jump to navigation

The City of Saba October 27, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , 1 comment so far

I have always loved the poetry of Rumi. Writing 800 years ago in the 13th Century, his language is beautiful and intoxicating, whatever about the “mystical” meaning of it, even to an atheist like me. Rumi takes an often side-ways look at the human condition, and his absurd rendition of people’s shallow beliefs, their pre-occupation with materialism, trivia and what others think of them is at times reminiscent of Voltaire. What is most extraordinary is how relevant his gentle mocking is to today, and the power of his words coming down through the centuries to get us take stock, pause and consider what might be really important in life. This is a poem I came across the other day that seems to have particular relevance for the inhabitants of the modern world: (more…)

Permaculture Tribe October 7, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General, Permaculture , add a comment

The Practical Sustainabilty Course in Kinsale has a record number of students this year, being completely over-subscribed in the new intake and with over 20 returning for the second year. Permaculture students at KFEC Hundreds of students have passed through the course which is now in its seventh year, an indication of the real demand and growing interest in all things sustainable. People often ask, “What do the students go onto do afterwards?” and so it is great that there is now a new site Permies Portal created by Jeannie Timony to help network students past, present and future. If you have been a student at Kinsale please sign up on the sight and tell us what you are doing- we’d love to hear from you!

Book Review: Peak Everything October 4, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Food, General, Peak Oil, Permaculture , 9comments

Peak Everything- Waking up to the Century of Declines By Richard Heinberg 224 pp New Society (2008)

“Our central survival task for the decades ahead, as individuals and as a species, must be to make a transition away from the use of fossil fuels— and to do this as peacefully, equitably, and intelligently as possible.” (from the introduction.)

Richard Heinberg is the acceptable face of Peak Oil. His uncompromising message of the impending collapse of modern society due to resource depletion in his previous books The Party’s Over, Powerdown, and The Oil Depletion Protocol is delivered with too much eloquence and compassion to earn the sobriquet “doomer” and yet he is not afraid of taking on the “difficult” issues of population and collapse. (more…)

Flowers in the Autumn September 30, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , add a comment

Despite the cold clear nights of last week, the unusually warm weather continuing into October seems to be producing strange anomalies in the garden. This is a photo taken of flowers on a “Katy” apple tree yesterday.

Over the past few months, each successive report from the scientific community seems to be outdoing the last in dire predictions of approaching a “tipping point” with the possibility of a sudden, abrupt flip into a whole new climate regime - possibly within the space of a few years- increasingly likely. For an excellent review of the latest situation see Sharon Astyk

This week Ive also enjoyed reading this discussion of human’s place in natural succession: are we preparing the way for the next stage in a natural succession and thus hastening our own demise, just as pioneers help create the conditions for canopy tree species which then over-shade them?

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!

When the Rivers Run Dry July 3, 2007

Posted by Graham in : Environment, General, water , add a comment

With changing weather patterns leading to extreme weather reports hitting the headlines with ever greater frequency, it seems there is either too much water, as in the destructive floods across the midlands of England and the North of Ireland earlier this month, or not enough, as in the catastrophic impact of the Australian drought. Water management will be increasingly important, especially for the water demanding cities, and Dublin is no exception- I will shortly post a story on proposals to divert the Shannon to supply the growing capital. As the following book review shows, similar schemes have already had devastating consequences for river systems all over the world. (more…)

Permaculture on Clare Island April 9, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , add a comment

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 run by Ciara Cullen and Christophe Mouze and had not yet been established when I last visited - I guess 8 years ago or more? So I’m really looking forward to the trip not least because I planted about a thousand trees for Ciara over 10 years ago and have scarcely been back to see them since. This was on the edge of a nearly unique-for an offshore island- woodland remnant of birch, holly and a couple of oaks.

This course will be unusual in that it will therefore include a yoga class each morning to balance our energies and put us in a suitable frame of mind for observations in nature and looking at aspects of sustainable design and living.

The setting could hardly be more spectacular. Clare Island is a very special place, unusual amongst Ireland’s’ western islands in that it has a mountain- two in fact, from the top of which there is a panoramic view of Croagh Patrick and Clew Bay.

The Curse of Akkad April 8, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , 3comments

“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 like in July. Will there be enough water? Will the roads start to melt? This is an El Nino year and the stage looks set for another record-breaking year of heat waves and hurricanes. With the publication of the latest report by the International Panel on Climate Change this week arriving during what seems like an exceptionally warm April- a heatwave I think we could say - I thought I might post a couple of reviews of books I read last year on the subject.

The Curse of Akkad

Field Notes from a Catastrophe Elizabeth Kolbert, Bloomsbury, 2006, 210pp

The Last Generation- How Nature will take her revenge for Climate Change Fred Pierce, Eden Project Books, 2006, 324pp

Climate change - or more specifically anthropocentric or man-made climate change - is here and now and beginning to rapidly change our world. Advances in the science over the last 10 years - which have provided evidence from the Arctic and Greenland ice-cores going back thousands of years - suggest an increasing likelihood that we will see abrupt and possibly catastrophic changes in the Earth’s climate within our lifetimes. (more…)

Reciprocal Frame April 1, 2007

Posted by Graham in : General , 5comments

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 be used as a classroom or workshop, meeting place, and as a changing rooms for the drama students during their performances. (more…)