About me
Peter Hughes--- design, invention, strategies, film making
Peter’s conservation work began in 1981, when he was eleven years old. He helped organise a “bring and buy” garden lunch raising £400 for The Young People’s Trust for Endangered Species. Peter was awarded a plaque for his efforts by Sir Cyril Littlewood.
Peter worked as an English teacher in Taiwan, then donated some travel money to Kaaestart University Forestry Club, Bangkok. The Bangkok Post wrote about this as he returned home to save rainforests full time. A chance meeting with an Argentinean, Adriano Roldan led to saving 10,000 acres of sub-tropical forest in Misiones, South America, an ecological treasure chest. In 1991 The Mission Rainforest Project got launched and Peter began selling the forest by the acre, whilst holding the land in trust, publicising the rainforests internationally. Sir Cliff Richard lent his support to the campaign and the project was represented at The World Wide Fund For Nature AGM in Washington DC. The campaign successfully raised in excess of £300,000 and saved 10,000 acres from the chainsaw.
The land is today government-managed and is a regional wildlife reserve, a part of the wildlife corridor; linking UNESCO world heritage reserve in the south of Misiones with Iguazu Waterfalls Park in Brazil. South America’s primary effort to save the Jaguar. The campaign was one of the most successful public based conservation efforts that came out of the UK in the 1990s. Birdlife, The International Council for Bird Preservation was a keen supporter of the campaign from the offset.
Following the rainforest success Adriano’s Shack was created and fitted out using ecological materials, reclaimed from the nearby Shepperton film studios. The shop sold various surf lines, including Hot Tuna, Mambo, Oxbow, Gastro, Billabong and combined these fashionable labels with sustainable products produced by rainforest communities. Adriano’s Shack stocked Lifeline T-shirts, the UK’s first brand of ecological T-shirts. The objective was to help make the enviornmental cause, then unfashionable, fashionable.
Peter worked as a volunteer consultant to Arcadia, an umbrella organisation of NGOs. This was the first organisation to network diverse groups with a common interest together and thus essentially creating the first coalition of NGOs. Partners included WWF, Greenpeace, FoE, RSPCA, Earthwatch, The Born Free Foundation, RSPB and over twenty other organisations.
Peter presented the principles of Eco-tourism to the tourism ministers from six Asian countries at an ASEAN tourism conference held in Bangkok. Met with the head of Tourism Malaysia and the deputy head of ASEAN to discuss the greening of Asia. A week after the conference, Thailand announced its first eco-tourism initiative. Ecotourism is Malaysia’s primary tourism drive today.
Between 1993-1994 Peter designed and built an Environmental Awareness Centre, Ecotec Dreamtime and Smart drink bar in Camden Lock, London, with a team of volunteers. London’s second purpose-built environmental awareness centre, after The London Ecology Centre.
Creating a credible and healthy lifestyle alternative to the usual alcohol-orientated pub environment. The bar was like a single art instillation creating an inspiring space built using reclaimed materials. It contained different artistic environments, enhanced with visual projections and special effects. The objective was to wake people to global warming through creating an enjoyable venue. Various charity groups and special needs children also made use of the facility. The team promoted the enviornmental message with installations in a variety of Londons nighclubs, bringing the issue into peoples lives through entertainment..
Ecotec Dreamtime featured in a broad range many newspapers and magazines including On magazine, The Face, The Times, The Evening Standard, Iberia in flight magazine, and Harpers and Queen, Used as a film set for MTV and Naked City. It was voted one of London’s Top Ten attractions by Kiss radio, Germany.
In 2005, a 60ft x100ft renewable energy sculpture was designed at Glastonbury Festival, with volunteers and a team of scaffolders. The instalation included windpower turbines, solar panels, strobe lights, solar powered phone boxes, fire jugglers and a lighting rig for the band Back to the Planet.
The Guardian described the instillation as “one of the best features of the festival.”
Peter is trained in business coaching, Neuro Lingusitic Programming and Accelerated Learning. He published many articles on sustainability, concept design, the work of Monty Roberts, social innovation and collective greening.
In 1996 Peter teamed up with Kinga Monica BSc(Hons) - design, green business, film editing.
Kinga gained a diploma in architecture from her native Krakow, Poland. In the UK she trained in Ecological building design and the development of ideas at Richmond upon Thames, OU. Kinga teamed up with Peter through Good Earth, a group formed to establish an eco-village. They worked with some twenty other people including the renowned artist, architect and designer Roger Dean, (War of the Worlds, Rolling Stones, Asia, etc). Ecoplaza strategy was selected for the construction of an eco-leisure park, residential village, and eco-industrial park. A 500 acre complex, Alcaidesa, Costa del Sol, Spain received a pledge of funding for £12million from a consortium of Scandinavian businessmen. They hoped that this was going to be a landmark centre for ecological innovation and the first ecoplaza. Community group dynamics got in the way of success. Then sent out project proposals to many about the concpet of a loosely connected global immune system made up of autonomous groups and individuals working together for collective greening and intergrated solutions.
Leading green business thinkers; Dame Anita Roddick and Paul Hawken both acknowledged the potential and viability of their climate change formula. “may well be viable,” wrote Dame Anita Roddick, “certainly has potential,” wrote Paul Hawken.
In 1999 Kinga obtained a 2.1 bachelor’s degree in earth sciences and nature conservation from Bournemouth University, UK. She also carried out a soil erosion assessment study at the environmental centre, the Spanish Pyrenees, which at the time hosted Europe’s largest solar installation. Lleida University and the Barcelona Institute of Earth Sciences were contributors to the project.
