The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Feb 2014 back issue
“To be honest, we’re a bunch of hippies, some of us ‘originals’. Tipi Valley is high in the Welsh hills, on 200 acres that
we have bought bit by bit over 35 years. Our oldest land has already reverted to temperate rainforest.
The idea is that we are part of nature, living within nature. Thus all our homes are low-impact dwellings such as tipis,
yurts, domes and thatched or turf-roofed round houses.
We are a village, not a commune, and everyone is responsible for their own economy. We do not have regular
business meetings, and we never vote. It works by consensus and personal relationships. Dogs are not welcome. And
cats have a very negative impact on the environment.” Tipi Valley residents.
Rik The Vic (Vicar) making me a cup of tea in his tipi as he warms himself infront of his wood burner. Rik explained to
me that a tipi is dead without a fire in winter and that a fire is a great substitute for a TV.
As evening fell on Tipi Valley the temperature dropped below freezing without the insulation of cloud cover.
‘Big Lodge’ which would have been my accomodation
during my stay, had it not been storm damaged.
Rik The Vic’s tipi and solar panel, which powers the
lighting and radio inside the tipi.
Nature is happy in Tipi Valley. A statement that may sound obsurd, but the feeling of this rolled over all my senses in
a powerful, refreshing and intoxicating manner as I left my tipi at 8.00 am to start my shoot this January 2014.
A couple in Tipi Valley showering each other with water to wash, in a loving way.
Evening sun striking the face and endevours of a Tipi Valley carpenter whose open sided wood work shop faces south.
The moss on the branches of this tree in Tipi Valley reflected the light.
The people of Tipi Valley grow vegetables all year round: to live off their land, stay healthy and in tune with Earth. Tipi
Valley vegtable plots tend to be just outside the home and form a conevnient and ever fresh outdoor larder.
After leaving my tipi first thing in the morning I met ‘Tree Lady’ who can be seen here reclining in her rain forest.
This friendly couple living in Tipi Valley, broke off from their gardening and very kindly welcomed me into their yurt
home for a very good cup of tea. I found that all Tipi Valley homes had their own version of a ‘Welsh Dresser’.
Woodsmoke rising from a straw bale house chimney in Tipi Valley, which can be seen here sitting snugly up against a
yurt on the right of the image.
‘Tea’s up’ This couple cut a flat, solid, base out of the Welsh hillside in Tipi Valley upon which to errect their yurt home.
They used only hand tools. No noisy machinery is permitted in Tipi Valley.
Tipi Valley is situated in a very beautiful and atmospheric part of Wales.
Pausing for breath. A Tipi Valley resident up-cycles found objects into a polytunnel, just in front of his tipi.
Living in Tipi Valley re-connects one with a vivid sense of living on the surface of a planet in a vast universe.
The Tipi Valley residents that I met all seemed very
healthy and physically strong due to thier self reliance.
All Tipi Valley residents have to live on site for at least 4 years in a tipi or yurt before being permitted to build a more
permanent residence, such as this highly thermally efficient straw bale house.
This Tipi Valley resident very kindly allowed me to photograph her in her yurt, whilst she was eating her lunch. The
Welsh winters are often very harsh and the wood that can be seen here drying behind the wood burner is a life saver.
Washing up in Tipi Valley is all done outside.
A yurt home in Tipi Valley.
by Damian Bird
