A couple spent three years saving £47,000 so they could buy land and set up their own commune - where friends eat homegrown food and help raise each other's children. Charlotte Knee-Zaska, 30, had always dreamed of building a home in the countryside - they bought a piece of land and welcomed a family in to start their own 'sustainable community' for a 'slower pace of life'.
She and her husband, Max, 32, a musician, saved £47k over three years to buy nearly an acre land in Offaly, Ireland, in August 2017 and moved from their home in Dublin, Ireland, with their daughter, Iza, five, in tow. The pair set about building two houses - so they could welcome families to join their 'community' and learn to live sustainably together.
The family spent two years renovating a cottage already on the land and building an extension with its own living areas so they could have another family join them. In April 2021, they were able to welcome their friends, James Smith, 32, a music producer, and Ffion Thomas, 31, a holistic therapist, and their daughter Connie, now one, into their home.
