It seemed that most of the 600 population of Lodsworth turned out on Saturday morning for the opening of the new village shop.
The cutting the tape ceremony was performed by three of the village's oldest residents, Betty Redding, 93, Betty Simmonds, 92, and Marion Martlew, 80.
Mrs Simmonds, who has lived in the village all her life, said: 'It has been 20 years since we la
st had a shop and it was terrible when we lost it.
"I had to get the bus into Midhurst to do my shopping. Now this will be just lovely because I live only just across the road.'
The first customers – buying £2.50 worth of sweets and ice creams – were four-year-old Zed Law and his three-year-old sister Tess whose father Ben built the shop. Mr Law, whose construction of a woodland house was featured on Channel 4's Grand Designs programme, said: 'It's fantastic – a dream come true. It has to be the most eco-friendly shop in the country.''
The building is constructed from timber grown two miles away, powered by photo-voltaic panels on its roof, insulated with sheep's wool, heated by the wasted heat that comes from the back of its refrigerators and stocked with locally-made produce from chocolate to beer. It also has a water recycling plant.
With prices of basic items matching the Budgens supermarket in Midhurst, it has been calculated villagers will save between 15,000 and 20,000 miles a year in journeys into town.
The £150,000 project, which has been financed by local fundraising, the selling of 200 shares, and grants from councils and the lottery, has also provided jobs for a young couple from the village, Toby Marchant, 18, and Christine Chandler, 20, who will be the shopkeepers.
"It's a great opportunity for us," said Christine, whose father Paul runs a dairy farm. "We were just scraping round trying to find
any jobs we could get until this brilliant idea came along."
The community hopes the shop will become a meeting place for villagers and tourists and act as a hub for community services such as the collection of prescriptions, postal services and dry cleaning. It also has an internet service.
Bruce Middleton from the South Downs Joint Committee said: "This is a most amazing shop and the idea should be followed by villages around the country."
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