A Perthshire community stalwart who spent months living in a small tent and worked alongside refugees at the Jungle camp in Calais has taken on a bold new challenge as a contestant in a major new reality TV series.
Rachel Butterworth, from Coupar Angus, is one of 23 young people who have agreed to be cast out from modern society for new survival show Eden.
The participants are being filmed round-the-clock as they fend for themselves on 600 acres of fenced-off estate on a remote coastal site near Lochaber, on the western edge of Scotland.
Unlike most modern day reality shows, there are no winners or evictions. The participants are simply tasked with creating a new civilisation over the course of a year.
That involves building shelters, growing their own food and raising livestock.
For Rachel, 29, the challenge may come easier than most. She has been heavily involved in Coupar Angus’ community garden project, which encourages locals to grow their own vegetables in an idyllic rural setting.
Earlier this year, she visited the Jungle refugee camp in Calais after leading a successful drive to gather donations of aid – including clothing, sleeping bags and toiletries – from local families and businesses.
She said that she wanted to show that self-sufficient living is easier than most people think. “I lived in a bell tent for five months because I had nowhere to go,” she said. “It was a really happy time. You don’t have to conform to the prescribed society, this career, all the money coming, owning all this property.
“There’s more to life: wind, rain, sunshine, nature, love, tea.”
Writing about her experiences in Calais earlier this year, Rachel said: “I thought of the volunteers and refugees inside and had an overwhelming feeling of solidarity with them all.
“I have more in common with people in the Ashram Kitchen than many in my own country. These people believe in love, hope, compassion, respect and laughter: everything that is good about the world.”
The concept of Eden is similar to the BBC’s groundbreaking Castaway series from 2000, which made a star of presenter Ben Fogle. The series, which begins on Monday night, is being filmed by an embedded crew, personal cameras and one of the largest and most remote fixed rigs ever created for television.
The group, who arrived in March, were allowed to take in what they could carry and have been provided with livestock, animal pens, basic safety equipment and reference books.
Before filming began, locals objected to the production. They claimed the show would spoil an area of natural beauty, caused pollution and have a negative effect on the local economy.
However, the series-makers were allowed access by Highland Council after discussions in March.
