Vision

NEWBOLD VISION

"To develop, practise and teach skills for sustainable living in harmony with ourselves, each other and the Earth."

Working and living here together, our committed team of people are passionate about all aspects of sustainable living. At Newbold we recognize that in order to be able to live sustainably globally, we first need to be able to live sustainably locally as individuals and as a community.

To us sustainability means a way of life that builds well-being in terms of our physical and spiritual lives, our social networks and the abundant ability of the earth to support life.

Newbold House provides an opportunity to take time to address and transform life issues through the attendance of workshops and courses, by coming to stay with us either as a bed and breakfast guest or by participating in our working guest programme, which aims to give people an opportunity to experience community living, and to learn about the principals of sustainability through a path of service.

NEWBOLD PRINCIPLES

The core principles of Newbold House inspire and inform all of our activities. These principles are the founding principles of the Findhorn Foundation Community:

• deep inner listening, and acting from that Source of Wisdom
• co-creation with the intelligence of nature
• service to the human and natural world

HOW A VISIT TO NEWBOLD CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Community and Economy

We contribute to the local economy in a number of ways. We grow most of our
own vegetables and fruit, make our own bread and apple juice and sell some of this
produce at the local Farmer’s Market. When we need to buy in we source as locally
as we can. For example though mostly vegetarian, when we buy meat we use a local
butcher whose produce is all sourced locally to a very high welfare standard. It’s
also important that our suppliers are socially responsible and employ local people.
For example, many of our dried goods come from a local whole food shop that is a
community owned enterprise.

We also run a volunteer program in a number of areas including gardening, cooking
and the complexities of maintaining a listed building. These are skills people can
then use to find employment. The program also provides a sense of community and
identity for the volunteers and develops their team working and communication
skills. When we need to bring in people to help with building and maintenance work,
we use local companies. We also provide therapy rooms (for example, for massage
or reflexology) that are used by local practitioners. We are forming partnerships
with local individuals and organizations that are able to provide a broad range of
educational experiences in many aspects of sustainability ranging from conservation
and ecology to conflict resolution and non-violent communication. We are also
starting an exciting program to foster social inclusion and local culture using a range
of local performers. Within the house we feature artwork by local artists.

Environment

Sustainability is at the heart of everything that we do. Our major current project
is to transform our large 1890’s Victorian country house into a completely carbon
neutral base for all our activities. We will be using multiple renewable energy sources
including sun, wind and wood fuel. The infrastructure is being designed both to
maximize efficiency and for educational access.

Alongside this big project we are not neglecting the daily choices. For example we
compost all our food waste, have a car share scheme and use low energy lighting. We
either recycle paper or use it for composting and wherever possible, we avoid using
printed materials and market via the Internet. For any materials we do print we use an
award winning environmentally friendly printing company based in the next village.
As we are based in the UK it is possible to travel here using a lower carbon option
than flying. There is an excellent sleeper train service from London to Inverness and
trains and coaches from most large cities. Bringing your own car is also a good option
if there is a group of you, allowing a car share. To encourage people to choose one of
these lower carbon options we can help you with planning your transport and route.
For those of you who do need to fly, we provide an optional offsetting scheme.

Whilst our courses and workshops are based within the community, we have close
connections with the Findhorn Foundation, and the much larger community that

surrounds the Foundation itself. As members of this larger community through
the New Findhorn Association we support and have access to a unique eco-village
model which has the lowest recorded ecological footprint for any community in the
industrialised world, just half the UK national average (www.ecovillagefindhorn.org).

Education

You will take back experience that will help you live more sustainably at home as a
result of the skills you can learn here. Depending on the role in which you visit or the
course you take these skills may include:

• Caring more effectively for the environment
• Growing your own vegetables and fruit organically and therefore reducing food miles, packaging and agrochemical use and increasing health through high quality food and exercise
• Cooking healthy food from local produce
• Increased knowledge about renewable energy
• Improved communication skills
• Integrating spiritual needs into everyday life

It’s important to be clear that we don’t do all these things perfectly ourselves. We are,
however, committed to learning by trying things out and often find that we learn from
our guests as well. What is important for us is going on a voyage of learning together
which is also enjoyable. We are fond of the saying “If it isn’t fun it isn’t sustainable”