Huts under the Somersets sun and rain

The dream of a simple country life has drawn people back to the land for decades. I have visited a long-standing alternative community in Somerset to find out how they live nowadays and whether the financial crisis has affected their pursuit of a rural idyll. If Tinkers Bubble had an official motto it would probably be: We belong to the land, the land doesnt belong to us . The Diggers, a 17th-century band of agrarian communists who argued that land should be made available to the poor, inspired them. The project began in 1994. The land is owned by a cooperative, which is Tinkers Bubble Trust. By now the members have had the long-term target to pay back the 55.000 pounds that, the co-operative of the shareholders gave for that woodland. Since the beginning the founders were determined that, the structure and the development of common goals would lead them to sustainability. This one-off 40-acre eco-village, where the communal aspect rarely operates on such a formal basis. Residents come and go like a tide that ebbs and flows but somehow just keeps going. There used to be ten but nowadays, only two of the founding members have remained on the site and the rest have dispersed around the British countryside. Thus, there has been an influx of new members today. Tinkers Bubble is an example of low-impact agricultural development created by people who want to work with the natural life cycle in a way that is friendly towards the environment and themselves. An important aspect of Tinkers Bubble is their self-built settlers, which are wooden shacks built from a good quality of timber. The isolated community in rural Somerset does have some mod cons such a telephone line installed many moons ago by a radio station. And it does welcome visitors like me. Patch, a hardworking and rather conscious member of the group, advised me to bring a rain set, warm cloths and a torch. Visitors are expected to pay 5 pounds a day to make up for the working time lost showing them around. In the end, however, I

paid them with time instead of money, offering to do any job going: gardening, weeding and planting, and even scything despite the shine or rain. The closest formal community is Stoke-Sub-Hamdon, well known for its posh summerhouses and their manicured gardens about an hour away from Yeovil. A vast silence reigns over the woodland, which offers no hint of human life within. In contrast with the villages luxury, on the top of the Ham Hill, Tinkers Bubble holds an apparent modest livelihood. Tash, who is a four months pregnant and engaged to Patch, immediately offered me a cup of tea. She narrates that they have settled down at the Tinkers Bubble about ten months ago, after being frequent visitors. David, has been for eight years there and he has a regular visitor, his girlfriend Suzi. She normally works as a carer somewhere near Bristol. She says: Life is ideally planned here , in comparison with her life in the city that gets lonely and depressing. My task is to clean up the two guest houses and then, helping Marco to prepare dinner. Right outside the main communal building, which houses the kitchen and a communal sitting area, the dishes over the sink are hanging up so that they gain space inside. Weather permitting, meal is cooked on a open fire. A tough middle-aged man stands at the fire stove, frying onions. Marco O Polo, a nickname he gave himself to match his mentality, as a true traveler. He is the veteran of the visitors and thus, considers Tinkers Bubble his spiritual place . By 6pm everyone is back from their work and watching a massive omelet slowly cooking. Beetroot soup and fresh salad are eaten at the big communal table while they wait. Soon, the Tinkers are ricocheted all around me and I am able to see their faces under the dim light and the fires smoke. Ben, a blond sunburned man in his early 30s, breaks the ice with the temporary guest and subsequently he welcomes me. Around midnight I am walking through the green paths with my torch in search for the compost toilet, but I come across a crowd. The community members are awake and concerned that another woman is lost in the woods. They alert the local police, but she is found safe and sound the next morning. Except myself, Evan is another visitor, known a Wwoofer as Tinkers Bubble is part of the WWOOF scheme ( Working Weekends On Organic Farms ), which means that dozen of foreigners have visited and seen to be given shelter under its wing. The

Bubbles have chosen to protest by living like that, instead of a calm course of existence , states Evan interestingly, while we are patiently gathering blackcurrants. After a spicy curry dinner made by Mike, plates are washed, individually, and everyone sits around the open fire. Half-full mugs of cider or brandy are passed around, while private thoughts slip out and personal stories are being narrated. The days chef, and one of the founding members, Mike, heads off for a bath. The communal bathhouse includes a bathtub and a wood-fired water tank. Outside of it the Bubbles do the laundry. Pete and Ben, start a long discussion, while Marco plays guitar and lures us from the night. The communitys history has turned a new leaf. The members who initially have settled down in this site are gone. Most of them began from the scratch another sustainable project, or have been just continued living their rural dream elsewhere. Tash, is the only woman living there permanently and if once her baby is born it will be the only child in the community eventually. The main formality of the community is that, they run a Thursday meeting, which everyone has to attend. They discuss about any proposals or any exclusion processes. Residents can be asked to leave if someone feels a person recruited does not fit in to the community. This has happened a numerous times during the past few years. I hope I was not the reason for those members to chose to give up the community , says Pete Wright.
1

