CAT 30th Anniversary Photo Gallery

In three decades, CAT has evolved from a dedicated experiment in self-sufficiency to a globally recognised showcase for sustainable development. Weve gone from working with a shoestring budget to a multi-million pound annual turnover. Thousands of eager volunteers have climbed up the hill to donate their skills over the years, and these days they are joined by a paid staff of more than 100. Its a success story by anybody's standards. Here's a selection of classic images from the CAT photo archive, illustrating 30 years of information, inspiration and sustainability in action! Click on the thumbnails for a larger version

1970s
70s: The old slate quarry The Centre for Alternative Technology is built on an old slate quarry. This is all that remained of the old mining buildings when the first crazy idealists arrived in 1974.	70s: Inside the main office building Once a dilapidated building, this is now the main office, housing CAT’s reception, visitor centre marketing, media department, displays, the development director and the company secretary.	70s: The slate mine train track This track, originally used to transport slate from the mine, was replaced in the 1980s by a path that runs around the visitor centre. Not only does the path guide visitors around the site; it also has the heat main beneath it, distributing heat around the site’s buildings.
70s: Cretan Windmill One of the first electricity generating devices was the Cretan windmill, which was made out of cloth and old car parts. Though a good idea in principle, it turned out to have a low wind efficiency and was high maintenance so was replaced by more efficient technology.	70s: Darrius vertical axis wind turbine Another early experimental wind machine, the Darrius looked like a 4 bladed egg beater. It began turning by drag forces and then operated by lift once sufficient speed had been picked up.	70s: Moving the water turbine It was all hands on deck in the early days. The arrival of a second-hand water turbine meant electricity was able to be generated from the abundant water on site.
70s: Early building work The first arrivals start the refurbishment work on the dilapidated quarry buildings.	70s: The community A group shot of the original settlers in front of the building known as Tea Chest. Originally bought in kit form in the 1970s at the Ideal Home exhibition, tea chest is still the communal staff building.	70s: Royal visit News of what was happening at the quarry quickly spread. Here Prince Phillip is being shown around by CAT founder Gerard Morgan-Grenville in 1974.
70s: Insulate, insulate, insulate Whilst the miner’s cottages were renovated and made habitable, the community lived in caravans. Conserving energy has always been important - here a caravan is coated in insulating foam.	70s: Heat Store The main office was designed in 1975 to be the first completely solar heated building. To do this, it had to have an interseasonal heat store, which saved up solar energy from the summer and used it in the winter.	70s: Community living Communal meals were a chance to catch up with what was going on at the Quarry.
70s: The quarry shop As part of a holistic outlook on sustainable living, the Quarry shop and café opened in nearby town Machynlleth, on St David’s Day, 1st March, 1979.	70s: A new waterwheel appears The original water wheel having long since disappeared, a new timber water wheel was built and displayed at CAT to demonstrate water power.	70s: Pedal Power An early exhibit using pedal power to power a light bulb.
70s: the village of the future An early site plan, which proclaimed that CAT was the ‘Village of the Future’.
1980s
80s: Walter Segal self-build house A timber frame house that demonstrates the low impact Walter Segal method of construction. Attendees on residential courses stay here.	80s: The electric truck This electric truck was our site vehicle during the 80s.	80s: The electric truck in action This picture could almost be Tom and Barbara from 'The Good Life' - the electric truck was even used for transporting manure around site.
80s: The wood gas burner The wood gas burner was a great idea in theory, using wood to produce gas which in turn produced electricity. In practice, wood wouldn’t drop properly into the combustion chamber though charcoal worked well. Charcoal was expensive and the burner also needed a lot of tweaking to work efficiently so it was eventually replaced.	80s: Sarvonius turbine Another experimental wind turbine, made from a recycled oil drum.	80s: Trembe wall The trembe wall is located on the south facing wall of one of the restored miner's cottages. The wall was meant to capture the heat from the sun during the daytime and then release it via vents to heat the house during the evening and night. The theory was great though in practice, it didn't work particularly well.
80s: Solar collectors Roger White, our longest-serving staff member, installs some of CAT’s very first solar generators.	80s: Early solar technology A reminder of how far renewable energy has come. Remember when the solar calculator was cutting edge technology?
1990s
90s: The eco cabins The ecocabins are equipped with their own renewable energy system, water supply and sewage disposal systems, providing a tangible demonstration of the finite nature of resources. Groups staying in the ecocabins can choose to start off with a limited amount of energy at the beginning of their stay, which they then need to choose carefully how to use. The cabins are also equipped with monitoring equipment so that groups can measure their inputs and outputs.	90s: The cliff railway The visitor centre is located on a slate tip, so early visitors faced a steep climb in order to come and see us. To make the centre more accessible, we installed a water-balanced cliff railway.	90s: Photovoltaic testing CAT joined forces with the University College of Wales at Cardiff to develop a PV roof that would allow the PVs themselves to be used as the waterproof layer of a pitched roof.
90s: The installed photovoltaic roof The result was at the time, 1993, the largest photovoltaic array in the UK. Located on the south facing roof of the main office, it has a rating of 13kW and is a valuable addition to our renewable energy array.	90s: Publications department launched The CAT publications department has grown from a series of Roneo and Xeroxed information sheets to over 80 professionally produced titles in just ten years.	90s: The shop and mail order service take off The shop has continually been a highlight visitors to our Centre, always offering an ethically sound, eco-friendly shopping experience unlike anything else in the UK.
90s: Megan the Mole appears The mole hole reduces humans to the size of insects, showing soil as a living organism.
2000s
00s: The Ateic building The Ateic (Autonomous Environmental Information Centre) building, which houses the CAT shop, mail order department and information service, was completed in 2000. ‘Britain’s Greenest Building’ is constructed without concrete and has rammed earth walls, sheep’s wool insulation and passive solar design.	00s: The Ateic building - inside the CAT shop An example of passive solar design - the sun streams through the roof windows on a sunny day, heating up the rammed earth walls which then slowly release heat later on.	00s: Constructing the strawbale theatre Building with straw has really taken off in the UK - it's a great insulating material, widely available and you don't have to be an expert to construct with it.
00s: The finished strawbale theatre The strawbale theatre provides a valuable space for children’s activities in the summer holidays, meetings and lectures.	00s: The community wind turbine The UK’s first community managed turbine sits in the hills behind CAT. CAT buys all the power generated (around 163 MWh each year), using about half of this to supply its site with electricity and hot water and exports the rest to the local grid.	00s: CAT's 25th birthday A double celebration - CAT’s 25th birthday coincided with the completion of the Ateic building. Gerard Morgan- Grenville, CAT’s founder and Paul Allen, CAT’s Development Director cut the birthday cake.
00s: Bringing the Future Forward Thanks to a £410,000 ReDiscover grant, CAT is in the process of constructing 3 new, exciting interactive displays as part of its 'Bring the Future Forward' project. The displays will focus on power and energy, waste and recycling and improvements that can be made in the home. This is an artist’s impression of the Energy & Power display.	00s: New Wind display An artist’s impression of the new wind display, part of 'Bringing the Future Forward' project.	00s: The WISE project We finally purchased the site in 2003. This has enabled us to plan for the Welsh Institute for Sustainable Education. It will feature the latest in renewable energy and eco–building technologies and provides the perfect venue for our ever-expanding educational work.
	THANK YOU! Of course, we wouldn't be Europe's leading eco-centre without the support of our members, the 100s of volunteers who've made valuable contributions and 30 years worth of committed staff who definitely work for love not money.