Projects

Since Trelay Cohousing was first formed, work has been done to reduce the carbon footprint of the site. This has included installing solar panels, air and ground source heat pumps, as well as a reed bed sewage system. Members reduce their needs for environmentally-damaging material goods by sharing many items. We try to produce very little landfill waste and we compost our garden waste.

With cows, pigs, chickens and sheep to look after there is never a dull moment on the farm! Some animals are kept as pets, some are sustainably reared to produce milk or meat, and others are used to keep the grass under control. 

Vast amounts of building and maintenance work have been undertaken to make Trelay such an amazing place to live. Projects have included building a meditation hut, creating a pizza oven, and using old freezers and pallets to make compost areas.  

We have installed our own iron-rich water borehole, sustaining the whole community with delicious ground water.

There is a large vegetable garden with over 30 beds for crops! A mixture of raised beds and no dig areas, combined with planned crop rotation, means we are able to successfully grow a wide range of different veggies. We also have many fruit trees and bushes around the site, alongside a Forest Garden and Orchard. 

A large poly-tunnel means we can grow some crops all year round. During the warmer months we produce an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies and salad crops. 

We have planted over 3,000 trees onsite, creating wildlife corridors in diverse hedgerows across the farm, which will also give our farm animals more shelter.