Hippie community should leave habitat in forest

A special community in the English forests must leave its self-built houses after sixteen years.

The Steward Community Woodland, consisting of 21 people, including nine children, lives in the countryside of Dartmoor (Devon) in homemade houses of wood and recycled materials. Wood Landers try to lead a sustainable life by generating energy with solar panels and grow their own fruit and vegetables. They experiment with permaculture and small-scale forest management and give courses to adults and children about this. Most children are educated at home, but have friends in the surrounding villages. Since their inception they have already had thousands of visitors from all over the world who wanted to learn a sustainable way of life.

photo:
Steward Community / crowdfunding page

Their application for a permanent planning permission was eventually rejected because of their camp would have a detrimental effect on the character and appearance of the National Park. Also, there would be too little attention to a number of species in the forest, including the otter.

Sonny Parsons lives with her husband and three children in the community and says that leaving the community would feel like leaving her family. 'I have no idea what we would have if we are deported. It would not only be terrible to leave our homes, but also to leave our 'family'. All children in the community have been brought together as a family. '

Wood Landers now
a crowdfunding campaign launched in the hope to collect enough money to file a lawsuit against the decision. To thank the community conceived in its own style counterparts. When a donation to donors example Woodland tea, flower seeds received or homemade balm or join a course primitive fire.