The Cae Mabon Retreat Centre in North Wales has been building small, natural dwellings for their residents and visitors since 1989. This intentional community is located in the best of what nature can offer: in the woods, by a river, near a lake, at the foot of the mountains and within sight of the sea.
Cae Mabon’s principal creator is Eric Maddern, who was inspired to create the community after spending time with the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs, Australia. He wanted to create a place that was not the ostentatious beauty of the wealthy but the humble beauty of the simple and natural. The buildings he created are mostly made from timber, stone, reed, straw, grass, lime and clay and they blend in with their surroundings.
The Cae Mabon (Mabon’s Field) community consists of several different types of alternative buildings including a geodome, a Mongolian yurt, an Iranian shavan, cob cottages, two roundhouses, a straw bale hogan, a cedar cabin, a thatched shower hut with river water heated by a wood stove, a “loo with a view”, a sweat lodge and a wood-burning cedar hot tub.
People who live in Cae Mabon take part in working, building and gardening parties, and yoga and meditation retreats are regularly held here. The philosophy behind the community is to create a place of creativity and healing as well as a model of low impact, sustainable living.
Photos courtesy of Cae Mabon
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]