Last summer I started the construction of a small timber-framed cabin here at Derryduff. Aided and abetted by specialist Sustainable Builder Dave Simmonds, we put the frame up and had the tin roof on in about three weeks work. A couple of months ago we started again, Dave doing most of the building with me [...]
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
I visited the Cultivate Centre in Dublin last weekend for the Sustainable Community Conference, part of the 12th Convergence Festival, which carried the theme: “How can our towns, villages and even our cities transition to economically localised communities? Using the example of processes begun in Totnes, Kinsale and Cloughjordan this dynamic event will look at [...]
The original idea of Mollison and Holmgren when they coined the term “permaculture” was the idea that it would be possible to garden and even farm commercially at least to some extent using perennial- and tree-crops that dont need the annual ritual of sowing seeds and raising seedlings. This has been practised for millenium in [...]
Leading on from reminiscences about my early adventures in Ireland and how I came to settle near Westport, I now have the opportunity to return to Clare Island from 29th June-3rd July for a 4-day Introduction to Permaculture Course which I will be giving at the Clare Island Yoga Retreat Centre The Yoga Centre is [...]
“If this is global warming, let’s have more of it!” Gerard from the garage in Bantry said to me last week as he bought a copy of the new Sustainability magazine. The problem is, this is only the beginning of April and although it makes for great holiday weather, one wonders what it will be [...]
This year’s building project at the Kinsale College- the first since I took over as permaculture teacher- is a reciprocal-framed roundhouse roughly the same size and style as my own in Derrydubh. This will be an on-going project over the next year or two and will provide us ultimately with a multi-fuctional building which could [...]