For an introduction to what Hockerton Housing Project is all about, please click here.

The Housing Project does sound like a demanding thing to be part of. There must be friction points.

I don't see it as demanding. I think everyone here is very open and honest and you need that honesty; but they're very open to listen and to new ideas. When people come forward with a plan, it’s fully thought through, it’s not just a whim. We’ve never had to go to a vote where all of the households have to be present and three of the five have to agree. It’s been clear when ideas make sense.

Can you evict people if they don’t contribute as they are meant to?

No! The houses are private, so the only person that can evict them is the landlord if they're in breach of the lease (which is 999 years long). But I don't think you're going to come and live here if you're not interested in throwing yourself into the project.

Do you interview people to see whether they are suitable?

The business doesn't sell the houses, the private individuals sell the houses. But when the information is sent through to prospective buyers there is a lot of information to read. And the lease is quite clear about what is expected of you and that you have got to be part of the business, of HHP Limited. I think that’s the sticking point for a lot of people; I know that I didn’t quite understand it. But with time you realise it's not as severe as you think it's going to be, that actually it's quite fluid. And it also says in the details of the house sale that prospective buyers are encouraged to come and meet us all so that people can get an understanding of how things work, what the business is, and that they’re very clear what they're buying into.

We also have an induction process with those that move in. We don’t expect them to unpack and then go and get the vegetables planted and tend to the chickens. We give them three months grace so they can just get to feel it, get to learn it. Most people want to get stuck in, but it gives people time and space to understand the project. It does take some understanding and you're always learning; this is the thing here, you're always learning.

I was a shepherdess when I first came; I learnt from somebody else and then ended up looking after the sheep full time. Now I do a lot of beekeeping. I've been really interested in learning about it for the last two years and now there's four of us on the bee team. You're learning something all the time. If you'd asked me what a kilowatt hour was before I started doing the tours, I wouldn't really have understood it, if I'm honest.

Are you all mixing together, all the time?

No, which is why this project works so well. It was a deliberate thing for everybody to have their own private space. We do have a shared space where the volleyball court is, and from time to time somebody might say ‘anybody fancy playing volleyball?’ But apart from that, and the times when we’re working together, we really don't have that much to do with each other.

I was in a military family many years ago and it's a bit like that; you always feel like someone's got your back, but they're not interfering with your business. Perhaps it’s more like how a community used to be.

But much more formal!

Well, everyone has a commitment to get their timesheet into the office by the 7th of the month and if they don't do that, they're going to pay a penalty. But certain people might do more organic hours at different times of the year. You can do a huge number of hours lambing, and at this time of year we're doing lots of picking and harvesting so as not to waste food. Every six months we look at the timesheets and see if everyone’s looking fairly balanced.

When it comes to the hours on the facilities maintenance sides, which is us managing all our wind turbines, solar panels, our water system and the road we do have a penalty because those systems are essential for the project and the houses to function. We’re providing our own service to ourselves and if we don’t, we're going to have to pay someone else to provide that service. Normally we allow someone a year to rectify it, and to catch up if they have fallen behind. If after that there are still unused hours, and other people have had to do more to cover this, then the penalty will pay for the extra work – at £22 an hour – that someone had to do above and beyond their hours.

As well as these houses there are some smaller houses that we’ve built on the top as you come in. But the people in there aren’t tied to the same commitments as the rest of us.

There must be new challenges that you weren't expecting, perhaps because of the changing environment or things that don't work as well as you thought. Have you noticed any different or emerging challenges?

The land is the thing that's changing the most, and the way the seasons are being impacted with climate change. We've seen that with our water system. Around six years ago we didn’t seem to have a proper Spring, and we got a big algae growth and some real challenges with our reservoir. We were really challenged by it and had to find a solution to make sure that we knew if the same problem arose, which it did the following year, that our water system was clear.

This year we've seen a complete lack of butterflies, moths and insects. We’re wondering what’s causing it. Is it the climate? We need to monitor it because the idea of biodiversity is very important here. Normally the whole of the road leading up to the houses would be completely covered in moths and butterflies and little insects. I think I've probably seen three or four butterflies this year, so that’s really worrying.  

In terms of the houses, the extreme heat we had in the summer of 2022 was a challenge, but the houses really dealt with it. It was very cool inside; but that kind of heat is very harsh on these sun spaces at the front of the houses, which have been here for 30 years now. These doors are triple glazed and very expensive, and the wood will deteriorate much more quickly in extreme heat. So, this area needs to be more shaded through trees and through sunshades.

This year the amount of rain has meant the reeds in the lake have really grown and we can hardly see the water. We need to clear some reeds out and look at that as well. So, there's always challenges but we're quite pragmatic. We can't just be working at this 24 hours a day. We need to ask ourselves what the priorities are and concentrate on those. And if we have time to do the small things we will.

The other thing to say is that we have built up relationships with all sorts of people who have resources and knowledge to help us with these challenges. We've got some really good people from Nottingham University who have been coming here for years to do their water management systems courses and so we can get help there. We’ve had a lot of PhD students over the years working on projects here.

What has been your biggest challenge?

It's actually been the bees, because we’re producing huge amounts of honey. At any given time we can pick up another swarm and we’ve got hives that need dividing. And there’s a lot of equipment which needs storing. Storage is generally an issue; we've got lots of sheds and lots of bits and pieces all over the place.

Generally, the biggest challenge is maintenance. There’s the fencing which needs looking after; we'd like to do more dead hedging, but that takes time. We plant hedges and then the animals eat the hedges. It’s that sort of thing which seems the most challenging.

You’ve never thought about hiring a caretaker to do that kind of additional work?

We have looked at whether we should pay some people to do organic hours, but it wouldn't really fit the model. And the danger is that people lose their connection with the land here. And it is that connection that's so important. Even if you’re not really into growing you go down to the polytunnels and pick the tomatoes or the basil. There’s something very satisfying in that.

And would that be classed as ‘organic’ hours?

Yes. And if you go and sow seed, or something like that (we’re a no-dig site). I think if

you take away the autonomy of the people to do jobs like that, and hand them over to someone from outside who is paid, you will lose something essential within the community; you would somehow lose the meaning of the whole thing.

As a community that champions ecologically sound and sustainable ways of living, there are always new challenges and ideas to address, brought on by the changing climate and technological developments.

Covering multiple areas such as electric transport, turbines and water usage, Andy and Deb went on to discuss the emerging issues and the possibility of scaling up projects like this - to see if more people could live more sustainably in the future.

Keep reading here.