Just cranking through telly stuff and I came across this, promoting that nonsensical "build your own dream home" programme that so annoys me! But this is about a couple who were GIVEN 7 acres by a West Wales project for sustainable living to build on and prove they could thrive.... How the hell does anyone get to know about this kind of thing? Because ME, along with most of the people in and of Wales itself, would have stampeded for the chance at once!

www.msn.com/en-gb/money/homes-propertyse...BBoPWjQ&ocid=UE07DHP

The couple, with daughter Elfie and son Cosmo, joined the community of Lammas in Pembrokeshire to fulfil their desire to truly get back to nature.

Simon says: "We've been moving into this way of living for a decade. We're trying to follow our dreams, live a simple life."

Simon, a former photographer, and Jasmine, who worked in environmental education, were given a seven-acre plot by the Welsh Assembly on the condition that within five years they could prove they were 75 per cent self-sufficient - if not, they would be asked to leave.

The clause included producing their own firewood, shelter, managing their own waste, producing energy and, by no means least, running a small business.


Children called "Elfie" and "Cosmo" - not working class Welsh, is my guess! And yes, that's a snipey sneer... I admit it: I'm jealous!!!

But seriously, how does anyone find out about this kind of project or opportunity? Did anyone else hear about it before now?

Funny sidenote, lammas in Finnish means a sheep.

Ahhhh. Well I think it's "sheep" involved in this too. The middle-middle classes wanting to step out of their woolly pens for an adventure in the fields.... they can go home if it gets tough. The (usually English) British middle-middle classes do this kind of thing now and again - they all spent a year or two travelling around in flowery double decker buses in the 90s as New Age Travellers, with terribly dirty dreadlocks. Then went home to their parents when it got a bit boring and got jobs as accountants in the family firms. And they can be spotted regularly down on the English south and south-west coasts, "down-sizing" and starting cafes - until the pickings turn out to be too meagre for their liking and then it's back off to London again.

What galls me is that those people who would really tuck into this kind of "gift" for life and perhaps generations to come don't even get to hear about it! It must be advertised in The Lady and Horse & Hound, and suchlike.

Haha you reminded me of a bunch that arrived in the woods near penzance back in the 90s. They came for the daffodil season and built benders in the wood. They all camped together and built themselves a little village...they planted what they called a garden, which was um pansies....in a wood....they'd go off skipping at the old safeway toward long rock, competing for freegans with families, homeless and destitute. They claimed to be switched on far more than any of us mere mortal locals. They were terrible at picking daffs and made next to no money from it. But hey, they had giros too. And....allowances from their good folks up country....sizeable ones..bought a lot of hash with those allowances too.
One of them used a friends address for their giro, didn't collect two giros for over 6 weeks. In the end my friend who was skint, cashed them. A couple of weeks later this person arrived wanting their giros. They were gobsmacked that someone could have cashed them. Seemed to not have heard of forging signatures my what a sheltered life they'd led! The kind of sheltered life that meant they didn't need to earn, or cash their giros...
In the end, these people were um kind of ushered out of the area. I had nowt to do with that of course.

I adore over privileged arrogant fake hippy dropouts me

I can't bear them! Plumping around the country being "wild" and "free" (dirty and scabies-ridden, more like). They should be "ushered out" pdq, as far as I'm concerned.

Haha I just had another memory. They organised a 'party' in their little Ewok village which a few of us kind of um took over. We took a big ghetto blaster and a stack of batteries and blasted out Rafi's Revenge by ADF at humungous volume levels all through the yoghurt weaving sessions they had planned Happy days