Your article on the rise of woodland off-gridders (‘It makes more sense than a nine-to-five’, 3 July) highlighted a fast-growing trend, as people of all ages and classes turn away from high energy prices and over-consumption, and take the most concrete of actions to cut their own carbon emissions.
But the communes highlighted in the article have not been successful over the years. Communities are a better model than communes – separate households in the same area, perhaps pooling energy generation and road maintenance, but not much else.
This is the sort of development that local authorities and councils should be encouraging.
In off-grid communes, decision-making processes can lead to deadlock and slow the rapid development needed. Off-grid.net runs an off-grid show-home in a small community near the border between Devon and Cornwall, and we also have open days.
Nick Rosen
Editor, off-grid.net
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