11 October 2004

The Centre for Alternative Technology

In the far-off land of Wales, in the middle of an old slate quarry, there is a giant science experiment going on. In this exciting place located between the twin peaks of Tarren y Gesail near the town of Machynlleth, life has been changed for thousands of "pilgrims" who have traveled to this isolated place.

Our journey to the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) was part of a never-ending quest to learn more about sustainable living practices. Our goal, during the time we have been here in Britain, has been to understand as much as we can about old and new ways to generate energy, construct buildings and raise animals... because one of these days we are going to return to Philo and begin our own sustainable living center, Blue Rock Station.

So off we went to Machynlleth, a typical small Welsh town with a giant clock right in the center. There were a few friendly pubs, a vegetarian restaurant, and the pleasant sense that everything in this place is busy without being hurried. From here it is just a few miles up into the hills to CAT (http://www.cat.org.uk).

As we approached the science center, we could see the cliff railway station high up on the side of the mountain. Years ago they built an ingenious little system so folks like us don't have to climb up the steep hillside. Visitors ride in a railroad car that is literally lifted up the mountain with the use of water. Actually what happens is that the two carriages (one already at the top and our carriage at the bottom) are weighed and enough water is let into the ballast tank of the top carriage to outweigh the bottom one. The brakes are then released, a bell rings, and up we go. When the car gets to the top, the water is released (cascading down the hillside stream) and the process begins again.

Like the water lift, CAT's mission is to explore new ways to "inspire, inform, and enable" people to live more sustainably. They offer practical solutions to environmental problems, in the areas of renewable energy, environmental building, energy efficiency, organic growing and alternative sewage systems.

At the top of the mountain is a visitor center that is open seven days a week, a fabulous book store, plus tons of indoor and outdoor displays demonstrating such things as composting methods, use of wind for household power and gardening techniques to improve production.

They also hold classes on a variety of topics, but their real accomplishment is how they have turned a barren slate quarry full of nothing but piles and piles of roofing slate into a beautiful green tourist attraction. And believe me tourists do come. Each year a couple hundred thousand folks arrive here by bus, car and bicycle just to look at this giant experiment, and to eat lunch at the restaurant.

It was great to walk the paths that lead to different displays. One of my favorites was a painted mural that stretched along a long outside wall. In a passage through time, the first painting shows the forest, the next painting is of the same place, but with a small clearing and a few houses being built. As you walked along the wall, the clearing became a farm, then a village, then manufacturing settled in, then offices... and soon it was a city with no hint of what came before. It reminded me how quickly and totally things can change, especially without thought for the future.

Cat loved the giant sandbox underneath an awning, and we all enjoyed the animals in the farm area. The different composting projects were fascinating.

At the end of the day, as we drove back to the farm-stay house we had booked, we passed along and below the high hills of Wales. Then, suddenly at the crest of one hill, where the wind blows fierce and unending, 20 huge airplane propellers gently moved in the breeze, generating electricity for this remote wild and wonderful place. The classroom had come to life.

Sometimes I forget that there is hope for the future, and that if all of us do our best to recycle and reuse things, our children and their children may still have a chance for their children and grandchildren to inherit a planet as beautiful as a far away land called Wales.