Tuesday 9 October 2012

October 2012 News

It has been a busy few weeks in the Community lately as new co-workers have arrived and the ones that have been with us over the summer have left. Everyone is back from their holidays and slowly people are finding back into their routine and others are finding their place in the Community. It will hopefully not be too long before the workshops are all back in swing again and also the weavers are able to produce things for the market again. It was a good summer on the market this year and we sold many of our products.We are still waiting for a few volunteers to arrive in the coming weeks - and then all the different areas will be covered again.

Last weekend we had our Flag day in Dingle and I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people volunteering to help for a few hours - so I would like to thank you all. We did manage to raise a little more than € 2500 and are very happy with that. It will all go towards the building fund - and hopefully we will be able to give you an update about the building in the coming weeks.

I would especially this time like to thank all the students from the Transition year of the Pobal Scoil who helped last Friday with the Flag day. Your help was greatly appreciated.

It has been a busy weekend for everyone in Dingle - and also everyone here has been busy with tasting different kinds of food and experiencing the nice atmosphere in Dingle. We also were quite busy with the fundraiser that we had on over the weekend -many people came to guess the weight of the lamb that we had outside St.James - and it was a lot of fun to meet all the many people that came to see it and tried to get the weight right. I can now announce that the lamb weighed 47.860 kg, 105.076 lbs and 7stones 7.076lbs. The lamb was donated by Micheal O'Moran and it was won by Liam O'Brien from Killarney who was the closest with 47.820 kg. The second prize of a dinner in the Bulls Head went to Mary Hanafin in Beenbawn who won it with 47.730kg. Congratulations.I would like to thank all the people who helped with manning the stall - and everyone who so generously supported the event.We were able to raise €1185.

On Sunday Ciara and Aodhan O'Connor and Niamh and Niall Browne also were very busy with making and selling biscuits for us and managed to raise € 135 for us. Thank you very much to all four of you.All the money will go towards our building project which we are hoping to start very soon once all the last hurdles have been overcome.

Now we are all settling back into normality - the growth in the garden has come to an end but we are all enjoying the bountiful harvest of this last summer. Slowly the garden is being prepared for the winter - and on the farm things are coming along. A lot of work has been done on fencing and gates - and unfortunately the donkeys are spending a lot of time inside as it has been so wet lately.The weavers have started to produce a lot of things for the coming craft fairs as we have sold so many things on our stall on the market over the summer and hopefully the candle workshop will soon open its doors again.In the houses there has been quite some activity with making jams and chutneys and juices - and the herb workshop is still providing us with a range of products.

Monday 27 August 2012

August 2012

It has been a while ago since I have been writing as I have been away on holidays - enjoying some sun.But of course it means that there is a little bit of news.

The biggest news at the moment is that we have finally managed to get planning permission for a house and a workshop and are now busy with getting a lot of the details sorted out. I will try to write something a little more detailed for the next edition.

Everyone is delighted to have got so far - and a big thank you to all of you who have helped to get us so far.

Otherwise there have been a lot of comings and goings - and we are now waiting for all the new co-workers who will be joining us for a year. So far we have only been joined by Wonbin - a new co-worker from South Korea.

It is a little bit quieter at the moment as a number of people are still on their summer holidays - but by next week most of the community will be here.

The garden is producing lots of wonderful vegetables at the moment - and we seem to be sinking in a flood of cucumbers and gherkins this year. Cornelia and her gardening team have really done a fantastic job.

Next week is our annual flag day ( 6th and 7th of September )and we are still looking for a few volunteers who would like to give an hour or two of their time - so if that is you please contact me on 0861522483.

Monday 16 July 2012

July 2012 News

We are well into July now and like everyone else are still waiting for this wonderful summer that we were expecting this year. Apart from that everyone seems fairly content - there are a lot of new faces as quite a few co-workers have joined us over the summer before the volunteers for the new year start arriving in august and September.

There have been a few changes in the last weeks - the biggest one was that we have a wonderful extension to our farmyard with a a roofed space for storage. It was built by Ernst and Phil who come every year for a working holiday and build wonderful spaces. So far we have used the space for an art project that involved a large amount of people in the community and also for a Thank you BBQ for all our faithful volunteers and helpers. Unfortunately the day we held it was rather wet - but the roofed space was even more appreciated.

A group of us has been in Cork to play street music as part of the international song festival - and we were joined by a few people from other communities.Others are going to be heading off for the summer holidays - and some of the co-workers are still going to be leaving us in the coming few weeks.

