Thanks for jumping in. Welcome. I hope I haven't come across as critical at your expense. I was very intrigued by your project and I read the site more or less

Thanks for jumping in. Welcome. I hope I haven't come across as critical at your expense. I was very intrigued by your project and I read the site more or less cover to cover. The house is very beautiful. I also agree with much of what you say (and the things you didn't say) about zoning restrictions being used in a way which is harmful. I do not think there is sound economic reasoning compelling governments to artificially inflate housing prices. I think if anything, the opposite is true. Regarding the discussion here: Most of what I was saying doesn't necessarily apply directly to you but vaguely to that part of the "sustainability movement" that I don't have a name for. That is people who have a certain aesthetic (for lack of a better word) preference for home grown foods, locally produced goods, traditional practices and such. A lot of it seems to be reactionary to industrialisation. Ecological arguments (with climate change being the contemporary variety) become a vehicle for making this preference part of something bigger. Often the arguments themselves are very silly. 'Food miles', are a perfect example. That is, the ecological effect is zero, harmful or negligible relative to the level of advocacy. At other times they are not silly in this way. That is, the proposed action or lifestyle may be actually ecologically beneficial. I'd like to note that I am inclined to think this project falls into this latter category. However, I am also inclined to think that it is not a scalable solution and is therefore unlikely to be part of a wide solution to the ecological problems it averts. Regardless, the logic is still backwards. The ecological arguments are not the starting point with houses such as these the logical solution. I think that if mass produced housing or increased scale agriculture turned out to be solutions to the same ecological problems, they would not have the same advocates. The house (or a hobby farm or local produce), is a preconceived end searching for a grand Raison d'Etre. This sort of flawed logic opens doors for the type of illogic you can see in food miles. More harmfully, it opens the doors to bad government decisions or outright exploitation such as the (now dead, I hope) US plan for ethonol production. The other reason this rubs me the wrong way is precisely because it is beautiful. Just like garden markets & hobby farms, I like this house. I would be very proud of it if it were mine. I am frustrated that those that share my preference feel they need more of a justification then this. In any case, the overwhelming response here is positive. Even the criticism is not really a criticism of you or the project, but of a general phenomenon. I may be near Wales in about a year. If I am, I think I'll be tempted to drive by for a peak.