Ah, the all important client interview… who wants what, why, when.

Over dinner one evening I grilled (I mean asked) my husband and daughters what they wanted to do more of as a family and what they wanted our home and land to be. I of course put my tuppence worth in the mix too.

Yes, I mean to do this whole shebang as a proper project. The results were interesting

Family

• Use outside more, do more bike rides and walks
• Children have more responsibility
• Children do more cooking
• Shop locally even more – go to the market every week (Tod market is ace!)
• Shop ethically
• Re-use and recycle
• Get a smaller, eco friendly car & use the car less

The House

• Collect and use rainwater
• Look nice, have more art about
• Improve storage space
• Energy efficient as possible
• Warm
• Improved ventilation, especially in bathroom (get rid of that mould)
• Use space better
• Cheerful
• Have less ‘stuff’
• Look at alternative energy sources
• Stop “muddying” the house

The Land

• Animals – for food and pleasure
• Produce our own food – Meat, Fruit & Veg
• Produce our own fuel
• Look beautiful
• Manage water
• Slug control (and think of a way to use slugs – eco blu-tac?)
• Fun, places to play, kids workshop
• Ingredients for preserves
• Make the most of our space
• Encourage wildlife
• Space for wood storage
• Shelter from wind
• Safe for dogs and animals to run about
• Somewhere to socialise and eat outside
• Produce own materials – self supporting
• Small income stream
• WWOOFing opportunities and facilities

Not much to achieve then! Kids want an orchard with trampolines under the trees to pick the fruit. I guess inbuilt trampolines surrounding the trunks would act as mulch!

Next to convert this massive list into functions, supporting elements and inputs/outputs. Time to get linking.