© Carlo Bevilacquap a r a l l e l o z e r o

• UK •

Spirit Landt h e

Emma Orbach with her horses at Tyr Ysbrdol

Right at feet of The Mount of Angels in the Pembrokeshire County, in Eastern Wales, there's a bunch of people living in a very special place called Tir Ysbrydol or the Spirit Land. The community today, about 10 people, is totally self-sufficient producing power from solar panels, a small scale wind farm and a turbine built from an old washing machine. They make their living out of their own farming.

Over the years other buildings have been added: a carpentry, a laboratory and a circular house known as "That Roundhouse", the very symbolic heart of the community. The initial years encountered some legal battles with the local authorities trying to set different rules and social structures to their way of living. But luckily, very soon, everything was sorted out.

In the meantime Emma and her husband, one of the initials creators of the Spirit Land project, divorced and their property was split up into three separate groups which still survive: Brithdir Mawr, Tir Ysbrydol and That Roundhouse. Julian, another man who contributed to the initial phase of the idea, left the community and rented to dwellers his farmhouse and other minor buildings. Tony, one of the pillars of the community, still lives in the roundhouse that he has contributed to build.

Emma Orbach at work building the communal house's frame

Emma Orbach, 58 years old, a musician's daughter and an Oxford graduate, has three children, has been living for 13 years in a mud hut in a place that she has called Tir Ysbrydol, meaning Spirit Land. She loves playing Celtic music with her harp

Brithdir Mawr - The communal living room

Tony and Faith outside That Roundhouse, their eco-friendly house in the Pembrokeshire National Park

That RoundHouse, Tony in the living room of Roundhouse that he has built. That RoundHouse is one large room where all necessary spaces

for a comfortable life have been created

Brithdir Mawr - The communal kitchen and dining room

Faith in the countryside surrounding That Roundhouse

Tony Wrench and his partner Faith. Their meals are simple and mainly vegetarian

since they eat what they produce in their greenhouse and surrounding land

Marc is one of Emma's guest. He is an artist and helps Emma in building the 'communal house' that will

be used as a meeting and meditation place

That RoundHouse - Tony and Faith's greenhouse produces most

of the food they need

The kitchen in That RoundHouse

Faith's small Roundhouse for guests and friends stopping by

Emma Orbach at Tyr Ysbrdol - Spirit Land where she has a very simple life style in full harmony with nature

Brithdir Mawr - The access road to the community. Cars are not permitted except for work vehicles such as tractors or similar vehicles

Clothes out to dry with the limited autumn sun

Tony and Faith's wheelbarrow

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