The fox has been a regular visitor again - and sadly we have lost a few more ducks. There are only three left now - but they are still happily feasting on all the slugs in the garden. The garden looks fantastic at the moment - and we are producing an incredible amount of lettuce . Darren who recently joined us is rather concerned that he might be turning into a rabbit.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

June 2012 News

Time and again I am being asked about what Camphill is - so I thought today that I would give a little bit of a history. The first Camphill was started in the 1940s by a group of war refugees who had been inspired by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. The group , who's leader was Karl Koenig , moved after some searching into an estate called Camphill near Aberdeen in Scotland and were soon joined by a group of children with special needs. As these children grew older and new children came the movement grew into England, Northern Ireland and later into the world.

40 years ago , in 1972 . the first Camphill in Ireland opened its doors. It is the the biggest of the 17 places that are now in Ireland and it is near Gorey in Wexford.

In Camphill we live and work together with the aim that all of us are equal. All of us , co-workers or companions , share in the daily responsibilities according to our abilities.

In Camphill Dingle live always about 20 people. Co-workers come for longer or shorter terms and share accordingly in the running of the place. At the moment we have 4 long-term co-workers who share in the responsibility for the long-term vision of the Community. Everyone of these would be responsible for different areas of the Community - but not one of us can make big decisions by ourselves. There are a few employees who are very much needed to give the continuity for the companions and for administrative purposes.

The short term co-workers come on average for a year and help in the daily and social life. There are also a number of volunteers who came on a daily basis or for specific tasks - and also some FAS workers and people from Mit freundlichen Grüßen. All in all there are a lot of people passing through - but then this is a big place and there is a lot to do. By putting so much effort into our place we all gain a sense of pride for our place and gain a purpose in our work. At the same time we try not only to care for each other but also for the environment.

Monday 21 May 2012

May 2012 News

Another two weeks have past and we are now really starting to get busy for preparing for our Open Day which we will be having on the 3rd of June. There are lots of things to do - and of course we would like the place to look at its best for the day that is why we would like to invite everyone who loves weeding to come and join us on Saturday the 26th of May to help in the garden. We will be providing something to eat on the day. Also we would like to ask if anyone would like to do some baking for the Cake sale on the 3rd of June and contribute to the Bric-a - Brac Sale. Everything will be greatly appreciated. Also if you remember that dress/suit/ or any other item that is hanging in your cupboard waiting to be worn - why not give Neasa a call on 0876280108 as she is trying to organise a clothes sale for the day.

Furthermore I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to the Cycling Club who donated €3000 to us after their recent Cycle challenge. Thanks a lot. I would also like to thank Joe Connolly and Julie Malone and Paul from Bee Supplies for donating a beehive and all the equipment to start keeping bees. It is all there now - just waiting for the bees - who will have a lovely place in our wonderful forest.

And as I am at the thank yous I would like to give a big thank you to all the people who have helped in the last weeks and years - and who are faithfully coming to support us. There is Paul Kirk who comes and does Reading and Writing with some of the people and there are all the FAS Workers who have very much contributed to what the place is looking like at the moment.
See you all on the 3rd of June for a wonderful - and hopefully sunny - day.

Saturday 5 May 2012

May 2012 News

It has been a busy few weeks getting our place ready for Open Day - which we had on last sunday. It was a great success. Many people came and stayed around for a long time as it turned out to be a dry and sunny afternoon. - which we had hardly dared to hope for. A lot of cakes and bric-a-brac arrived -and all in all we were also able to raise close to €5000. Thank you to everyone who helped us with the Open Day - both on the day and before.

The week before we were presented with a cheque of €350 from the children in the school in Ventry. Before Easter they held a raffle and decided that they would like to donate the money to us. Thank you very much to you all.

On Sunday morning a new calf was born - this time a little Kerry calf - and over the weekend we were joined by two new co-workers - Fiona from Germany and England - and Lea from Switzerland. Sadly we also had to say goodbye to Christine who left us after having been with us for a year to go back to Germany.

Now we are all looking forward to a very warm summer!!!!

Tuesday 24 April 2012

April 2012 News

Like everyone else we all have been struggling with the change of weather and there has been a lot of illness and struggles which has at times left us a bit thin on the ground - but life goes on and we are happy to say that another healthy calf was born - much to Tomas's delight. It is a little Jersey calf.
Sadly we are going to loose Kathleen who was working with us through FAS and I would like to take the opportunity here to thank her for all the help and support she gave us over the last few months.
Lately we have been asked a lot about how our planning application is going - and I thought to give a brief update on that. After having to give up on our initial house which we had planned due to funding issues we designed a new house and a workshop for which the application went in just a few weeks before Christmas last year.We now have got the plans back a second time asking for more information ( on colour schemes and building materials ) - and a detailed landscape plan which will unfortunately set us back both time wise and financially.We can of course only keep our fingers crossed that these will be the only requirements....!!!!