He is a Buddhist

and an agricultural worker, who has lived at Tinkers Bubble for more than a decade. He and Mike have hung up since the very beginning. However, it is Petes turn to leave soon, as he is gradually preparing his own project under a similar lifestyle. I have been here for very long time, I guess , he says and looks at the remnant dwellings of the first residents who left the Bubble, now resided by the new-age members or bygone visitors. The story of Tinkers Bubble is complicated. Pete, tries to run through its history. Tinkers Bubble was formed in 1994 or 1996 - we occupied the land before any official planning permissions . This project was created by a group of people who wanted to live off the land and go to claim a piece of good life, he adds. Bob Bare privately owned the land in the Norton Covert, which was by then for sale.
1 Wright 2011, interview Appendix E

However, the same group of people didnt have the money to buy the land so they invite more people to come in. A bunch of shareholders came in and myself. . can settle down the hill for the rest of his life. Many people used to believe that the Tinkers Bubble community would never thrive. The villagers attitude was extremely xenophobic in the beginning, but the major problem was of all the planning regulations. As a result, the Tinkers had a tough time early on but by now, their relationship has grown, and Tinkers Bubble is considered part of the local community. In spite of all the allegations, the time proved what they were about: a community that floats around human needs, wants and attempts to reconcile the biophysical capacity of the lands resources. Pete says that Tinkers Bubble is a sustainable commune, but not selfsufficient . He continues, We are not consuming much, sort of convenient products. We live with what we have. We make things ourselves, without any waste involved and everything taken from natural resources. They are significantly self-sufficient in energy and water. They own a few photovoltaic panels and a small windmill. The name of Tinkers Bubble comes from the fact that, in the past years the Gypsies used to go up the hill to water their horses. Ben Sampson adds, Almost all of our food is grown organically in our fields, but we are partly sufficient as all the grains and the nuts are bought from the Essential catalogue , which is an bulk organic distributor. .
3 2

Each

permanent resident of the Bubble has to pay the amount of 2.000 pounds, and then he

They make their own bread. Lately, they also take some of their food from the

bins of the local store. It is not dangerous as the products are quite fresh, they are things that have been put there mostly as just happen to be damaged and thus, they have thrown them away , says Pete.
4

It doesnt mean that we dont have money to

buy things. . The food is taken partly on principle with the communitys commitment to freeganism and its anti-consumerism manifestation. Nevertheless, what makes Tinkers Bubble exceptional is the major idea of not using fossil fuels, with the exception of one shared car. They occasionally use paraffin lamps, but only during the winter. I think the nicest thing about this community is
2 Wright 2011, interview Appendix E 3 Sampson 2011, interview Appendix D 4 Wright 2011, interview Appendix E

that we are all prepare to live without a direct use of fossil fuels on sight , says Ben.
5

Reading behind their words, you can hint that they have overcome many challenges and they have learn to compromise with small things, in order to create a prototype model for a low-carbon society. Julia Steinberger, a lecturer in ecological economics at the University of Leeds, says: I think I would say that, I have a lot of admiration for the people who try to do this. So, I certainly wouldnt criticize them for not being perfect, because I think that is probably difficult or impossible, but to some extent you have to wonder whats under the power of the individual or whats under the power of a smaller community compared to whats under the power of the nation state important corporations and so on. , she states about their relationship between resource use and societal performance.
6

With respect to the communitys rules, Ben explains further that, We are supposed to do 3 days of work every two weeks. But it is really much more flexible, as some people do a lot more because they want to. I am actually surprised that this does not cause any problems here! . to settle down to one community . Ben continues: We do not share income, so everyone has to figure out his own means . He works on a nearby farm and has lied in various close-knit communities in the past. Pete, is also making money although, from selling off the vegetables he grows. Ben adds: Even though the job that I do is poorly paid, it gives me enough money to pay twelve days of the average house rent and the basics, concerning my food. Even quite well paid people cant say that, I think. , he says referring to the expensive lifestyle in the cities. Ben talks in details about their weekly expenses. He says: We only pay the man who owns the land, Bob, for 1 pound per week, which is quite reasonable, given how much this place is worth. . Pete offers to
7

