Pentiddy Woods
- background
Pentiddy Woods
is a family run permaculture smallholding comprising of approximately
27 acres of woodland and grazing land on the edge of Pensilva, Cornwall.
It aims to provide an example of sustainable livelihoods based around
woodland and small scale food production.
Bought in 2001 the land, previously used for grazing, has been transformed
by the planting of over 15000 trees to create a coppice woodland.
A productive garden, polytunnel and vegetable growing area has also
been established as well as an orchard, nut trees and the establishment
of a whole host of interesting multi-use perrenial plants.
Pentiddy Woods
has been designed with permaculture principles, to enable us to provide
a large part of our families needs in fuel and we grow as much of
our own food as possible. We have a flock of (well, two!) hebridean
ewes, 3 hens, 2 beehives (no bees at the moment - sending out the
message!) and the vegetable garden, fruit bushes and the fruit and
nut trees mentioned above.
Part of the existing
agricultural barn has been converted into a workshop for Heartwood
Creations an ethical business that is part of Cornwall
Woodworks, a partnership of woodland specialists providing
a range of bespoke products, courses and services from the woodland
environment.
Education
Both of us provide
education as part of our services. Younger children have the options
of Forest School or Muck and Magic, while older children and adults
can take advantage of the full range of courses offered by Heartwood
Creations.
We hope also
that by living the way we do at Pentiddy, we can provide an accessible
and inspiring example of sustainable living, giving people the opportunity
to learn ways of reducing their impact on the planet and saving time,
money and precious resources.
Alternative technology
Our mobile home
has only a land line phone connected from the 'outside world', all
the other 'services' we have provided by alternative means. We have
a 400Watt 12Volt wind turbine and a 190W photovoltaic solar panel
which provide all of our power needs, at least most of the time. Our
water is stored rainwater from the barn roof, and our toilet needs
are met by a dry composting toilet. A small reed bed system will filter
our 'greywater', a Stanley cooker range (woodfired of course) provides
our heat and hot water in the winter, and solar water heating panels
provide hot water in the summer. All of these systems have been installed
and some built or modified by us. Plans to install a drinking water
supply using either a compound ram pump or wind pump are being explored,
making our supply sustainable and 'future proofed'!
