Sun 24 Sept 2017 (2.00 - 5.00)
No need to book - just come on over! :-D
Guided Eco Tours at 2.30 and 3.30
includes polytunnel, wildflower meadows, photovoltaics, birdboxes, reedbed waste treatment
Homemade Cream Teas from 3.00 to 5.00
2017 is the second year that Othona participates in West Dorset Open EcoHomes. West Dorset EcoHomes is opening sixteen homes around Bridport, Dorchester, Beaminster and Lyme Regis. This event is organised in association with National Green Open Homes: The National Network for Low-Carbon Homes.
For details of the 16 other homes visit West Dorset page on Green Open Homes website.
OR download the Open EcoHomes brochure pdf.
Othona West Dorset is a community and retreat centre which runs residential and day courses and meetings throughout the year. The first community here was founded in the 1920s by Adela Curtis, a pioneer of living with nature, living lightly and composting, and author of “In Praise of Littleness”.
More than fifty photovoltaic panels generate most of our electricity needs during the day, and we are looking at ways of storing this energy in the future. The polytunnel grows a large proportion of the salads on site, with cut-and-come-again techniques, compost and manure in raised beds and companion planting in clear evidence. A fruit cage for soft fruit and apple and plum trees are fully mature, and we are planning further raised beds. The sewage is processed by a septic tank and two vertical-flow reed beds.
The grounds are thoughtfully managed for biodiversity and wildlife, with four types of orchid, wildflower meadows and bird boxes. Details of each year’s management – areas mown, timing of work – are recorded for future reference. Part of the grassland is protected as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI).
The Lodge dates from 1996 and was constructed in three weeks by a team of self-build trainees and trainers. It is a five bedroomed home for Core Community members, with timber frame and cladding, insulated by Warmcell recycled paper pulp.
The vision of a sustainable community with a light impact on the environment and low resource use was central to the original community on this site (1920s to 1950s). Othona was given the land and buildings in 1965; as a spiritual community rooted in the Christian heritage it embraces people of all faiths and none. A sense of our interdependence with the natural world is close to its heart.
Othona West Dorset's grounds are adjacent to National Trust land through which you can walk down to the sea. We are also within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Come and explore...and have a yummy cream tea!