Episode 3: Tinkers Bubble

Tinkers Bubble is an eco community in Somerset, England. What's special about the way they live?

Tinker's Bubble is a great example of a simple living community. In contrast to their wealthy neighbors with large houses, the community lives in small homes made with canvas or wood from the woodland

Formed in 1994 by a group of people with similar ideas of living off the land, the community fluctuates and there can be up to fifteen adults and children living under the trees on top of the hill.

Owned by a cooperative the land consists 40 acres of woodland, pastures, and apple orchards. We learned of them by word of mouth, as they don't have their own website and they are not listed in the usual community directories.

Low-impact living is the major idea of this community. This is easily seen when visiting. For one, they have strict principles of not using fossil fuels. They cook on a wood stove or over an open fire, use wind and solar energy for light, and have a huge steam-powered locomotive engine, which operates in a straw-bale barn (for noise insulation), where they mill trees from their land. For their farm work and any heavy moving, they have a Shire horse, named Samson, who when not working grazes in the apple orchards.