In 2001 we consulted the Extension of Kruger Park- Nelson Mandela Peace Park Project on how to improve ecological and economic performance. Our business strategies were applied in the tourist lodges, established in partnership with the tribes and forming the extension of Kruger Park. This is currently bringing low impact tourism to tribal lands, after these lands were removed during the Apartheid era. Our proposals also helped inspire the creation of a Ranger Training Collage. One of the tourist resorts was opened by President Mbeki. Whilst back in the UK we were offered the position of managing a nature reserve in Mozambique, which we declined as we were already committed to two UK based businesses.
Between 1999 – 2002 Peter & Kinga purchased a delapidated Victorian seaside hotel in Ilfracombe, Devon. They renovated the premises incorporating their own blend of design into a green backpacker hostel and a theme restaurant, Atlantis. The restaurant, a subtle art installation, with ecological design. Artefacts from a diversity of different cultures were displayed together with art works. The dishes were fusion cuisine; dishes included Malaysian Stew, Alexandrian Stew and Ice Cream Flambé. The dishes were healthy, the menu was 75% Vegetarian, no GMO’s and partly organic. The restaurant became very popular as did the Backpackers with two tour companies. Damien Hirst and the programme researchers for Tomorrows World were among the customers. Ocean Backpackers also established an activity agency and late night music bar. The businesses catered for up to eighty people at any one time. (oceanbackpackers.co.uk)
In 2001, with Peter as head chef and Kinga front of house, Atlantis Restaurant was voted one of the top five in North Devon. Both ventures were featured by Lonely Planet, Lets Go and Rough Guide describing both businesses as excellent.
In 2002 first Backpackers Hostel in Bristol won a regional tourism award for its green credentials following the presentation of a number of concepts, which singled out and promoted backpacker hostels as the greenest type of tourist accommodation. They also contributed to travel books, Rough Guide for Devon and Cornwall 2002. They sold the three businesses together. Operated various catering tents at festivals including a three day event catering for one thousand people for two meals per day.
In 2003, with a view to promoting Ecoplaza and conservation methods, they wrote a book called Ecological Transport Network and produced a short film called Thames, Electric Riverside Transport Link, (TERTL). The project demonstrated how any western city could convert its existing transport system into a greener transport system through applying the incremental theory. More than seven of the ideas in this document are now used in the UK transport system.
In 2003, they purchased a derelict building in Spain of approx 270sq metres. Without water or electricity. It had not been in use since the early 1970s. Currently it is used as a solar powered film studio.
Whilst awaiting planning permissions they were commissioned to produce films to help the local stray dog issue. The film was endorsed by the RSPCA International. The film has been used as an educational and fundraising tool by some Spanish charities.
The mill project combined ecological innovation featuring many of the original artefacts and low-tech technologies including a cave cooling system, that combines with a second passive air cooling system through utilising a spring that runs under the building, rain water collection and harvesting. All of the windows and doors were reclaimed and renovated. The floors mostly made with salvaged marble. Intricate mosaics were recreated using the traditional Moorish methods. The Project is 70% ecological; extensively using hemp and lime both major CO2 absorbents, hot water and electricity are provided by solar energy and grey water is re-used to water the vegetable garden and fruit trees. In 2009, the project gained an international kitemark for sustainability. A page article in The Sunday Telegraph and a two page article in The Scotsman recently featured the project and Ecoplaza.
The construction methods used called upon broader design and management models, reducing construction time and halving the usual estimated cost. This method can be applied to similar projects on a considerably larger scale. This project was used as a prototype model for developing management formulas which could be applied to how we manage and better utilise resources on a global scale.
Hemp and Lime are major CO2 absorbants. They can however only be used in cooler climates in a limited way at present primarily due to drying time. The drying time of a wall is 1 mm. per day. Thick walls and blocks therefore take many months to dry out. This factor greatly limits the potential use of hemp and buildings as carbon sinks. We have discovered a process that can radically change this enabling Hemp drying time to be measured so that it is possible to dry Hemp in days or hours at the fastest rate three cms can be dried in ten minutes. This discovery we are networking and hope to market and can help transform houses into carbon sinks. Whilst also doing away with the need for many very ecologically damaging foam and cement based rapid dry products used across the building industry.
In August 2009, we forsaw the outcome of Copenhagen either strict targets would be agreed or not, either way the essential infastructure of how those targets are achieved or an alternative strategy would be the key conclussion of Copenhagen. Lifestyle centres that appeal to people usually outside of the climate change box, that transform a selfish society into a selfless enviornmentally aware and active society is the key to solving climate change. We made a a film together with volunteers from an LA film studios, volunteers from South Korea, Sweden and Somalia making a film based in 2038 predicting how from COP15 we managed to save the planet. Essentially through new highly effective networking tools such as this and new hightec ecological networking centres being established independently around the world operating in a similar way to backpacker hostels for mutual promotion. Eco day centres, a next generation of eco-village. Used not just by residents but a complete cross section of society.
Over the last two years Peter and Kinga have published a series of articles on climate change, global immune system, collective greening, ecoplaza, conservation, earth gains, socially responsible business and maximising water use in dry regions, and ran a catering column for a Spanish regional newspaper. They consulted to various organisations and companies working in India, the UK and South Africa. Peter has intermediate Spanish, Kinga is multilingual.
Presently seek funding and-or opportunities.
