Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), and Corris, Wales

CAT is another place, like Findhorn, that I visited 29 years ago and which sowed a seed that has borne fruit in Earthsong. It was high on my list of places I wanted to visit, both to pay homage to the influence it has had on my life and that of many others, and also to see how it has grown.

Developed in an old slate quarry in the mid 1970s, CAT in 1979 was already well established, with displays of solar water heaters, wind and water generation of electricity, composting systems, eco-building etc, all with fact sheets and other documentation comparing systems and providing do-it-yourself plans. It was a hugely exciting place to visit for a young person wanting to change the world!

Today there are many more buildings, the trees have grown up, the displays are more established, there is a lot more to see... but by the end of the day I found myself feeling a little disappointed... it just seemed a bit tired, and it didn't have the “wow” factor of the Eden Project. They are in the middle of a building programme that is probably taking their energy at the moment - Lord knows, I can relate to that!!

Although CAT started out as a community, this aspect faded quite fast and the focus shifted to experimentation and demonstration of 'alternative' building and technology. The focus of the displays is still on what individuals can do in their lives, with great interactive exhibits about reducing energy-use in the home, the impacts of the car, the importance of compost and many different ways of doing it, organic gardening and compost toilets and natural house building. It is definitely a technology-led approach, rather than an earth-centred or community-led approach, which missed something for me.

As well as the displays and exhibitions, the educational programmes have developed over the years, and they run the Graduate School for the Environment offering MSc programmes in architecture and renewable energy. This educational side will expand soon when they complete a large environmental teaching facility called WISE, the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education, which will run courses, events and conferences to people eager to “skill-up” for sustainability.

I'm staying a few miles down the valley in the little historic slate-mining town of Corris, tucked deep in a valley between looming hills. Here dark grey slate lies everywhere, great heaps and hillsides of slate pieces left after the mines closed, with slate houses, slate roofs, slate field walls, slate fence posts, slate tombstones. It's a vaguely oppressive atmosphere, but even here there is an abundance of community-led projects in arts, culture and sustainability.

Everywhere I go I find another 10 or 20 places or projects I could follow up if I had time. Everyone mentions Margaret Thatcher as the person/time when the strength of the community was destroyed, but things are undergoing such a resurgence everywhere I look that there is a lot of hope for the future.