As recent writers have discovered, Essex is a county that just doesn't fit with the stereotypes that have grown up around popular TV programmes like TOWIE, 'Birds of a Feather' and 'Gavin and Stacey'.

Our county has a long history of dissent, experimentation and outright rebellion. An Arts Council project called 'Radical Essex' is seeking to celebrate something of this original and experimental side of Essex.

Dotted around the county are reminders of communities and initiatives that were born out of idealism and optimism.

For example, there is the very old tradition of setting up smallholdings or communal farms to enable working people to support themselves off the land. The Hadleigh Colony is effectively a 120-year-old communal farm, set up by General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army. 900 acres of farmland in Hadleigh were bought to enable unemployed and homeless men from the East End to build new lives.

By 1892 the site had a working farm, three brickworks, a hospital and church, and a tramline and railway to transport food and bricks to a nearby wharf. As government welfare programmes grew, the mission of the farm shifted to include helping refugees from the Spanish Civil War and Nazi persecution in Germany.

The centre continues to prosper, providing among other things training for employment for people with additional support needs.

Not far away, the Haven Plotlands Museum commemorates a grass-roots movement which again supported East Enders. Redundant farmland was sold cheaply for families who wanted to run smallholdings, or even just build cheap homes from recycled materials. There were nearly 200 at one stage, built from army huts, old railway carriages, sheds and chalets. One remains preserved on Essex Wildlife Trust land at Langdon Nature Discovery Park.

Jaywick developed in a similar way, bought by Frank Stedman in 1928 to provide low-cost holiday homes to working-class families. Housing shortages after World War 2 meant that these became permanently occupied in spite of their unsuitability.

The Purleigh Colony was established in 1897 as an anarchist collective based on the philosophy of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. The colony grew grapes and tomatoes and kept a goat. The collective decision-making and lack of any rules became a source of contention, and the group split after a few years.

Stanford-le-Hope vegetarian colony also had a rather brief lifespan, operating chiefly during the 1939-45 war as a 15-acre holding worked by a dozen pacifists.

In contrast, the Dial House commune on the fringes of Epping Forest continues to this day, despite difficulties. Founded by members of punk-rock group Crass in 1967, it is an anarchist-pacifist community. There are no rules, doors are never locked, and people can stay as long as they please, providing they contribute to the running of the house.

The final two communities were set up with peace and healing in mind, in two of the most remote spots in Essex. Osea Island, off Maldon in the Blackwater, was bought by Victorian philanthropist Frederick Charrington and set up as a temperance retreat for people suffering from drink problems. Charrington, from the famous brewing family, had witnessed a drunken fight outside one of his family's pubs, and set about to use his wealth to combat the negative effects of alcohol.

Osea is now an exclusive and beautiful privately-owned holiday island, with a variety of houses to stay in. As its website invites visitors to "uncork a good bottle of red" it is obviously much more relaxed than its historical roots!

The Othona Community is at the tip of the Dengie Peninsula, centred round the ancient chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall built on the old Roman fort. It was founded by RAF chaplain Norman Motley in 1946 as an open religious working community.

Originally just a few tents, it has grown over the years to a substantial centre for contemplation, discussion and work. Powered now by wind turbine and solar panels, it continues as a self-sufficient community, with visitors welcome.

Though not all ventures have succeeded long-term, it's remarkable how many original and idealistic initiatives have been spawned in our county.