A survey plane discover a 'lost tribe' in Wales. The sunlight was seen glinting off a solar panel ...

Fri Sep 19 16:44:31 BST 2008

Another Daily Mail article about squatting and land issue... They seem 
to be more and more
interested about this issue, now that "their" properties and real estate 
assets are "liquefying" under
their own feet... Don't worry - Gordon Super Brown just said : << We 
will clean up the City >> !

In the meantime let the banks-sharks <<short-selling>> themselves...

Guy de Blonay, hedge fund manager at New Star,
said: "To bring a sick company to its knees is one thing,
but to destroy healthy companies for a quick buck is another."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/18/banking.creditcrunch

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/19/spain
€500,000 scam of a Spanish Robin Hood
· Man claims he fooled 39 banks into giving loans
· Cash passed to social activists, fugitive says

 >>>>>>>>> http://polaris.moviments.net:8000/crisi

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Important Note Sept 16th 2008

http://www.brithdirmawr.co.uk/

Are you looking for information about the recent planning decision about 
the various buildings at The Roundhouse (built by Jane Faith and Tony 
Wrench) and Tir Ysbrydol (built by Emma Orbach)?
If so, you are in the wrong place.
We are delighted to hear that these projects of our neighbours have 
gained planning approval.
But we are not a contact point for them.
The press keep calling us about it - we're really sorry but we cannot 
help you with this. The Roundhouse and Tir Ysbrydol are our neighbours - 
they are two separate holdings further down the lane.
While we are pleased to hear of their planning result, they are not part 
of Brithdir Mawr Community and we can't represent them to the press. You 
need to leave a message for them directly on 01239 821099 or check their 
website at www.thatroundhouse.info
If you are press wanting a reaction from us about our neighbours 
project, we have here a press release.
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*Lost middle-class tribe's 'secret' eco-village in Wales spotted in 
aerial photograph taken by plane*

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1056637/Lost-middle-class-tribes-secret-eco-village-Wales-spotted-aerial-photograph-taken-plane.html?printingPage=true

Mail Online

By Luke Salkeld

Last updated at 10:49 AM on 17th September 2008

For five happy years they enjoyed simple lives in their straw and mud huts.
Generating their own power and growing their own food, they strived for 
self-sufficiency and thrived in homes that looked more suited to the 
hobbits from The Lord of the Rings.
Then a survey plane chanced upon the 'lost tribe'... and they were 
plunged into a decade-long battle with officialdom.

Yesterday that fight, backed by more modern support for green issues, 
ended in victory.
The eco-community in the Preseli mountains of west Wales was set up in 
1993 and lived contentedly away from the rat race round a 180-acre farm 
bought by Julian and Emma Orbach.
In 1998, it was spotted when sunlight was seen glinting off a solar 
panel on the main building, which was built from straw bales, timber and 
recycled glass.
When the pilot reported back, officials were unable to find any records, 
let alone planning permission, for the mystery hillside village 
surrounded by trees and bushes.

They insisted the grass-covered buildings should be demolished.
The eco-community endured a decade of inquiries, court cases and 
planning hearings.
The 22 villagers fought planners even when they were within hours of the 
bulldozers moving in to demolish their eight homes.
Now, however, they can celebrate, thanks to the Pembrokeshire Coast 
National Park Authority's 'sustainability' policy.
With green issues now getting a more sympathetic hearing, the commune 
has been given planning approval for its roundhouses along with 
lavatories, agricultural buildings and workshops.

Community founder Emma Orbach, a 52-year-old mother of three, said 
yesterday: 'We are really excited and happy as it has been a very long 
battle.
'Even when planning inquiries and court hearings went against us we were 
determined to fight on.
'The villagers are pioneering a new lifestyle and are determined to 
prove it's possible for people to live more simply.'

Tony Wrench, 62, who lives in the original roundhouse with his partner 
Jane, said: 'We are very relieved and delighted.
'We have been able to prove to the planners that it is possible to have 
a sustainable and low-impact community in the countryside.

'We had to prove we were improving the biodiversity of the area and 
conserving the woodland and we did that. It's great that our efforts to 
build a community using renewable resources have now been supported by 
the planners.
'The planners have worked miracles in making a new policy which enables 
communities which are self sufficient to exist.'
Amid the celebrations over the victory, however, it seems that life away 
from the rat race has not run entirely smoothly for the pioneers of 
simple living.
The two founders, architectural historian Julian Orbach, 55, and his 
wife Emma are divorced, and the commune has been split into three entities.

The original 180-acre farm was divided up into the area around the farm, 
a section around the original roundhouse known as Tir Ysbrydol (Spirit 
Land) where Mrs Orbach lives, and 80 acres of pasture and woodland run 
by a community known as Brithdir Mawr.
Each community is independent and they co-exist as neighbours in a more 
traditional style.
Brithdir Mawr continues to support sustainable living based around the 
original farmhouse, with eight adults and four children sharing communal 
meals, looking after goats, horses and chickens - and also holding down 
part-time jobs to raise the £200 per month rent they each pay Mr Orbach, 
who lives in a house in nearby Newport.
The current residents now run businesses such as courses in furniture 
making and sustainable living for around £95 a head.

On their website they explain: 'We are eight big people and four little 
ones who choose to live here: working, eating, meeting and laughing 
together. Being a community is a large part of what we do. To sum up the 
rest; we are striving towards a life in which our footprints are as 
light as they can be.'

One resident, Ben Gabel, 38, who runs a seed business with his partner 
Kate, said: 'It is completely different to what it was. Most people 
would consider the set-up quite normal.
'The kids watch DVDs and we run a business from the farm.'

Find this story at 
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1056637/Lost-middle-class-tribes-secret-eco-village-Wales-spotted-aerial-photograph-taken-plane.html