By Lisa Mitchell
BBC News in Stirling
The Stirling community has been "very receptive" to the eco-village
Thousands of protesters heading for the G8 summit at Gleneagles are camping beside the River Forth in Stirling.
It's a campsite with a difference.
With the co-operation of the local authorities, they are living according to alternative social and ecological principles.
They claim they are not idealistic dreamers but that their model has
practical implications for the rest of us.
It is difficult to get an answer to the simplest question at eco village.
Each decision is by committee and the going is slow.
The first principle of what they call Hori-zone is that there is no
hierarchy and no leader. The people govern themselves by collective agreement.
It works by "co-operation not competition," said 29-year-old Katharine
The charity worker says that in her normal life in Fort William, she does
not use supermarkets, recycles, avoids high street shops and cycles almost
"I can't help being a capitalist because I live in a capitalist system," she
"But I detest it because of the power imbalance it creates.
"Hori-zone is about a new way of living."
The campsite was set up by a loose group of anti-G8 campaigners, including
Over the past two years, several attempts to find farmland close to
Gleneagles for the eco village failed.
Stirling Council came to the rescue with a loop of land in a river meander,
over-looked by the Wallace Monument and Ochil hills.
Kevin Smith, of Dissent, said the Stirling community has been "very
The climate change researcher from London said the main focus of the camp
was to be environmentally sensitive.
"We're trying to leave as few footprints as possible."
People have organised themselves in "barrios", each of which looks after its
own affairs, from cooking to recycling.
They feed back concerns, comments
and decisions to a council.
The idea is that they can all theoretically have a say on how the camp is
They take turns to empty compost toilets and recycling banks. Power for lighting comes from wind turbines and solar panels. A fixed
bicycle runs a music system.
The council provided six glass banks, two can banks, two paper banks and 50
wheelie bins for rubbish and has been impressed by the organisers' approach
to the site.
"So far, we're very encouraged by their responsible attitudes to recycling. They want to leave the site as they found it," said a spokeswoman.
There is also an area to treat "grey water".
This is from washing up or
preparing vegetables. It cannot be used for drinking but is not highly
A natural filter has been built near a tree line, where plants filter the
water and the trees benefit from it.
Brian Roxburgh, of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, has been
working with the group on the design and use of the grey water ditch.
He said the eco village might have something to teach the rest of us about
"They're making a good point," he said.
"We're very supportive of what they're doing and it's something we'd like to
"We would be interested in using grey water in homes for flushing the
The people govern themselves by collective agreement
"At the moment, houses use highly treated, good quality drinking water. By
using grey water, it would conserve our reserves."
The camp has also made a point of using bio-diesel, or treated vegetable
oil, in its mini-buses and buys its food locally.
One supplier is Green City, a workers' co-operative in Glasgow.
The organic wholesale food company sells lentils and oats from Scotland and
other dried goods, like coffee and tea, from fair trade producers in
Worker-owner Scott Erwine said the protesters on the eco village are setting
a "positive" example, but that it is not isolated.
"There's a sea-change in people's way of life. They are looking for
something sustainable in the long term, but also good for their health in the short term.
"And it can be good for business. Last year our turnover was £3.5m and sales
are up 30% this year.
"For example, we sell biscuits made by a small bakery in Tobermoray in Mull.
In return, we supply them with flour.
"It's an alternative to the capitalist model that works."
The protesters know they have a mountain to climb before their lifestyle is
embraced by the mainstream.
But they are hopeful.
"The slave trade was to the 18th century what oil is to us now," said
"Everything they had depended on slaves. But over the course of decades,
everyone from landed gentry to housewives realised the injustice and rose up
"I believe it's only a matter of time before the same thing happens with the
damage we are doing to the planet."