This year at the gathering we will be having a swap/ exchange tent where you can offer items/services you wish to swap or exchange for something else. 

So, to start things off we’ve created this post where you can put up what you will be offering and if there is anything specific you are looking for. To keep things simple, after you have posted your offerings and what you are looking for, any further arrangements/ negotiations can be done through private message between you and the other person(s).

This is an excellent opportunity to help each other out using a fair and simple method of exchange.

WISH LIST
 
Kitchen

• Kitchen equipment: large pots, pans, gas rings, utensils, rocket stoves
• Food (fruit, veg, dried goods)
• Firewood (for cooking)
• Gas
• Grits to cook over the fire
• Dish washing soap

 
Structures

• Tents/ yurts/ tipis/ gazebos/ tarps

 
Signage & Decoration

• Wooden boards (for signage)
• Paint (non-toxic)
• Decoration materials (willow, flowers, artwork for outdoors)

 
Other Bits & Bobs

• Rope (preferably natural)
• Wheel barrows
• Buckets
• Firewood (for central fire)
• Natural soap
• Chat to you all soon!

Stonework Pier Repair & Gathering Preparation, lots to look forward to!
There will be a range of activities and workshops to look forward to all in preparation for the gathering.  We will be working to repair the farm’s pier at the Lough Derg shore of Brookfield Farm, in order for us to be able to enjoy this amazing lake! Once more, Bob Wilson (Celt) will be facilitating a stonework  workshop, where everybody is very welcome to come and exchange knowledge and skills.

This workshop will kick off our onsite volunteering week with the setting up of the first tents for the gathering, signage and decorations. We will also be joined by Hannah Van Aelst from Barnabaun Basketry to work with willow and share her craft. And to top it off we will be giving our veggy garden a little attention too to make sure it grows healthily for the big event.

We look forward to seeing you all for this fun and important weekend! It’s exciting to think that the Gathering itself is just around the corner!

Lough Derg: Ireland’s Pleasure Lake
Lough Derg is the third-largest lake on the whole island covering an area of 130 Km2 with depths up to 36 metres. The lake is part of the Shannon River hydrography. Its located in the domain of three counties: Galway, Tipperary and Clare. 

Lough Derg holds huge biodiversity, presenting stocks of fish like trout, pike and bream, and being well known for its eels. Most of the larger wild animals are presented in the different habitats around Lough Derg –e.g. rabbit, hare, fox, deer, hedgehog, badger, otter and pine marten. It is also considered a pivotal place for resident and migrant birds, being a European reference for birdlife.

Beyond the importance for fauna, it also provides suitable conditions for diverse flora. Currently, Willowleaf Yellowhead or Irish Fleabane (Inula salicina) has been reported that it can only be found in very few places on the island, and  Lough Derg is one of these places. It was at one time common in Britain and Ireland, but a combination of factors, such as habitat loss, has brought it to the brink of extinction.

The possibility of knowing,  seeing and understanding more about our environment and its biodiversity, it is a key factor for all of us to live in a fair and sustainable way within the whole ecosystem. The practice of permaculture can help us to achieve this harmony.

Directions:

By Car:
Brookfield Farm is located on the R493 road on the east shore of Lough Derg. The farm is about 19Km from Portumna and 19Km from Nenagh. The turn for the farm is situated between Lanes L94931-11 (Bellevue) and L94931-12. Coolbawn Quay holiday village is very close (1 lane to the north) and is a useful landmark for google maps etc.

Coming from Portumna/Terryglass/Ballinderry directions: Approx. 5km after Ballinderry village look out for the entrance to Coolbawn Quay Spa Marina Club/Marina Village on the right. Brookfield farm is the next turn right after the sign for the entrance to Coolbawn Quay holiday village. NB if you pass Lane L94931-11 you have gone too far! 

Coming from South, Nenagh/Coolbawn directions: Continue along the Lake Drive Route, Coolbawn village (pink building on right hand side) continue towards Ballinderry for approx. 3 km. Brookfield Farm is a lane on the left after Lane L94931-11, but before the entrance for Coolbawn Quay Marina Village.

Contact Claudia 085 2351403/Ailbhe 086 8551309 for directions/information.


