A BIT of the "Good Life" has found its way to the Cowling hillside.

Elaine Owen and her partner, Graham Smout, have been transforming a derelict seventeenth-century farmhouse into a self-sufficient eco-friendly home for themselves and children, Nicholas and Sarah.

Eight years ago the white farmhouse had little in the way of a roof, heating, plumbing or sanitation and Elaine said many people would think they were mad to take it on.

The couple were helped financially by the local Ecology Building Society.

"I always wanted to live in a white house," said Elaine. "I was driving past and saw the house and fell in love with it. Two weeks later it came up for sale - the finger of fate had pointed us to it.

"We were looking for something to convert and were both environmentally-minded and the house seemed right. No other building society would have touched us. They would have looked at this property and the roof and thought we were mad."

The family moved into the semi-derelict home in Easter 1995 and for many months were camped out in rooms with no electricity, heating or running water.

The restoration was not all plain sailing, with feet coming through ceilings and thanks to the slope of the house, a sheep came flying through the window and landed on the architect's head.

"The water supply failed completely. We had to go to another farm with kettles and buckets to get the water from the well - primitive wasn't the word!" Elaine said. "The septic tank blew up in the garden, and we couldn't get away from the smell."

But, she said, it was worth it in the end.

"I don't think there has ever been a point when either of us have said 'I wish we'd never started this'," she said. "We have had some low points but the house has always had a lovely feel to it. I'm not moving now!"

Everything done to the house was environmentally-friendly from the wood-worm treatment to the sewage system. They even have their own spring at the far end of the land.

Insulation ensures the building only needs the minimum of heating, which is done through an oil-fired boiler and the couple are hoping to resurrect a wind turbine which used to operate from the house to generate electricity.

They also hope to install solar panels and are working towards self-sufficiency, by growing their own vegetables, keeping chickens and introducing pigs in the near future.

To Elaine, it is the fulfilment of a dream, and she said that she was grateful that a local lender was able to listen to help them.

"They really listened to our ideas and it was good to talk to people who understood what we were trying to achieve. They have been there for us, when we have run out of cash they have given us some more!" she said.

The Ecology Building Society specialises in mortgages for conversions, renovations and ecological self-build projects.