Lastly I would just like to say that we will be having our Open Day this year on the 3rd of June - so keep looking out for more news on that.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

April 2012 News

Easter has been - and everyone is having a little bit of a quieter time after our Easter celebrations. Quite a few people went on holiday- and a lot of visitors have come and gone.
The second Dexter calf was born and all the lambs that we had been expecting are happily running around the field.

We would like to thank the Transition year students in the Poabail Scoil for donating the money they raised with their recent Fashion show to us. It was very much appreciated. All the money that has been donated and that was fundraised for goes to our building fund as we are still very much hoping to build our first house and a workshop building in the very near future - and due to the current financial situation their is no funding available.

If anyone would still like to run or walk the Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin in June in order to fundraise for us please contact me on 0861522483 - as there are still a few days left in order to sign up. A group of us went last year - and it was a great day.

Monday 26 March 2012

March 2012 News

The summer has arrived - at least it seems like it. The last few days have been magnificent - and like everyone else most likely we have been all trying to spend as much time outside as possible. We had a picnic on our cliffs - and instead of having the Zumba afternoon in the farm there was a lot of dancing outside the weavery. There are quite a few red faces and arms - and Thomas Ryan and Hangul have been brave enough to jump into the sea ( with wetsuits though ).Tomas is is going up to the cliffs every day to check up on the cows which are all happy to be outside again - and we are only waiting for one more sheep to lamb.Sadly Marion left us last week but we will not have to go to far to see her as she is living and working in town.

The weavers have been incredibly productive with making rugs and scarves in lots of different colours for the market season and the gardeners are busy with tending to all the seedlings that have been planted - and have done a lot of planting outside. The garden looks amazing.So far the battle with the weeds has not yet started - but later on in the early summer we will welcome some extra help of some enthusiastic weeders.

Easter is around the corner - and once again we are busy preparing for a festival - which is very important in our Camphill life. People have been blowing out eggs to paint and decorate the houses with - and we are doing a lot of singing.We wish you all a lovely Easter day - and great weather.

Monday 12 March 2012

March 2012 News

Lots has happened in the last few weeks. We have nine new lambs and they are all happily jumping around on the field . Everyone really enjoys watching them as they are all on the field that we need to pass to get to work. One of the Dexter cows that we got in the autumn had a calf - which is tiny compared to the calfs one usually sees as the Dexter Cows are quite small.

A lot of excitement was had last week when the Container that has been on our land since before we started seven years was removed. It was a little bit like the end of an era. We were remembering back to when we first opened it - packed with old bedsprings and lots of other things.It took us days to empty it - and it was soon filled with lots of other things as it has been the only storage space we had for a long time. Some of the benches we found are still being used to this day - although they got the occasional lick of paint.The bedsprings we had found also had been used for many things - as fences, wire for the beans and peas to grow up on and one is still being used as the door to the chicken run.But now there is a nice space which is being straight away filled with various sheds- so that all looks a little bit neat and tidy. Otherwise people are busy with getting ready for St. Patricks day. A group is busy with rehearsing drumming - while others are going to join the Bee-keepers at the Parade on Saturday - and the rest of the Community will be found watching the parade this year.

Monday 27 February 2012

February 2012 ews

It is hard to believe that it is nearly the end of February - and march is standing at the door. Spring is well on the way - and one can really see nature waking up. The first of the lambs are expected any day now - which is always a big excitement as everyone loves to see the new born lambs running around on the fields. The basket weavers, Thomas Ryan and Marcus are very busy at the moment with making willow fences in the garden to create more shelter from the wind. It is quite amazing to see the huge amounts of willow they are bringing up from the bog where until a few years ago there was very little growing. 5 years ago we planted lots of trees on our land - and the ones in the bog were planted in an attempt to dry it out a little - and to create a little woodland area.

Unfortunately we have lost 5 of our ducks since the last time that I wrote - as the fox paid a nightly visit - so that we only have 4 ducks left. But tomorrow we are going to be joined by a few chickens that are going to be living in the garden of our house up in Lisdeargan.

Last week a few of us spent some days in Ballinskelligs where we were participating in a music workshop which was held in Waterville. It was a great week and apart from making music we also had the chance to explore the surroundings - though we all would have appreciated a little better weather.

Now we are looking forward to some old co-workers coming for a visit - and helping a little in the garden and on the farm.

Monday 13 February 2012

February 2012 News

Everyone has been enjoying the lovely weather these last few days and one can really feel a buzz around the place. More and more of the hens and the ducks are laying eggs and a lot of work is done. The gardeners have started sowing in the poly tunnel, have planted a few new fruit bushes and Dominic, Stephen and Darren have been very busy with shifting the smelly compost There is a lot of nice compost to be used in the coming months.The first tulips and hyacinths are peeping out of the ground, even the first rhubarb is starting to show. The bullock that was mIt is hard to believe that it is nearly the end of February - and march is standing at the door. Spring is well on the way - and one can really see nature waking up. The first of the lambs are expected any day now - which is always a big excitement as everyone loves to see the new born lambs running around on the fields. The basket weavers, Thomas Ryan and Marcus are very busy at the moment with making willow fences in the garden to create more shelter from the wind. It is quite amazing to see the huge amounts of willow they are bringing up from the bog where until a few years ago there was very little growing. 5 years ago we planted lots of trees on our land - and the ones in the bog were planted in an attempt to dry it out a little - and to create a little woodland area.