He says: Tinkers Bubble was my last shot

5 Sampson 2011, interview Appendix D 6 Steinberger 2011, interview Appendix G 7 Sampson 2011, interview Appendix D

explain the agreement a bit further, Everybody who lives here, people are allowed to pay slowly for their share. It is 2000 pounds for a share. You pay once for ever .
8

During the winter period, there is enough paid work for everyone on Tinkers Bubbles land. They harvest the apples and subsequently press apple juice. They make jam, chutney, cider, and cider brandy to sell them out at local farmers markets. Ben firmly believes that, this place is ideal for him and his needs, and being a longterm person he plans to rebuild his dwelling. I feel that I have more choices of what I want, than in the outside world. For me it seems like the choices that are given in the outside world arent really like choices, they just look like choices. They just give you lots of different flavors of the same food. .
9

It is all about choices at the end of the

day. Pete is not so sure what Ben says, therefore he replies: I have been living here quite long, it is difficult to say what is different here from the outside world, really.
10

He thinks that, Tinkers community is a utopia, in many ways . I oppose to his

opinion with the simplest argument of all that, it can not be a utopia here, unless you dont have to pay the bills . However, he says, Tinkers community is a utopia, in many ways. There is something very nice about being in here. It is a peaceful life, with peace of mind. Or maybe I feel more comfortable here, because I have been here so long. . Although, I would understand if any of you as a visitor felt that had a hard time here. Either if you wonder about the compost toilettes, and the bathtub or ask yourself why havent they made a shower instead? . Or Why do they have the fire stove? , Why dont they have proper chairs to sit on? . Marco reappears with a laptop and the guitar on thrown over his shoulder. Before saying good night he says: About the choices stuff, there arent really choices , he agrees with Ben. Several members at Tinkers Bubble have laptops and share a wireless network. But with a router reliant on solar energy, therefore its usage has to be very limited. Given the financial turmoil in the mainstream economy are more people now in search of Tinkers Bubble-style utopia? Ben said: So far it doesnt seem to have happened and I suspect it wont happen. People have to get very desperate first, because it is a matter of difficulty. People find it very difficult to change, as I have
8 Wright 2011, interview Appendix E 9 Sampson 2011, interview Appendix D 10 Wright 2011, interview Appendix E

understood myself. So, people carry on with something until it just doesnt work. There are some exceptions, but the vast majority of people who carry on with something until it doesnt work and then they go through a period of crisis, . And he continues that, I think thats how many people do work. They go through a crisis and then they change their lives and search for alternatives. And for this kind of places like Tinkers Bubble for most of people, they have to go through a personal crisis. Or it could be in a larger scale, if society went through, a country crisis, a worldwide crisis, then, things like this for some people would be possible, but until then, it will only be a minority and maybe that minority will grow but I think it will run very slowly. I wish it wasnt like that. , Ben concludes.
11

Its a beautiful evening, Mike Zair is listening to Adele and sipping some Tinkers Bubble-made cider brandy. Mike is one of the elders of the community a hippy-dressed over 70 years old man. He said: At the moment we are missing the older people, and I personally miss the children.
12

And he continues: We

expanded too quickly and we made some serious mistakes. . Paradise utopia can be boring after a time. You have to have a challenge , he says. One should not think of living in the woods as a picnic excursion , he concludes. This site is a testimony to the enormous number of man hours spent on the land and most importantly, all of the work was undertaken manually. We want diggers not dreamers , cries. Mike is a pragmatist, who wants to accuse the results of their actions at the end of the day. He is at the same time the major idealist of the whole community. He used to work as a tea planter in Sri Lanka and thus, he has experienced the Indian jungle. During the sixties he owned a car company in London but later he gave it up to work as a gardener. It was not too difficult to move into the countryside , he tells. I came back from India with an answer, he adds dont come to tell us how to take after the environment show us where the good examples are and start making your own contribution . From protesting for the squats in Wales, and against modified vegetables outside the Sainsburys supermarkets, Mike learnt from a friend about the establishment of Tinkers Bubble the top of the sacredly Ham Hill.

