I’ve beat the cost of living crisis by burning poo – people say it’s gross but I’ve got the last laugh, I’m saving loads
WITH energy bills set to rise even further in 2023 many of us will be looking for ways to save money whether that’s installing a smart metre or cutting down on usage.
However, one woman has revealed her very unusual way of saving money on her bills, and it’s kicking up a stink with the neighbours.
Kelly Wheeler, who lives in Ashby in Leicestershire, was desperate to save money on her energy bills and came up with an unusual solution.
She's been making bricks from poo to fuel the log burner at work.
Kelly says that not only does it keep her office toasty warm, she's even cooked a full English on top of the stove to feed her colleagues.
Burning poo from miniature Shetland Sketchley and American miniature horse Hugo and using solar lights outside instead of passive infrared lighting has saved Kelly an average of £50 a month on energy bills.
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The irony is that burning the poo from two ponies is actually saving the business a pony or two - the Cockney rhyming slang for £25.
Kelly, who runs an outdoor pursuits centre, says: "Because it's poo, people can't get their head around using it. However, once it's dried, it doesn't smell.
"I cannot tell you how happy it makes me.
“I love to reuse and recycle and we stay warm in the office for free and we can boil the kettle and cook on top. It's amazing!
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"We had a log burner fitted a few months back because the fan heaters we were using were costing an absolute fortune to run.
“Burning the briquettes has more than halved what logs we use. We've also got a kettle for the top and we can make dinner or a full English breakfast on it.
“Sometimes we use a hotpot or do jacket spuds in a little oven that sits on the top. It really reduces the costs.”
"It's a little bit dirty while you're making them, but it's quite therapeutic in a way. "
Kelly Wheeler
However, not everyone is convinced by Kelly’s innovative idea.
"We've had a mixed reaction,” she explains.
“Lots of people have contacted us asking how we make the bricks and they want to try it out. People come down and we show them what to do.
"Others are more surprised and ask whether it smells.
“They say they could never do it themselves, but we've brought people into the office when we've been burning them and there's absolutely no smell at all.
“It's a little bit dirty while you're making them, but it's quite therapeutic in a way.
"Kirsty, who works with me, loves making them. She says it's good for the soul and gives you a sense of wellbeing."
After the Field Sport UK team has used a heavy-duty briquette maker to compress the poo, the bricks are put in a log shed to dry out and then moved to shelves behind the log burner ready for use.
Kelly says: "We're doing our bit for the planet and saving money as well.
“As a small business, anyway we can save money really makes a difference.
"We also used to spend an awful lot of time mowing, but since we've had the ponies here, we've not had to do that, so it's saving time and fuel there as well.
“The ponies eat the grass and then we use their poo.
“We poo pick every day and put it in a compost bin in our recycling area and then whenever anybody gets a spare hour or two, we go to make the horse poo bricks.
“We can make about 50 in an hour. They burn quite slowly, but we still need a bit of log in with them so they don't smoulder.
“We get through about 30 or 40 in a day, depending on the temperature and whether we're cooking on the stove.
“It's going back to primitive ways.”
While Kelly’s methods might be a bit off-the-wall, she says that she’s never been warmer.
"It's so toasty in our office now,” she explains.
“In fact, we've got another building next door and our next project in the new year is to install a pipe and fans so we can heat another building with the log burner too and then we won't have to use an electric heater in there."
Burning pony poo isn't the only waste that's being disposed of in an unusual way.
The site, which has been used for outdoor activities like woodcraft, axe-throwing and archery since 2013, also has eco-friendly compost toilets for its human users.
After a trip to the loo, people throw wood shavings into the toilet to break down the human waste.
The toilets also use blocks made from coconut husks to absorb the excrement.
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Kelly adds: "It's great for the ground and costs us less than if we had to use mobile toilets.
“Some people use what's produced by their compost toilets for growing vegetables, but I definitely don't think that's for me!"