Unfortunately we have lost 5 of our ducks since the last time that I wrote - as the fox paid a nightly visit - so that we only have 4 ducks left. But tomorrow we are going to be joined by a few chickens that are going to be living in the garden of our house up in Lisdeargan.

Last week a few of us spent some days in Ballinskelligs where we were participating in a music workshop which was held in Waterville. It was a great week and apart from making music we also had the chance to explore the surroundings - though we all would have appreciated a little better weather.

Now we are looking forward to some old co-workers coming for a visit - and helping a little in the garden and on the farm. eant to join us a few weeks ago but unfortunately escaped has finally joined the herd, but not before he tried to get over a few fences when the vet paid him a few visits. Now he seems content enough to be in the farm and has not attempted to run off yet. Mick and John Joe have been very busy with clearing out the ditches along the road to the hardcore road and have been putting the final touches to the new farm shed which is really finished now. A group of us going for a little music holiday in Cahersiveen next week which we can tell about the next time. The birthday season seems to be over for a while as we have been celebrating three birthdays in the last weeks one of them which was a big 21st!!!

Monday 30 January 2012

January 2012 News

Again it is time to write for the West Kerry Live and I find myself a little lost at what to write as very little is happening at the moment. Like everyone we are looking forward to greeting the spring which we will be celebrating with Candlemas which is on the 2nd of february. Every year we make earth candles which we then plant in the garden and light to warm up the ground - so if you happen to be passing that night and you see lights in our garden you will know what it is. We will also hope for bad weather on that day as it is said that 'if Candlemas is bright with sun then the winter has just begun but if Candlemasday is dark with rain then winter's power is on the wane.'

At the beginning of the week we celebrated Tomas' birthday - and AnnMarie is looking forward to a special birthdayparty with lots of friends and family at the end of the week.

Otherwise all is well - the oneeyed kitten which was rescued over christmas has joined the many animals on the land and is making sure that he is not forgotten - allthough he is not meant to be there but should live a little bit down the road but he is seen trotting along the road when people are walking to work.The gander seems to be feeling the spring as no one is allowed to go anywhere near his goose - with a lot of noise and hissing everyone is being chased away - only a few fearless can go near him.

Monday 16 January 2012

January 2012 News

After the long Christmas time it is wonderful to be getting back into the working routine and not having to many things that are out of the ordinary although we did have a few birthdays to celebrate over the last week.

We have been joined by a new co-worker who will be staying with us for three months and also John Joe and Kathleen from FAS have joined the ranks and are working alongside everyone which is very much appreciated by all.A lot of work has gone into clearing out the rusty container that has been sitting on our land ever since we got here seven years ago - and we are all looking forward to getting rid of it soon and making some space for new ventures in its stead.

A new bullock joined us for a day last week - but seemed to be rather keen to get back to his old field and easily overcame two fences and a hedge and scared a few neighbours while galloping back along the road to his old field without a passport !We will have to see how we can coax him to stay...

Otherwise things are rather uneventful - but everyone is enjoying the rather mild days. The chickens all have started laying eggs again - and even the occasional duck egg can be found. The daffodils are all peeping out of the ground and there seems to be a little bit of confusion about the beginning of the spring so everyone is hoping that the winter has actually passed us by. All in all it is a rather uneventful time which is very much appreciated by everyone.

Monday 2 January 2012

January 2012 News

2012 has arrived - and with it lots of hopes for the future. Just before Christmas we applied for planning permission for our new house and for a workshop building which we are hoping to build and that we have been- and still are- busy fundraising for. If all goes well we may be able to start building this summer...!!!

After Christmas it is always a quiet time in the Community. Some people go home to their families and others take time for walks and enjoy a bit more of a reflective time. Unfortunately it was all accompanied by a lot of rain this year - and some of us seemed always to be trying to dodge the showers.

This year , the Carnival band went out on the Wren for us and collected € 470 and I understand that some children in Mayo went out to collect for us .Thank you all for your help and support.
On New Year's Eve those left in the Community and our many visitors joined the throng to see the fireworks in town and afterwards celebrated the arrival of the New Year in Dingle.

Now we are slowly returning to normal life.The first visitors have left and soon everyone will be coming back from their holidays . All our workshops will be starting up again and we look forward to a host of new activities on our land in 2012.