An exciting 10 days was had by a group of 14 budding solution-orientated individuals who recently immersed themselves in the course in Cashel, co-ordinated by the Tipperary Institute. Permaculture design is recognised the world over as a solutions-based educational /ecological system of design for sustainable communities. Course participants included members of Cashel’s Aimsir Bia with invited participants from related community food projects in Clonmel, Cahir, Tipperary town, Thurles, Kilkenny and Dublin.

Tipperary Institute is a valuable resource for our community as we live through the turbulence of the current economic system. For ten years the Institute has been a pioneer in provision of courses suitable for our communities’ adaptation to change. Members of Aimsir Bia, Cashel community food were delighted to avail of the course, while also getting great feedback on the development of their own project at a mosaic of sites around Cashel.

Central to permaculture are the three ethics: care for the earth, care for people and fair share. They form the foundation for permaculture design and are also found in most traditional societies.

Permaculture ethics are distilled from research into community ethics, learning from cultures that have existed in relative balance with their environment for much longer than more recent civilisations. This does not mean that we should ignore the great teachings of modern times, but in the transition to a sustainable future, we need to consider values and concepts outside the current social norm.

The 12 permaculture design principles are thinking tools, that when used together, allow us to creatively re-design our environment and our behaviour in a world of less energy and resources. They are applicable to our personal, economic, social and political reorganisation.

The tutor for the 10 days was Graham Strouts who teaches permaculture full time at the Kinsale College of Further Education, where a Fetac accredited, Permaculture Design Certificate PLC course is provided. The Cashel course involved three days of interactive theory and observation in principles and ethics, and four days of practical permaculture applications. These included mulching/planting a forest garden and learning about traditional building techniques which was put to practice in building an community armchair from cob at the salad garden, with tutor Dave Brickendon. Skills in dry stone wall building were taught by Philip Quinn (Stone Mad) in Holycross. Feidhlim Harty provided the mould for understanding water and water systems, edible plants, building ponds and water conservation in our environment. The students also visited Denis Ryan, President of the Irish Beekeepers Association, for a talk on bee-keeping and a sample of pure Tipperary, followed by a tour of the Traas Apple Farm. The final three days were spent creating permaculture designs using various sites in Cashel.