space has been set aside and designated a ‘wild area’.
I left the village being impressed by the enthusiasm of those involved, yet pondering the long term effects of a project such as this. Is this type of project part of a revolutionary formula that could alter a culture currently aimed at total ruination? Or maybe it is merely an opportunity for those wishing to live at the edge of this culture to do so? If so, can we equate this to watching the titanic sink before realising your own boat is going to be pulled down with it? These are important questions to ask if we are going to begin to confront this culture.
To see images visit http://www.lasthours.org.uk/articles/kew-ecovillage-photo-report/
http://www.lasthours.org.uk
I spent a couple of hours talking to people who all expressed the positive experience they’ve had since becoming involved in the site.
The site itself is a typical wasteland over grown with greenery. In the plots, the new inhabitants have started to grow a variety of plants including some vegetables. As well as this they have set up structures for communal living including a shower, kitchen, quiet space and living area. Tents are dotted about the site but a large space has been set aside and designated a ‘wild area’.
I left the village being impressed by the enthusiasm of those involved, yet pondering the long term effects of a project such as this. Is this type of project part of a revolutionary formula that could alter a culture currently aimed at total ruination? Or maybe it is merely an opportunity for those wishing to live at the edge of this culture to do so? If so, can we equate this to watching the titanic sink before realising your own boat is going to be pulled down with it? These are important questions to ask if we are going to begin to confront this culture.
To see images visit http://www.lasthours.org.uk/articles/kew-ecovillage-photo-report/
http://www.lasthours.org.uk
Last Hours
e-mail:
lasthourssw@mail.com
Homepage:
http://www.lasthours.org.uk