Crafts

The Roundhouse Project

You may have heard that we are hoping to build a roundhouse here at Gaea.
So what is roundhouse and why would we want one?

Well a roundhouse is quite simply a building that is round, the walls typically built out of local materials such as wattle & daub or in some locations stone and a high pitched roof thatched with long-stem straw or reeds. This was the type of building used by our ancestors, in particular the Celts, as living accommodation, storage buildings and communal meeting houses. The remains of many of these have been found all over the country during archaeological explorations.

Here at Gaea we wish to be able to provide visitors with somewhere they can take a break from the mad helter skelter of life, somewhere where they can find peace and tranquillity in order to connect with their inner qualities and the spirit of Gaea, Earth Mother.

Chris Park, has worked on a number of such buildings, including several locally. The photographs on this page have been reproduced from his website (www.acorneducation.com) and record some of the projects he has been involved with. Chris has agreed to help us design and construct our own roundhouse which we are intending to make from trees here in the grounds, supplemented with wattle& daub and a straw roof.

This will be a fascinating project to work on. Chris estimates it may take up to 4 weeks work and we would welcome help from anyone who has the desire to get involved.

A local group wishes to be able to use the roundhouse for their meetings and they are really keen to help with both the finances and the work - so much so that fundraising got underway in late 2009. Our own fundraising efforts will be focussed around a May Day (Beltane) festival when there will be music, workshops and lots of interesting and fun activities for adults and children.