Low Impact LandMatch

LandMatch began at a very successful meeting held in South Somerset on 2nd February 2008. This web site was set up immediately after the meeting to keep the momentum going, and was very active for a while. The initial activity hasn't lasted, but as it is listed on various web sites and in various publications, this page has been retained.

More and more people are wanting to gain access to land. Whilst most share the aims of wanting to live sustainably and derive at least some of their needs from the land, there is great variation in the details. Some would like to be as self-sufficient as possible, whilst others are more interested in setting up commercial enterprises. Some would like to keep animals for meat or dairy production, whilst others object to such activities on principle. For those who are wanting to buy land in a group, either to manage communally or to divide up into small holdings, it can take several meetings to discover the differences between what each person or couple is hoping for. Sometimes it is impossible to accommodate the differences and the group will split.

LandMatch aimed to fast-track some of those early meetings, by enabling people to identify others whose visions are compatible with their own. We hoped that one or more land-buying groups may arise out of the contacts made at LandMatch. We didn't intend to establish one big project, encompassing all who attend LandMatch, but rather to facilitate networking and the meeting of like minds.

The main feature of the site was a forum, where groups could be formed, and sites discussed. Web forums are strange beasts, that sometimes work and are fantastically successful, but more frequently don't work, and this turned out to be one of the latter!

The creator of this site has since developed the idea further, and formed Eco-Hamlets UK, and you may like to visit www.eco-hamlets.org.uk to find out more. There are also other web sites aimed at people wanting access to land and creating sustainable communities.