PRACTICAL ANARCHY EAST MIDLANDS ANARCHIST BULLETIN NOVEMBER 1995 If one of the basic ideas of Anarchism is that of people taking back control over their own lives, then examples of local and individual control of Housing, Food Production and other essentials of life, are much needed evidence of the practicality of the Anarchist ideal. Two ongoing examples of such endeavours, indeed of Anarchy in Action, carried out by non-anarchists, are the allotments at Tarporley, Cheshire, and the self built 'Yurt' of Bob, Jules and Amber in North Nottinghamshire. The Tarporley Allotment site differs from many Municipal sites insofar as the ground of the site, donated in past years by a local benevolent landowner, is owned by the local community, and managed on its behalf by a local body with a large, voluntary membership, albeit the British Legion. The land is approximately 3-3/4 acres in extent, and has around 15 good sized allotments. Unlike many municipal allotment sites there are usually no vacant plots. The site is of light, salldy soil and slopes slightly to the south west. The full range of garden produce is grown. Everything from potatoes to leeks, cabbage, peas, beans artichokes, apples, pears, tomatos, courgettes, marrows, sweetcorn. strawberries raspberries. Walking around the allotments this September bore ample witness to the practicality of Kropotkins vision of a largely self-sufficient and economically Autarchic Anarchist Society. There were racks of onions and shallots drying in the sun, runnerbean plants still laden with beans. On those allotments with trees apples and pears were ripening. In the Greenhouses tomatos were turning red on the plants. On one allotment there were Italian Plum Tomatos, Cherry Tomatos and 'ordinary' tomatos. On another there were onions the size of melons. Main crop potatoes were being harvested, as they were needed. Many of the allotment holders had shown great improvisation in recycling materials to build sheds, coldframes and greenhouses. One such greenhouse was constructed out of old double glazing panels salvaged by a worker from a windows installation firm. Most sheds had gutters and barrels to collect and save rainwater. Most had good sized compost heaps. The quality and freshness of food grown on such allotments far surpasses that available in supermarkets. Among the allotment holders there is much practical mutual aid. Manure is bulk purchased from a local farmer and delivered in piles around the site. Seeds are swapped. Surplus produce exchanged or given away, neighbour' s allotments watered when they are ill or on holiday. There are now vast tracts of derelict land in urban and inner city Britain, there are also vast acres of ' set-aside' in the rural areas. It would be a real step towards 'Practical Anarchy' if people were to demand the right to use this land for allotments or low impact homes, and Anarchists become active in local campaigns to achieve such ends. One example of such a 'low-impact' home is that self built by Bob and Jules. After a difficult time in their lives when they had to give up their city based flat and live for a year in a van, literally on the road, they decided they wanted a better living space. After much planning and research into 'Yurts' the mobile Tent / Hut / Shed of asiatic nomads, they took the first step in March 1995.They started by pollarding Willows at Lowden to make poles for the lattice work of the walls and the roof poles. This entailed hours of laborious work stripping bark, steaming the poles and bending them to shape, sanding the poles smooth, building the lattice work. The beautiful polished wooden floor of the ' Yurt' was constructed from wood salvaged from a Police Station, the Wooden door was constructed from salvaged weather boards from the same building. They carried out much of the carpentry work, including the making of the central 'crown', this being a strong circle of wood into which slot all the roof poles, while living in their van parked behind the rented workshop. Having thus 'prefabricated' all the different elements of the ' Yurt': lattice frame, roof poles, crown, canvas covering, blanket lining, flooring, they took two days to construct the Yurt on site. The result is a beautiful and comfortable home. Cool in Summer, and warm in winter. Sturdy enough to survive the worst winds of winter. With its own box stove for heat, water supply near at hand. The interior is a round, domed room, with chimney and stove in the centre, with a polished wood floor. The willow lattice work is backed by overlapping blankets for insulation. The lattice work provides anchorage for small shelves and to hang up all the tools and implements of a practical life. The ' Yurt' is capable of being dismantled and reassembled on other sites so enabling Bob to move from job to job. He hopes to be able to make a living by hedging, ditching and tree nursery work. He also has plans to document and publish a book / pamphlet on how to build a 'Yurt'. Jules hopes to be sufficiently settled to allow Amber to attend School, though she feels their lifestyle will give Amber a more balanced view of life than other children experience. Neither Bob nor Jules are Anarchists, Bob is a Buddhist, but their life of practical self reliance, their vision of 'living lightly on the earth' is one which many Anarchists share, and which many would want to follow if they had the courage. JPS BOX EMAB, 88, ABBEY STREET, DERBY, UK