Link: ; rel="alternate"; hreflang="en"
The couple who quit their high paid jobs to live off-grid

The couple who quit their high paid jobs to live off-grid

Charis and Matthew live a very different lifestyle to your average family

 

A family who escaped the “rat race” of the city to live completely off grid have revealed that their only bill left is council tax. Seven years ago, Essex vets Charis and Matthew Watkinson decided to drop everything and start afresh.

For the pair it was a big, and daunting idea – not least due to their lack of farming experience. But, now parents to Elsa, five, and 18-month-old Billy, the family of four have found a way to adapt to everything from their man-powered washing machine to their horse-poo powered cooking gas by using solely the land they live off.

Speaking from Beeview Farm in Pembrokeshire, Charis, 34, said: “We were in Essex when the London riots were going on and they got within a mile of us on the last night. “Then there was the Occupy London which was all about relying on consumerism and that affected us we did rely on shops. “We just figured we wanted to be able to look after ourselves and be a bit more self sufficient.” For the couple the idea continued to grow, prompted by some research into today’s climate crisis.

The Essex vet added: “Neither of us are from Wales but we knew about Newport as we had been camping here and loved the area. “I think by the time we handed in our notices I knew I needed to do it. As we were just locuming after we moved we didn’t have a job lined up so living without a stable plan was a big thing. But we were ready to get going. “Otherwise we would have bought [a house] – we almost had it that way with a mortgage and a job but we didn’t want to carry on with the rat race.
We almost did it without thinking about it.”

read more here…..

 

 

Images: Robert Melen

Images: Matthew and Charis Watkinson

Global Climate Action Summit 2018 San Francisco

Global Climate Action Summit 2018 San Francisco

WHEN :  Wed, Sep 12, 2018 — Fri, Sep 14, 2018
WHERE: San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world

 

California Climate Action Summit

GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT

The Global Climate Action Summit will bring leaders and people together from around the world to “Take Ambition to the Next Level.” It will be a moment to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of states, regions, cities, companies, investors and citizens with respect to climate action.

It will also be a launchpad for deeper worldwide commitments and accelerated action from countries—supported by all sectors of society—that can put the globe on track to prevent dangerous climate change and realize the historic Paris Agreement.

The decarbonization of the global economy is in sight. Transformational changes are happening across the world and across all sectors as a result of technological innovation, new and creative policies and political will at all levels.

States and regions, cities, businesses and investors are leading the charge on pushing down global emissions by 2020, setting the stage to reach net zero emissions by midcentury.​​

ATTENDING THE SUMMIT

People everywhere are encouraged to participate in the hundreds of affiliate events taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world during the week of September 10-14th, including climate action panels, workshops, tours, exhibits and other special events. The full affiliate event schedule will be posted here this summer.

From September 12-14, you can virtually attend the Summit by streaming it live on YouTubeFacebook and Twitter. In person, Summit attendance for the plenary and other high-level sessions is by invitation and will require accreditation. If you represent an organization ready to make a major climate commitment at the Summit, please send details about that proposed announcement by clicking here.

At the heart of the Paris Climate Change Agreement is the commitment by national governments to review their progress and rachet up the ambition of national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The Global Climate Action Summit, happening midway between Paris 2015 and 2020, is timed to provide the confidence to governments to ‘step up’ and trigger this next level of ambition sooner rather than later.

The momentum we generate this year must lead to bending the curve of emissions down by 2020—science advises us that this is gives the world the best opportunity to prevent the worst effects of climate change. 2018 therefore must be the beginning of a new phase of action and ambition on climate change.

The Summit will underscore the urgency of the threat of climate change by mobilizing the voices and experience of real people, in real communities already facing real and stark threats. It will challenge and channel the energy and idealism of people everywhere to step up and overcome it.

At the Summit, international and local leaders from states, regions, cities, businesses, investors and civil society—known as “non-party stakeholders/non-state actors”—will be joined by national government leaders, scientists, students, nonprofits and others in a new wave of mobilization.

They will be sharing what they have achieved to date and committing to doing more to usher in the era of decarbonization, greater levels of sustainability and prosperity for the many rather than the few.

These actors will also celebrate a range of new climate commitments under five key areas: Healthy Energy Systems, Inclusive Economic Growth, Sustainable Communities, Land Stewardship and Transformative Climate Investments.

The confidence, enthusiasm and support generated by this wave of action now and through 2019, will embolden national governments leaders to trigger the necessary domestic processes ahead of 2020 while also triggering more states and regions, cities, businesses and investors to ‘step up’ further action themselves.

Find all details and informations here at http://globalclimateactionsummit.org/

The Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Allliance

Who We Are

The Rainforest Alliance is a growing network of farmers, foresters, communities, scientists, governments, environmentalists, and businesses dedicated to conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods. We are an international non-profit organization working to build strong forests, healthy agricultural landscapes, and thriving communities through creative, pragmatic collaboration.

 

Issues We’re Tackling:

 

Our Work: Forests

The Rainforest Alliance uses a comprehensive range of strategies to conserve forests around the world. Our conservation partners include indigenous forest communities, governments, civil society organizations, and companies committed to responsible sourcing. Together, we have helped prevent the deforestation of nearly 4.4 million hectares in high-risk landscapes and forest frontiers.

 

 

Our Work: Food & Farming

The Rainforest Alliance works with the farmers on the front lines of the global movement to build food security through sustainable agriculture. We train farmers in some of the world’s most vulnerable landscapes to farm in a way that boost crop yields, conserves forests, protects streams and rivers, and nurtures soil health.

 

Our Work: Wildlife

The Rainforest Alliance protects biodiversity through landscape management that helps conserve standing forests, rejuvenate degraded land, and protect rivers and streams. We’ve trained more than 1 million farmers in methods that boost the productivity of the land, thereby preventing agricultural expansion and the destruction of vital forest habitat

 

Our Work: Climate

The Rainforest Alliance works with rural communities, businesses, and governments to advance sustainable economic development through training; promote climate-smart land management, greenhouse gas mitigation policies, and technical assessments; and support national governments’ participation in climate policies and frameworks.

 

Our Work: People

The economic security and the wellbeing of farming and forest communities are central to a long-term vision of a rebalanced Earth. That’s why we’ve embedded concrete strategies to support the environmental, economic, and social health of rural communities around the world into our training and certification programs.

 

Our Vision

We envision a world where people and nature thrive in harmony.

 

Our Approach

The Rainforest Alliance has recently merged with UTZ, a Netherlands-based program and label for sustainable farming worldwide. Together, we are joining forces to rejuvenate agricultural landscapes conserve forests, foster sustainable livelihoods and build climate resilience across vulnerable regions; transform business practices and drive supply chain innovation, and engage consumers in positive change.

Learn More……

Integrity & Accountability

As an organization that depends on the generosity of people like you, we know your confidence in how we spend your donations is paramount. To earn and maintain your trust, we have developed policies to ensure transparency, integrity, and accountability throughout our programs.

Learn More….

 

Our Team

The Rainforest Alliance’s talented, multilingual, and diverse staff works hand-in-hand around the world with farmers, foresters, businesses, researchers, civic organizations, and governments to meet our shared mission of conserving biodiversity and ensuring sustainable livelihoods.

Visit Website for all interesting informations on The RainForest Alliance