11 Sampson 2011, interview Appendix D 12 Zair 2011, interview Appendix F

Since then, it has been a mission for life for him to stay close to that hill. He has no intention of leaving Tinker Bubble. Another key character in the foundation of Tinkers Bubble was Simon Fairlie who now lives on land in an environment less structured than in Tinkers Bubble, however, not far away of the community. He owns pigs and cows, and he sells scythes for a living, while editing a magazine called The Land . Throughout the time at Tinkers Bubble, he developed an organization called Chapter 7 to fight for their planning rights and this organization currently help other communities, facing the same problems to set up a sustainable settlement. The organization expresses the need of the people to participate in the planning process and become their own life architects , according to him.
13

Mr. Fairlie fights most of all capitalism and the

way capitalism sucks rural areas dry to the benefit of an urban elite . He continues, The way people are off the land and gather all around in the cities, whereas more people should stay next to the land, eating local food, and step on that. . Julia Steinberger agrees on what these rural communities are able to do. She said: You don need a very rich economy to supply the population . Mr. Fairlie, left from Tinkers Bubble because for a variety of reasons but most importantly because he couldnt expand his ideas. It is difficult to have a sustainable community, when you dont have a sustainable plate , he says. Considering the governments absence in the field of sustainable rural planning. Julia Steinberger, adds to the question of what the future of those communities and eco-settlements are that, The best case scenario is that we are going to be 9 to 10 billion people, in the years to come, and then, 9 to 10 billion people. They are not going to be able to live in eco-settlements they are going to be living in the cities mostly. Therefore, I think that one of the things we have to think about is that, the not going back to the land. We have to think of the future of the industrialization and post-industrialization and what that looks like in an urban context. What is an industrial whole sustainable system look like? What is a sustainable city look like? .

13 Fairlie 2011, interview Appendix H

Therefore, those communities would constitute models of transition towns in the future.
14

Steven Yearley, professor of sociology in the University of Scotland, carry on with the idea that, No I dont think that we will all move to rural communities. In some cases, this is how the future needs to be like and these communities want to start an experiment in trying to make the future now. The problem is overconsumption, and the solution lies in is local development and sort of community self-sustainability Other people are doing it more as a kind of a protest against what they see as the main problems of un-sustainability of contemporary consuming culture and late capitalism. .
15

He says, Tinkers Bubble certainly belongs to the first group, which is trying to

make an experiment in the future. However, they have to be very concerned with whether their project is literally sustainable, in the sense of could one carry on living like this forever or kind of permanently and they have to ask questions about: what is their local impact, where do they get their energy from, where do they get their food from, and what makes them sustainable. So, I think that they have to ask these questions on a long-term basis , he adds. What is remarkable about these communities is that, They have become definitely an experiment on how technology works, how we are related to each other, how the communities can gather and manage themselves, so I think they became important in that sense but they are not a kind of window into the future, just an experiment on alternative ways of living. , he says in conclusion. In a site like this, you feel released by little things such as the life without keys, and you sympathize others life, which is shifted by winds perspective. In a last tribute to the site, beyond the characteristic of sustainability and a long-term activity, this community has realized the need of people for coexistence and cooperation outside the mainstream social forms. Finally, it might as well become an alternative sustainable solution of all the current modern urban problems. Gregory Clayes, professor of the History of Political Though at Royal Holloway, University of London, is not impressed by its members separation. He says, they dont have this very strong communal aspect. They may have other
14 Steinberger 2011, interview Appendix G 15 Yearley 2011, interview Appendix J

communal aspects, but they dont seem to me very communitarian.

16

Tinkers

Bubble, is more like a traditional community. But you would not say that is a successful community, would you? . And he concludes, This is much more a cooperation than leads to communitarianism. They are not doing a great deal in common, they are just doing a little bit in common. . Nevertheless, it is noticeable and understandable that all of Tinkers Bubble members desire to live this way than trying to change the world around them. Over the past 17years the woodlanders like Mike and Pete, who stayed loyal to this passion, now watch their developed homes. They have also inspired more people to follow their paradigm and go all the way up the hill to set up their own livestock.

16 Claeys 2011, interview Appendix B