Eco Warriors Soldier On As Winter Sets In

The climate may be getting less hospitable for out-of-doors living, but the inhabitants of Brentford’s eco-village are determined not to let the cold defeat their mission to build a useful and environmentally friendly community.

The eco-village has finally reached the point where it can actually be called a village. Over the past few months, ever since the project was first established, local residents have shown their support by giving in various donations. Now, they are helping the villagers prepare for winter by giving blankets and fuel. ‘Yes, the local community has been amazing! We’re so grateful for all the help and donations they have given us, from food to clothing and from plants to chop logs which we can use for firewood,’ says Simon, one of the founders of the eco-village.

So what is it? Simon says: ‘An eco-village is a community of people, all striving to live as sustainably as possible. There are several reasons people have for doing this, such as political, social, ecological and even spiritual reasons.’ And how did it come about? ‘A group of us decided to start this project. We all lived around the local area and knew of this place and thought of making use of it. We announced our actions on social networking sites, asking people to come and help out with creating an environmentally friendly village. It actually worked and we had at least 70 volunteers helping us make our vision become reality,’ Simon explains.

The volunteers first gathered together on 6th June on a plot of unused land in Kew to create a new ‘Eco-Village’. This action was used to emphasize the mistreatment of inner-city land and the need for affordable housing. The land was bought by developers St George in 2003. Since then have been many disputes over what to do with the land: proposals for shops, offices, a new pub and even a new public open space have been dismissed by the local Council. One permanent resident in the Eco-Village gave an insight into how they lived there and how they are to survive during the coming winter months. ‘All these tents that you see right now,’ he says as he points around the land, ‘are all fully insulated and can be made comfortably warm in a matter of minutes. Perfect for the when the weather turns cold! They’ve even got bed mattresses wrapped in waterproof sheets to stop the rain getting in. We have two bigger tents which have been made especially for people who only want to stop a few nights and we have the communal tent which is the biggest tent yet. It stores a lot of our food and is more like our sitting area than anything else.’ He brings out a picture of an unusual looking hut from his pocket, ‘this is my next venture... I can’t wait to start building my new home!’ Everyone seems to be obeying the simple rules laid out for the community: no music played aloud and absolutely no use of alcohol and drugs. So what else do the eco-warriors get up to? ‘We provide loads of workshops for children and adults alike. Just today we held a cobbing workshop where you make building out of sand, clay and straw. It was really slow at first; we weren’t getting very far with creating a new communal hut for everyone. Then a visitor came along and suggested we used old wooden crates as a structure we could build around. Now look! We’ve done so much more in just a few hours!’ Some of the other workshops include arts and crafts, the yoga and gardening.

Another permanent resident told us of the project they’ve been working on recently, ‘An eco-friendly sound system! It doesn’t play too loudly and it’s completely solar powered, so while we play the music, it’ll be re-charging all the time. We’re also planning on rebuilding the kitchen area, moving it to a different section of the land and creating small flower beds in wooden crates for the public to come and use. We have frequent visitors come and go as they please; looking after the vegetables and flowers we grow right here on the land. It’s wonderful to see so many people helping us and more importantly, helping the environment.’ If you want to take a visit to this up-and-coming Eco-Village yourself, or even if you’re interested in some of the workshops on offer and want to join in, then you’ll find it at the corner of Kew Bridge Road, over the Kew Bridge and beside The Wagon and Horses pub.