Road Trip

A recent trip up country took me first to Westport where I called in on the Sustainability Institute, home of the Irish Sustainability Magazine.

Right: Sustainability editor Andy Wilson hard at work

Andy Wilson’s creation of the Sustainability Magazine has been a remarkable achievement, bringing a much-needed serious journal into the Irish environmental landscape. Starting up a new magazine from scratch is no mean feat and the scholarly and well-researched articles on a wide range of topics is to be greatly welcomed. The third issue is out this week.

I also got a chance to see the recently refurbished cottage that Andy and Meetje have been renovating over the past couple of years. Now finished with new more insulation, hemp and lime plaster, skylights- triple glazed!!- ad many other improvements, the cottage is an impressive example of what can be done to improve energy efficiency and comfort in an old stone cottage and it is great to see Meetje and family safely ensconced once again under the new roof!

Andy is also an expert on renewable energy systems and contributed the most useful chapter of the booklet I wrote with Dr. Colin Campbell, Living Through the Energy Crisis in which he details how the household reduced its domestic energy consumption and now is run largely from onsite wind-turbine and PV cells:

A return to Clare Island was next where we repitched the yurt for the Clare Island Yoga Centre- surely one of the most spectacular views from a yurt anywhwere.

While on the island we stayed with Sean and Maggie O’Grady. Sean showed me around the farm he had grown up on which was a poignant snapshot of how island life has changed over the last two or three generations, from growing up in the pictured stone thatched cottage and living in close proximity with the animals to taking on the farm while his siblings left the island to seeing the end of the Celtic Tiger and a progressive erosion of farming life during the last few years as grants have disappeared, stocking levels been drastically reduced and turf cutting (for fuel) banned for environmental reasons.

“The island needs some new blood. Many islanders have land they can no longer use- why not invite in some young families from the cities who could make a new start here and reinvigorate the community? With the young people leaving the island and few young families left the long term prospects for the island are poor”.

Next we moved onto the Organic Centre in Leitrim where I gave a one-day intro to Permaculture course as last year. This was again well-attended and the feedback was excellent- it is always gratifying to see people curious and new to the permaculture concept be stirred by its power to help see things differently and provide real solutions. We also had the opportunity to work on the Organic Centre’s forest garden which is beginning to look very good.

One one of the course participants was Rebecca Hillman who blogs about her smallholding adventures on Sally Gardens and kindly invited us to pay a visit after the course.

Of particular interest were Rebecca’s Californian meat rabbits which she has recently blogged about.

Below: Meat rabbits- to cute to eat?

Thanks to Rebecca and dan for showing us around and good luck with all their future projects.