Voices from a disused quarry

An oral history of the Centre for Alternative Technology

Voices from a disused quarry tells the story of a one-of-a-kind organisation: the Centre for Alternative Technology. Starting its work in February 1974, in an era characterised by fear of imminent environmental collapse, CAT has emerged as one of the UKs most important exponents of practical environmentalism and a leader in environmental education and zero carbon research.

Allan Shepherd looks at CATs 40-year history through the lens of four broad themes: environmental quest, technical endeavour, sense of place, and community, conflict and co-operation. In turns humorous, heartfelt and challenging, the oral testimonies of some of those closest to CAT (workers, members, friends and neighbours) offer an inside view of what must be one of the most interesting social and environmental experiments in modern British history.