Editor’s Note: These pieces are intended to offer a deeper look into each episode of surfer Fergal Smith‘s Line9 series, Growing, a new clip published every two weeks. The series is a year in the life of Smith and his brother. With a new clip published every two weeks, the series follows them as they take a step back from the rat race while spending days tending to a sustainable garden and surfing the readily available Irish slab.
Author’s Note: My main reason for doing this series is for showing the what else I’m passionate about — aside from surfing — and to try to promote all the good, positive things that people are doing.
It’s a funny story, how this clip came about. I have always wanted to do an episode on the eco village in Cloughjordan. Then, when my partner and I were expecting a baby, we were looking for a midwife, and the closest happened to be in the eco village. I saw it as a sign. And the moment we met her and saw the eco village, we knew we both wanted Helen to be our midwife. But we were too far from her, so we decided we had to move into the village.
The kindest, loveliest women by the name of Oonagh offered us her house to stay in, which we ended up living in for a whole month. It was great for my partner and I to have some real quality time just chilling in a beautiful place — it is a great community of people, all of whom made us feel right at home. We also got to live in an eco village and see what it was like. I can honestly say it is the way to live. They have lots of problems of course, like any community, but they have so many great things going on. Obviously, the farm is the best asset of all, at least to me. They have all there veg taken care of right there. It is such a practical way to source your food. The community pays two farmers to have fresh veg harvested three times a week. The food security they have is something I have not come across before. They save there own seed and they are moving away from tractors to horses. The two farmers Pat and Kevin are total heroes. They are so passionate in providing healthy, real food for there community. It is a great model because they are not worried about markets and only able to sell the best-looking vegetables. They are providing people’s diet year round.
They also have a heating system which heats all the houses so nobody has to have there own heat source. I think there heating bill was like 7 Euro a month! They have the enterprise center as well, which is a great space for people to get creative and “work from home,” but in a separate space.
They have a beautiful walk around the whole project which myself and Sally did ever day until our little girl Sunshine was born. They have planted 17 thousand native trees which I think is one of the best things any community can do for where they live.
We learned so much by living there and have brought lots of the teachings to Clare. It is my dream to live in a community like theirs. In our society, we often think that being an individual is best. But if we want this place we live in to thrive, we need to learn how to work together. I believe learning to work together in our small communities is the key to learning how to live together as a whole on this earth. If we can’t work out our differences and thrive in a small group of people, how can we expect us to work together on a bigger scale.
In the end, thank you, Sunshine, for being born and bringing us to Cloughjordan. And thank you for watching and sharing this experience with us.
