EHJ November 2004, pages 336-338
A former ballet dancer from Ireland is plotting a revolution from his living room, demonstrating the principles of sustainability from a Victorian south London terrace. Will Hatchett reports

A former ballet dancer from Ireland is plotting a revolution from his living room, demonstrating the principles of sustainability from a Victorian south London terrace. Will Hatchett reports

In 1992, something extraordinary happened to Donnachadh McCarthy. He spent two weeks living alone with a tribe of hunter gatherers in a remote region of the Amazon. Donnachadh was on a trip with a group of alternative medicine practitioners who had received permission from the Venezuelan government to visit the Yanomami Indians.

Part of a small group, he took a two-hour plane journey from Caracas into the heart of the rainforest. This was followed by a two-day river trip. The boat stopped on a bend in the river, close to a clearing, or shabono, with a circular arrangement of thatched huts.

Donnachadh continues the story. "The interpreter was supposed to stay with me. But he didn't. The boat started pulling away. I was left there by myself. I turned around and there were all these short people who came up to just about my chest, with sticks through their noses and mouths, carrying spears and bows and arrows.

"I was terrified. I was so stressed that I ended up doing my yoga routine that evening. I can stand on my elbow and on my head. That's what broke the ice. They were stunned by the yoga and they brought all their friends. I had to do the routine three times."

The Yanomami are misleadingly called the "fierce people". As the rainforest is besieged by logging and mining companies, corrupt officials, western diseases and missionaries, their lifestyle is under threat. Because they got on so well, the Yanomami invited Donnachadh to join their tribe. He declined. But the experience of living with them changed his life.

The Yanomami, he explains, have no concept of the ownership of land. They eat meat about once every 10 days. But the person who kills an animal is not allowed to consume it. This discourages greed. Fish are stunned with poison. But those that are not killed and eaten are put back in the water.

Donnachadh says: "Since the industrial revolution our civilisation has endangered the future of the planet. Whereas the Yanomami have lived for 20,000 years in that area and the forest is still totally able to support their lifestyle. I am not saying that we should go back to the stone age. But I think what we need to do is to try and get back to the concept of how their civilisation works."

Donnachadh, who was born in Tipperary in 1959, returned from the Amazon to London where he had been working as a professional ballet dancer for the Royal Opera Ballet for four years. Wanting to do something for the environment, he now gave up ballet to become a dedicated campaigner. First, he joined a local group which was defending a large area of green space in south London, Burgess Park. The campaign, like most things he sets his mind to, was a great success. Donnachadh's taste of community politics led him to join the Liberal Democrats and he was soon elected as a councillor. Eventually, he became the deputy chairman of the national party, a position from which he has just stood down.

On Donnachadh's ward, the Aylesbury Estate, his energy helped to reduce crime dramatically on a sprawling, deck access housing complex. He also became a proactive member of Southwark Council's planning committee. In this role, he helped to change Southwark's policies. For example, it became one of the first local authorities in the UK to stop pesticide use. And the council now imposes planning conditions so that new properties have to have composting facilities and, where possible, rain harvesting.

But his main passion is his house. Donnachadh wishes to show, through his own life, how an inner-city resident can reduce their impact on the environment, particularly in the areas of energy, transport, waste and food. In his own words: "I want to change Britain."

From the outside, the 1840s terraced house, which was built for local market gardeners, looks just like its neighbours. But that is deceptive. For example, the south-facing roof to the rear is covered by solar panels. The panels were expensive - they cost £13,000 - but they more than meet the house's energy needs.

Donnachadh has a control box on his living room which tells him if he is using energy from the grid or exporting energy back onto it. He is proud of the fact that he was first person in the UK to sell electricity back to a power company. This year his electricity bill should be zero, helped by the fact that he has low-energy light bulbs and that his fridge and washing machine are energy-efficient. He is also the first person in London to have obtained planning permission to erect a wind turbine on his house.

The roof is equipped with a rainwater harvester which connects to his WC cistern. Donnachadh uses this "grey water" to flush his toilet, wash and shave with. In this case, not much cost was involved. A plumber friend hooked up the system for £200. More expensive commercial versions can be bought, to filter and recycle rainwater.

Donnachadh explains: "About 20,000 gallons of water fall onto our roofs each year but it is pumped to the water company who put chemicals in it. Then they pump it back and we flush it down the loo."

This is incredibly wasteful, particularly as only 45 per cent of our water is used for drinking. If everybody had a rainwater harvester, he explains, the country could save several power stations worth of energy. Donnachadh's bathroom is also equipped with a special toothbrush with a disposable head. This means that the whole brush does not have to be thrown away when the brush is worn out.

When they are aggregated, such tiny changes are highly significant. Rubbish is another example. Donnachadh explains that, in the past three months, he has produced only a small plastic bucket of waste. Compost, glass bottles and jars, cans and some plastic are recycled. He avoids over-packaged foods and buys his vegetables from an organic box scheme. This not only cuts the distance that his food has travelled, it helps to limit his rubbish. And the food is not polluted with pesticides.

Donnachadh cleans his windows with organic vinegar. He rides a bike and grows an impressive range of herbs and soft fruit in his back garden. The furniture in his cosy house is second-hand and the underlay beneath his carpet is made from post-industrial waste. But he does not see himself as "different" from other people. He rejects the notion that being green is a middle class luxury. Most of the things that he does actually save money.

Even the cost of installing solar panels on his roof - his largest capital investment - would now only be £6,000. And this would drop even lower if the panels were mass-produced. Donnachadh believes that the government should fund a factory to kick-start a new, profitable industry. He explains: "My vision of the future is that houses will be net exporters of energy, using photovoltaic cells, wind turbines and micro combined heat and power boilers. It will be the job of energy companies to collect it."

He argues: "I am living the same lifestyle as everybody else. I shave, I have a washing machine. I run a computer. I am not asking people to lead different lives and I am not specifically against consuming. It is how we consume and how much we consume that's the issue - the waste and the destructiveness of our society."

Last spring, Donnachadh was taking part in a peace vigil outside American Embassy. He had already worked on the idea of a radio series about his house. Through a chance meeting at the vigil he was invited by a publisher from Fusion Press to write a book. He explains: "Originally, they wanted to do a chapter for each room. I explained that this wouldn't work because each room has the same issues - energy use, chemicals, recycling, and so on."

The book, Saving the planet without costing the earth, shows people how they can carry out an audit to assess the environmental impact of their lives. And it contains 500 practical suggestions, ranging from sending electronic greetings cards to buying a more fuel efficient car.

Donnachadh explains: "Seventy per cent of the suggestions save money or don't cost anything, 23 per cent cost something, then there's a few that cost a lot." The book also contains a fascinating autobiographical section explaining his personal journey from the Amazon to Camberwell.

Donnachadh is proud of his political achievements but feels that he has now moved into a different arena. From a small house in south London his ambition is to become a media pundit, showing millions of people how they too can transform their lifestyles. He has already promoted the book on BBC 2 and Radio Five live.

He comments: "You need to inspire people. You need to show them it's possible and you need to show them how to do it. Each chapter, whether it's on energy, work or food, shows what the problems are and how we can do something about them. The book also explains my adventure over the past 12 years. It says 'here is a real human being living in the inner city and this is what he did'. To me the book will be a success if I have changed something - if someone has started cycling, or using low-energy lightbulbs, or planted mint in their garden. That is what I am aiming for."

Saving the planet without costing the earth: 500 steps to a greener lifestyle by Donnachadh McCarthy, Fusion Press, £11.99. ISBN 1-904132-39-1