Centre for Alternative Technology

The Centre for Alternative Technology is an environmental education center on a former slate quarry in Powys, Wales, spread across 24 acres of gardens and woodlands. The site displays working examples of renewable energy systems, sustainable architecture, and organic food production set within naturally vegetated grounds.

The facility was founded in 1973 in response to growing environmental awareness and transformed an abandoned slate quarry near Machynlleth into a learning hub. Converting the industrial excavation site into an education center marked an early effort to demonstrate sustainable practices on the land.

The Wales Institute for Sustainable Education building showcases local construction methods with rammed earth walls and experimental green building techniques. Visitors can observe how traditional materials and sustainable methods work together in real structures.

The grounds are walkable and offer various paths through gardens, forest areas, and display zones with different focuses. Visitors should wear footwear suitable for uneven terrain and allow time to explore, as the site covers extensive space for wandering and discovery.

A water-powered cable car carries visitors 60 meters up the quarry face using collected rainwater as counterweight. This ingenious system demonstrates how simple physics principles can move people without engine power.