Crabapple Community
Now situated just a few miles south of Shrewsbury, Crabapple Community was founded in 1975 and we moved here to Berrington Hall (a rambling slightly eccentric, Georgian rectory built in 1805) two years later. Surrounded on all sides by farmland, the house is set in 20 acres of beautiful woodland, pasture, meadows and orchards. We also have a two acre walled vegetable garden, a polytunnel field cum willow plantation and smaller herb and flower gardens plus numerous nooks and crannies.......
We aim to be increasingly “sustainable” and self sufficient. We have grown everything organically from the start and as much as practible, in line with “permaculture design” principles (with a bit of biodynamic and other “natural” gardening ideas thrown in. The community has planted much of its own woodland and much of this is used as coppice. We have solar hot water heating and are experimenting with photovoltaic and wind power. All of us who live here share a deep love and enjoyment of nature and the natural world and we try to reflect this in our various activities. Many of us have experience in conservation work (e.g. with BTCV), wildlife gardening, woodland management and other environmental projects; environmental and conservation education and a multitude of arts and crafts. As a community we also aspire to create a harmonious and supportive environment for those of us who live here, and those who come to visit.
At present Crabapple is home to ten adults and seven children (and two cats!). Day to day life at Berrington is varied and rarely uneventful. The general running of the community is organised through a flexible rota system and members must contribute two days working each week on the land and house (e.g. gardening, cleaning, cooking, hedging, wood cutting, meadow mowing, painting, plumbing, wiring, roofing, etc....and the rest. Most of us have part time jobs out side the community in a variety of different occupations including gardening, tree seed collection, renewable energy and social care. Currently we have four children who help with most things and also manage to attend the local primary school. We have two other younger children who attend pre-school groups. The cats pursue alternative work projects such as mousing and sleeping - we feel their contribution should not be overlooked.
The community is partly organised as a housing co-op. We each pay rent for our own private room (with woodburning stove)and access to shared facilities in the house. A weekly charge is also paid for housekeeping which covers food (vegetarian) and other bills. Shared meals (in the evening) are vegetarian. We have a seperate kitchen when anyone is desperate to eat animal protein or wants to cook personal meals. Aside from the community the house and grounds are used as a venue for groups and courses including community arts activities. At present some of our outbuildings are used as studio space by local artists and we also share some of our space with a local tree seed collection / planting buisiness.
We welcome experienced woofers who can assist with our work. If the need for new members arises we organise introductory weekends, where people who are interested in joining communities can find out more about us. Initial visits are restricted to these weekends. You must write to tell us about yourselves and why you want to visit our community. Please include your address and phone number and not just an e-mail address.
