RURAL REVITALISATION THROUGH A COMMUNITY APPROACH to FARMING AND FOOD
The annual coming together of small farmers, community food advocates and anyone involved or interested in community supported agriculture, social farming, permaculture, agroecology, rural revitalisation, agri-food policy, soil health, citizen science, farm hack, social farming and livelihoods through food and agriculture.

We will celebrate the soil beneath our feet, the food it provides for our communities, and the agroecological farmers and growers who work the land!!

Please save the dates and spread the word – more info and booking to come soon.

3rd March is the main event
With a walk and activities on the community farm on the 4th
Cloughjordan, Tipperary

Themes and content:

Clubbing Together for Rural Revitalization
What is the role for cooperatives, for community food sovereignty, and other community initiatives and tendencies? The example from Cloughjordan ecosystem of food initiatives. With Cloughjordan Community Co-op, Cloughjordan wholefood buyers club, Riot Rye bread club, Crawford’s Farm raw milk deliveries, Cluckjordan egg club, and UCC Centre for Cooperative Studies.

Getting to grips with agri-food policy
Agri-food policy shapes the landscape, the farming practices, the environmental impact, the income streams and the liveability of rural areas. How can you get involved in making agri-food and rural policy better? With CAP – the Common Agricultural Policy – consultations happening at EU and national level right now, we will find out more about the good, the bad and the ugly of agri-food policy. Will include information on Funded network research opportunities for groups of farmers (e.g. EIP, European Innovation Partnership) and positive, landscape level initiatives such as HNV (High Nature value) farming. With Dr. James Moran Lecturer in Ecology, GMIT Hannes Lorenzen (Special Advisor European Parliament) Oliver Moore (UCC Centre for Co-operative Studies, ARC2020) and more to be announced.

AGTech – Precision Farming, Drones, Satellites and Farm Hack
New developments and responses in farming and technology – sensors, drones, CAP compliance, machinery coops, farm hack and citizen science – and introducing the GROW Observatory and GROW places with Pavlos Georgiadis (ethnobotanist, olive farmer and food entrepreneur, hemp cooperative coordinator, Community Manager GROW Observatory) and more.

Social Farming
What is is? How does it work? Could it makes sense for your farm and/or community? Social Farming is the practice of offering activity on family farms as a form of social support service. In Social Farming the farm remains a working farm at its core but invites people to participate in the day to day activities of the farm. Social Farming provides people who use services with the opportunity for inclusion, to increase self-esteem and to improve health and well-being.

How to set up and maintain a CSA What is Community Supported Agriculture? How does it differ from other more direct selling routes? Might it suit your farm or community?

A convivial evening SpeakEATsy
19.30 till late.
SpeakEATsy is an experience – a happening – the core components are food; art; spoken word poetry; live musicians; a facilitated conversation with notable thinkers, writers or activists; and leading edge DJs to finish. But it is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Food, conversation and music are great ways to bring people together – SpeakEATsy emerged from a novel take on these simple ingredients and the desire to cultivate community.

Sunday
Out on the Land – on the farm and in the fields. Farm Hack, horses, walking, talking and doing out and about.
Networking and strategising

Accommodation:
Very affordable accommodation is available in Cloughjordan Ecovillage. To book Django’s Eco-Hostel see www.djangoshostel.com or call +353 87 256 9348. Some B&B accommodation is also available in Cloughjordan

Unique Setting:
The gathering will be held in Cloughjordan Ecovillage one of Ireland’s leading examples of an ecosystem of innovation: it includes over 55 low energy houses with community woodlands, renewable energy production, a wood-fired bakery, research gardens and the CSA Community Farm. WeCreate Workspace is a co-working space and innovation hub within the Ecovillage and home to Ireland’s first community FabLab. The Cloughjordan Community Farm is an example of community supported agriculture (CSA) and a is a cooperative approach to the supply of food to the community. It currently provides fresh vegetables, eggs and meat to over seventy member households in Cloughjordan.

 

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