jump to navigation

Cool Earth August 28, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Environment, Food, Permaculture , add a comment

At the weekend I attended the Cool Earth Fair in Dun Laoghaire, part of the Festival Of World Cultures, organised by Cultivate and the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Environment Department, giving a couple of short talks on Peak Oil, and then Permaculture Gardening,

Left to Right: Gavin Hart (seated) Trevor Sargent, Graham Strouts, David Strahan

and participated on a panel discussion on Reducing Food Miles and Carbon Footprints, with David Strahan, journalist and author of The last oil Shock, and the Green Party’s Trevor Sargent, Minister for Food and Horticulture.

(more…)

West Cork Permaculture August 21, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Permaculture , 1 comment so far

The first 10-Day Permaculture design Course finished on Sunday with presentations 12 new Design Certificates:

Back row: Marion Chalet, Graham Strouts, Lisa Davis, Stephen Peel, John Dolan, Aiden Carvill, Claire O’Connor, Thomas O’Connor, Eoin O’Callaghan; Front Row: Jack Russey, Pomme Ringeard, Luc Bouriel, Samantha Lanham, Jane Pennington, Daithi O Lanluain

The course was a great success and one we hope to repeat in the future. Participants showed great fortitude in coping with a lot of rain and large volumes of food including summer puddings and chocolate cake with they managed to put away uncomplainingly.

Starting at Tooreenlahard, Ballingeary, the focus was on ethics and principles of permaculture design; peak oil and energy desent; and pond, reedbed and wetland construction with farm-scaper John Dolan.

Left: John explains reedbed construction; Right: floating garden

We then moved onto my place at Derryduff, where we looked at natural building, the limitations of living off the grid, and forest garden design:

Left: bare feet are best for cob-mixing; Right: planting ground-cover and companion plants through a mulch

We were lucky with the weather once again as we decamped on Thursday for the last leg of the course at Lisa Davis’ “Perma-Heaven” on the Sheep’s Head peninsular to share in her expertise of gardening and animal husbandry, and do a design exercise:

Left: Lisa’a Garden; Right: the Crew: Lisa, Graham, Anne, Franco, Gilli, John, Rachel

It was a really tremendous week and Id like to give a big thankyou to all the cooks, tutors and others who helped in the preparations to make it as success, and especially the course participants who took so well to the Permaculture Way and made the whole event so worthwhile.

Taking a Break August 7, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , add a comment

I am really tied up with preparing for and then running the 10 Day Permaculture Course here for the next couple of weeks so havnt had time to prepare any posts, but there will be lots of stories to tell later on so please check back towards the end of the month. Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Weekend in the Woods August 2, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , 2comments

One of the highlights for the summer is the CELT Weekend in the Woods. This is the fifth year of this unique event that takes place in the beautiful Bealkelly woods on the shores of Loch Derg, Co. Clare. Woodcarving, herb-lore, rustic-furniture, tipi-making, natural building, basketry, blacksmith, bushcraft, kids camp and my own course, Yurt Wheel Construction, all took place once again last weekend.

*Right: pitching a tipi at CELT *

The woods are owned by Del Harding who first agreed to host the CELT weekends after the 2001 Ecotopia festival was staged there.

Put together, the traditional skills covered by the CELT weekends supply much of what we will need to know in a post-peak world. From charcoal-making for the forge, the manufacture of drawknives by the blacksmith which are then used by the wood-workers to make everything else, we have right there the makings of the post-industrial society, providing shelter, tools and many other essential crafts from natural materials.

*steam-bent ash for yurt wheel clamped on frame

Its a great weekend, an opportunity to meet up with old and new friends, learn new skills and enjoy the woods and the lake. Many thanks to the organizers, and thanks to my dedicated students Davie and Amber who went beyond the call of duty, steam-bending until 9.30 on Saturday evening!