Tangleha Artist's Collective

The Tangleha Artist's Collective was established in the 1980's in an abandoned village at St Cyrus on the Aberdeenshire Coast. Many of the neighbouring settlements had been washed away by the encroaching tide decades earlier, and when the collective first moved in, the property was a ruin. Initially an artists co-operative of six jewellers and one printmaker funded the renovation, later setting up a recycling business where they would collect local waste by horse. 

Caspar Lampkin was the son of one of the founder members of Tangleha. He spent a wild childhood exploring the hillsides, paths and beaches surrounding the property. When his father died at 18, Caspar established a housing cooperative at Tangleha, where he now lives with his partner Frida and their two children Lerke and Janis. 

The garden that wraps around the house is a stock garden, with over 100 fruit trees, which Caspar will use for cuttings and grafting over the winter. Sea buckthorn, willow and rowan form a sea hardy shelterbelt,  protecting the garden from the prevailing winds blowing in from the North Sea. In the sheltered part of the garden, apple trees stand in the middle of forest garden beds and hugel beds densely planted with walnut, currants, honeyberry, comfrey and herbs fringe the productive greenhouse. 

The upper level of the house and terraces are supported by a cordwood structure. Recycled 'tatty box' planters line the terrace, outside the large picture window that frames a postcard worthy view of the coast. Inside, the ceiling of the house is a stunning wooden curve, like the bow of a ship, that was meticulously hand steamed using a kettle. 

From out of the picture window there is a clear view onto the field next to the house, which the family are weaving into their coastal management plan. Two deep, swales have been dug along contour lines, which gently siphon water into two large wildlife ponds. Above is a shelter belt of native trees, birch, oak and rowan, which protect the emerging food forest below. Fruit trees have been planted on the upside of the contours and seed bombs made with local clay have been liberally scattered throughout creating a burst of colour. Two dwarf goats are happily clearing a small patch of the field, which will eventually be used as a vegetable garden. Local gardeners bring their garden waste to the field, where large scale composting, biochar and firewood production are all taking place. 

Traditionally all of the fields in the area are used for monocultures of barley. However, this is unsustainable as this part of the coastline is gradually returning to the sea. These experiments with planting schemes, earthworks and water management are vital as a means of creating a resilient ecosystem that can better withstand the conditions here. 

Caspar is now applying his permaculture knowledge to the coastal path that runs all the way along the Aberdeenshire and Moray coast. He describes his work as creating 'skinny permaculture farms' along the path, planting sea buckthorn, willow and native wildflowers along the edges of the path to protect them from the elements, soak up water and create root systems to shore up the soil. 

The paths have been relaid and vulnerable structures are being stabilised with innovative eco innovations, like the woven willow baskets that he has created around the foundations of footbridges to catch rocks and stones, which brace them against fast flowing currents. 

These footpaths have proved vital to local people, joining up villages and granting better access to local amenities in an area where public transport is scant. Caspar has been approached to manage the restoration of the path throughout Aberdeenshire and Angus. 

Community is at the heart of Caspar and Frida's work at Tangleha. Keen to share their skills, they teach rural skills including safe tool use, ecology, species identification and estate management which they hope to embed into the curriculum in Scotland. 

Frida leads forest schools locally and runs a beach school from the willow shelter that they have created in the field. They are heavily involved with education and maintenance at the local nature reserve and take groups of volunteers out to work on the coastal path. 

Their work at Tangleha is a great example of how permaculture design thinking can provide innovative solutions to help mitigate the effects of climate change, whilst at the same time providing opportunities for learning and bringing communities together.