Low-Impact Living Initiative (LILI) Website

Sat, 11/15/2008 - 13:50 — Arthur Cristian

Low-Impact Living Initiative (LILI) Website

Low-Impact Living Initiative (LILI) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help people reduce their impact on the environment, improve their quality of life, gain new skills, live in a healthier and more satisfying way, have fun and save money.

Who We Are

LILI was founded in 2001 by two members of Redfield Community. The community had been going since 1978, and at the time had solar hot water, compost loos, straw-bale buildings, organic gardens and orchards, bees, sheep, chickens, used eco-paints and lime, and was heated with wood stoves. One member was experimenting with making biodiesel from waste cooking oil.

Perhaps most importantly, the land was owned co-operatively, we made decisions by consensus, and we shared resources (we still do all those things by the way).

For us, there seemed nothing unusual in all this. It seemed infinitely preferable to consumerism, competition, and lives lived far removed from nature and other people.

We wondered if other people would be interested in learning about natural buildings, renewable energy and local food production. We formed a not-for-profit organisation, came up with a name, and started running courses in 2001: biodiesel, solar hot water and compost toilets.

Well, yes they were interested. Our course programme has grown enormously since then, we've added lots of other attractions, and now have 10 staff. We're still based in the stable block of Redfield Community, but we're running courses and attending events all over the country.

Why Low-Impact?

Low-impact living is a way of behaving and thinking that aims to reduce our impact on the ecology of our planet, on resources and on each other.

It requires awareness, a little discipline, and a desire to take control of our own lives.

It's not about giving up things - it's about gaining things, like healthy food, clean energy, leisure time, fulfilling work, connections with people and nature, interesting activities, greater contentment, and the satisfaction of helping to change things for the better.

Here are some things that might bother you about our current 'high-impact' system:

* consumerism
* commuting
* high house and land prices
* working just to pay off debt
* junk food
* ugly 'development'
* pylons
* plastic
* half the world on $2 a day
* resource depletion

* extinctions
* lack of community
* stress
* destruction of wild places
* celebrity culture
* modern housing
* traffic jams
* huge city bonuses
* 'international competitiveness'
* war

And I'm sure you can add a few more.

You must have heard people say: 'yes, but what can I do?' and the answer is - everything. Change is only going to come from grass-roots. Those at the top have done too well from this system to want to change it.

Here's what you can do:

What you can do

First, take a deep breath. You don't have to try and do everything at once, and burn yourself out. You can do it one thing at a time. We can help – here's how:

* Look at our topics page and decide which one to have a go at.

Then (depending on the topic), you can:

* have a look at a factsheet for a quick overview

* ask a few basic questions on the forum - e.g. anyone else done it? did it work well? what are the main pitfalls?

* read a book or two to get more information

* attend a course to learn practical skills, ask specific questions and make contacts

* ask some more in-depth questions on the forum, and maybe help other people with your new-found knowledge

* buy kit from the shop, and if we don't have it, find companies that do on our links pages

* install it, use it - just do it, as they say

When you're happy, go back to the topics page and choose another one.

If you want to be inspired and get some practical experience, go WWOOFing.

We are slowly adding more topics, as well as factsheets, books, courses, links and kit for as many topics as we can.

If you want to help us, you can become a Friend of LILI, volunteer, send us your second-hand books, or just tell people about us:

Would You Like A Natural Building?

If you live within 30 miles / 40 minutes of Winslow in North Bucks, Bristol or Lancaster, and would like a gang of people to come and put up a natural building for you on one of our courses, then please get in touch.

With all these buildings, we will advise you about preparation and finishing off - as well as where to source materials.

On our construction courses we like to help build something useful, and not just put something up for demonstration purposes, only to take it down again after the course. Here are examples of some things we could build for you.

The building won't be free - there will be materials (timber, straw-bales, roofing materials etc.) that you will need to buy beforehand, and some preliminary work to do. We can advise you on the design and construction of the building. We will provide free labour during the course, representing a considerable saving.

Some things we've built on previous courses:

* sheep shed, Winslow
* vegetable store for a farmer near Oxford
* stable, near High Wycombe
* children's play house, Winslow
* acupuncture studio, Oxford
* allotment club house, Wolverton

Actually it doesn't have to be a barbecue - it could be a wall or something else you need. The construction method is slower than straw-bale though, so it can't be a large building - unless we start it for you, and you finish it off.

Pictured is one of the two barbecues we've built here. Again there will be some preparatory work (foundations), and some costs - around £85 for the subsoil, and then some extra for concrete / slate slabs for the top, and metal for the tray and grille.

This could be an earth oven - fantastic for producting tons of delicious pizzas or bread. You'll need to build some sort of base - it could be brick, stone, or timber (like ours). You'll also need some clayey soil, and a tonne bag of sharp sand.

You could also have a cob wall, bench, table or other construction.

INDEX

* home
* topics
* factsheets
* books
* courses
* shop
* forum
* links
* more
* contact
* search

Topics

125 topics and growing (as of 15th November 2008).

'big picture' environment, climate change, politics, economics, development etc.

shelter building, renovation, straw-bale, rammed earth, cob, timber, tipis, yurts, earthships, natural paints, lime, roofing etc.

energy saving it, peak oil, solar, wind, wood, biogas, pedal-power, etc.

food & drink preparing, preserving, cooking, vegetarianism, veg boxes, farmers' markets, homebrewing, cheesemaking etc.

land gardening, smallholding, planning, trees, hedges, livestock, poultry, bees, compost, orchards etc.

water saving it, moving it, rainwater harvesting, compost toilets, waterless urinals, greywater, ponds, reed beds etc.

transport getting about sustainably - public transport, car sharing, biodiesel, veg oil motoring, cycling etc.

wild things bushcraft, wild food, camping, bow-making, wildlife, outdoor pursuits, fishing, game, woodlands etc.

household furniture, fittings, crafts, DIY, waste & recycling, computing, natural cleaners, green shopping etc.

people babies, bodycare, herbal remedies, natural soaps, essential oils, green funerals, jewellery, clothes etc.

society culture, communities, money & trade, LETS systems, education, eco-holidays, local groups etc.

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Factsheets

factsheets

Basic introductions to a range of topics, plus how to take the next step.

the big picture:
environment,
politics,
economics
low-impact living

shelter:
building,
renovation,
accommodation
lime
living roofs
natural paints
rammed earth building
round wood timber framing
straw-bale building
timber building

energy:
saving,
reducing emissions,
renewables
biogas
green electricity
ground source heat pumps
solar electricity
solar hot water
wind generators
wood stoves

land:
gardening,
smallholding,
planning
beekeeping
composting
fruit trees
organic gardening
poultry
woodland management

water:
harvesting,
moving,
saving,
plus sewage
compost toilets
rainwater harvesting

transport:
getting about sustainably
biodiesel
veg oil motoring

wild things:
bushcraft,
wild food,
the great outdoors,
crayfish,
wild food

household:
interiors,
furniture,
fittings,
crafts
natural cleaners

people:
birth,
death,
health,
bodycare
essential oils
herbal medicine
natural bodycare

society:
community,
trade,
culture
communities

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Links To Other Useful Websites

Thousands of links on over 100 topics. Mainly UK sites, but also some good information sites from other countries. If you would like to recommend a site, please contact us: http://www.lowimpact.org/contact.htm