New books for eco homes and away

For those interested in eco house and garden design, there's a number of specialist books recently published.  If you'd rather spend your hard-earned cash on a holiday rather than on your eco-pad then there's some must-read material for you too. 'Natural Swimming Pools' is packed full of plans and pictures of how to create your own self-contained aquatic ecosystem. 'Building with Cob' is a practical guide to earth building. 'Diary of an Eco-builder', charts the visions and challenges of creating an environmentally friendly home. 'The Ethical Travel Guide' is your essential resource for responsible global travel.  For more information and links, read on.

'Natural Swimming Pools' is written by Michael Littlewood, an eco landscape designer. Ditch hot tubs and chlorinated swimming pools to bathe in a natural pool, living in harmony with nature. The pool relies on the effective cleaning system of select plants and micro-organisms. In the winter, the pool makes an attractive garden feature and its great for the kids to study the wildlife too.  For more detailed information see Michael's website or the current issue of the Green Parent magazine.

'Building with cob' is written by Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce who have set up their own company, Cob In Cornwall.  The book shows how to apply cob-building techniques in a wide variety of situations and covers everything from design, planning and siting walls, roofs, insulation, floors and fireplaces. Available from Green Books, priced at £25.

'The Diary of an Eco-builder' follows Will Anderson's progress from finding a plot, gaining planning permission and building himself a dream eco-home, mirroring the fine-tuned ecology of a tree. Follow his progress at his website.  Priced at £14.95 from Green Books.

'The Ethical Travel Guide' written by Polly Pattulo with Orely Minelli for Tourism Concern, is for those of us who want to have an exciting holiday which will have a positive effect on the local environment and its people.  There's hundred's of unique ideas ranging from simple local attractions to luxury retreats. Available from Earthscan at £12.99. [Ella]