Public Transport:
For information on Public Transport to towns close to Coolbawn (Nenagh, Portumna, Borrisokane) www.getthere.ie
Service Name: 322
From/ To: Lorrha to Nenagh via Coolbawn
Times/ Days: check online
Pricing: check online
Contact Info:
http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1202385895-322.pdf


Lifts + Car Sharing:
Offered or requested, please, post here below in the comments...
and/or check the website www.getthere.ie

Only 1 more month to a very special event that was created to gather and demonstrate the inspiring design approach of Permaculture.

It is a moment to celebrate and to promote permaculture across the whole island of Ireland, — strengthening the network and exchanging knowledge, skills and resources, discussing positive solutions to environmental problems, and designing healthy and productive systems based on a deeper understanding of natural systems and in particular, the island of Ireland’s ecosystems and landscapes.

The development of natural building, food forest, urban farms, integrated water resource management and renewable energy are just some of the applications Permaculture design. These examples help to build understanding of how to apply design to any place of the world and create rich, diverse landscapes for people and other species to thrive.

Education organisations, such as, like Cultivate, Carraig Dúlra, Lackan Cottage Farm, Kinsale Further Education College, are only some of the amazing places that have dedicated themselves to make this diverse knowledge of Permaculture accessible for all on our island. Other organisations like CELT, the Organic Centre and Sonairte are supportive of the permaculture approach to designing all aspects of human settlement in truly sustainable ways.

Permaculture design can be applied to any aspect of human activity. Projects like “The Urban Farm” have proven that food can be grown within a dense urban environment by applying methods like aquaponics, vertical farming and reusing the many waste resources and abandoned buildings scattered throughout cities.

Our workshop day was brilliant! Many, many thanks to Bob Wilson and everybody who made the journey over to help out  :)

The well has been nicely refurbished and looks beautiful! Our garden received good treatment with lots of strawberries, raspberries and beans! The lunch was absolutely delicious!  If you couldn't make it this time, don't worry! We are already organizing the next meet up, stay tuned to our media pages/ sites and come over to add to this very positive event, and maybe even have a dip in the lake, or in the well like Ailbhe and Paul :)

For the next workshop we will be organizing a meeting point for those who will be traveling by public transport. This way we hope to make journey a bit easier for all.

Wow! So May just flew by in front of our eyes and shades of fresh green shine all around the landscape! Our organic garden has completed one month. Claudia and Ailbhe have been working away keeping it beautiful, and we have 11 more weeks to carefully prepare our host venue for the gathering.

We are happy to once again have another workshop event in the run up to the gathering.

Saturday 31st May - 10am - 5pm [Join our Facebook event].

This workshop is promising to bring some great opportunities to learn new skills about stonework and to keep our yummy organic garden going! The workshop offers an excellent social event for friends and family of the local community. It’s a chance to chat and get to know each other as well as people from other parts of Ireland. 

The workshops are free and everybody is welcomed (friends, family, children), just make sure to bring:

• Good footwear (wellies or boots)
  
• Rain gear (it may rain, you never know!)
  
• Work gloves
  
• Yummy food to lunch together
  
• Garden tools (if available)
  
• Stonework tools (if available, such as spirit level, lump hammer, chisels)
  

Stonework Workshop
This workshop will be facilitated by Bob Wilson from Celt. It will be mainly focused on the refurbishment of the beautiful stone well present in the Brookfield Farm. Beyond the repairs, the well will be tested and cleared of leaves for use during the gathering. There is plenty of stone and timber for us to work with.

The Well: Sadler's Well
According to the County Archaeologist  the well must have been a community well, for the country cottages and families living nearby. This is due to its size - it is much bigger than a domestic well. The well in its current form might have been built sometime in the 1800's by the people who lived in the big house nearby (Brookfield or Bellevue) as a community watering spot. He pointed out that many of the stones used are of a particular type which were popular in constructing garden follies in the 1800's. This is a weathered, gothic looking, natural stone structure in front of an old oak tree. 

There are many local stories about the well, but those stories should only be told when drinking the well water from a silver cup and from there... Well... Come over and find out :)

Stonework in our Island
Stone is a significant element of Irelands landscape and culture. In Ireland, stonework has been used since the Stone Age all the way up to modern times. It has been used for several purposes, such as stone circles, megaliths, monuments, burials chambers, house construction, wells, field systems and boundaries.  Some of the examples of Irelands’ wonderful stone heritage are the Neolithic Céide Fields site in North County Mayo, which is considered as the possibly the oldest field systems in the world, at almost 6000 years old, and about 1,500 megalithic tombs. Definitively, todays stonework is influenced as part of the legacy left by the early skills and crafts.

Garden 
Our beautiful garden being so yummy was viciously attacked by a gang of very hungry slugs and other wildlife in the night! Yep!!! So far, they munched through 1/4 of the onions and about 1/3 of the beans. And none of the beetroot Claudia planted are visible. We are going to try to use coffee grounds to keep them at bay and plant some marigold flowers. So please, could you guys bring whatever you have to try to protect the little plants!

But, we also have some good news! The potatoes have started to appear and Ailbhe has sown all the seeds in modules and pots inside the polytunnel - peas and beans mostly. We'll see how they’ll come up. By 31st May some of them may be ready for transplanting to the garden. But, anti slug measures will be needed.

We would like to ask everyone coming on the 31st of May to bring any plants or seedlings (as big and strong as possible) to add to our food garden. We still have an area of around 12m x 6m to fill! 

All of our courgette was eaten so if anybody has any to bring it would be much appreciated.

We look forward to seeing you on the 31st! Please, do feel free to get involve and contribute. We are always open to any comments, questions or suggestions!

"Think global, act local"

Our garden in Brookfield is completing one month :) Claudia and Ailbhe are working away keeping it beautiful!!!

So far, we have planted a couple of rows of spuds and onions. The tractor was out tilling the area and we added plenty of manure on top. Afterwards, we sowed plenty of carrots, parsnips, beetroot, spinach and lots of herbs and wild flowers. 

We also planted some broad bean and climbing bean seeds that were donated to us by Jim Cronin. Thank you Jim!

We’d like to make a call out for people to sow extra beans and peas in your homes/gardens for the gathering. Once they are strong seedlings, we can  then transplant them to the permaculture garden here on the farm. Any bean and pea seeds sown directly will be vulnerable to the farm wildlife - slugs, birds, hares, etc. Transplants are much better! 
The gathering weekend will then be full of green legume harvesting abundance! 

We have a plot all ready and manured measuring 5 m x 11 m - room for really a lot of beans (broad, French, runner) and peas (dwarf and climbing). 

All pea and bean transplants are welcomed!

We’ll be posting updates for the next gardening get-together on our Facebook and Twitter so do keep an eye out for that.

Increase the Yield: support for our venue host, network and learn, time in nature to relax, community recruiting and building for this years year team, fun and laughter!

We are excited to be launching this year's venue for the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering with 

Permaculture Equinox
All day Picnic-Keeping things in balance
A free economy, moneyless, exchange on site,
Friday 18th April, from 10:30am [Facebook event].

Suzie Cahn will offer a free introduction to permaculture workshop in the morning and a master class for more experienced permi's in the afternoon.

Attendees- please bring food (yummy), painted eggs for rolling, stories to share, plants and seeds, spuds to plant and to swap if we've enough, and a willingness to work on the permaculture gatherings Abundance Garden. 

Increase the Yield: support for our venue host, network and learn, time in nature to relax, community recruiting and building for this years year team, fun and laughter!

Get involved and contribute. Feel free to contact us for any suggestions, comments, questions, through the online platforms (Website, Facebook, Twitter) or direct by email allirelandpermagathering@gmail.com.

Our Host 2014!

We are really happy and so delighted to announce that this year the gathering will be hosted in an amazing and a very inspiring piece of land!

The BROOKFIELD FARM is located in a large lakeshore, on the R493 road on the east shore of LOUGH DERG, NENAGH, TIPPERARY, and is bounded by 2 streams, so the farm is named after the brooks and the fields. The farm is c.25 hectares, with a gentle slope down to the lakeshore, which gives lovely views across the entire land. At the top of the farm there is a 5 hectares woodland, planted with 18 year old oak, beech and ash, interspersed with older large beech and ash trees. The area is rich in biodiversity and wild habitats. It is a very stunning place!