Time seems to be flying at the moment - and I can hardly believe that two weeks have already passed. The community seems to be buzzing with activity - as spring has really arrived and everyone is getting ready for the months ahead. Even the cold spell of weather that we are experiencing does not really seem to bother so much.
Two of the Dexter Cows have given birth to two gorgeous little calfs that are happily running around the field and we are expecting another one in the coming days.Darren , Tomas and Dominic are all excited and go up to the field whenever they can. We also have ten lambs - and over the next few days are expecting a few more.
The chickens are producing an incredible amount of eggs - and everyone is blowing them out so that we have lots of eggs to paint for Easter.
Even on the building front there is some news. The workshop building has gone out for tender - but we are still waiting for a few details to be sorted out before we can move on with the actual house . But hopefully there will be some news to tell in the coming months.
Easter week is a very rich time in Camphill. We try to experience the festivals and do lots of activities in holy week in order to get an experience of all the things that are happening. Every day we look at the events of holy week so that we can prepare ourselves for a big festival on Easter Sunday where we usually have a sunrise breakfast together before going on an egg hunt in our garden in the afternoon.This year we have lots of visitors at this time of year - and is very nice to see some of our past co-workers popping in to say hello.
This coming Friday will be the first day on the market for this year - and lots of things are being still produced. Catriona is making new chair cushions - a new line that we have developed and Ann Marie has made a lot of scarves. Stephen and Thomas are very busy in the garden getting the beds prepared for planting - and we have managed to plant all our potatoes for this year the day after St. Patricks Day.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
March 2013 News
It has been a while since I have written so there is a little bit more news than usual. We have had some lovely spring days and have all been enjoying being outside - and have welcomed a few new members into the community.Valentino -our new pet ram - joined us on Valentines Day and has grown enormously since then and n the last few days we have also had the first of our own lambs - and it is lovely to see them running around the fields.
A group of the community went to England to visit one of the first Camphill Communities over in Yorkshire - and they had a great time and came back full of stories.The last few weeks have seen a hype of activity in the garden - people were preparing the vegetable beds and there was some planting going on in the tunnel.Some of the cows have come out of the barn - and seem to be enjoying to be outside again. Klemens - one of our co-workers from a few years ago has come for a visit - and it is great to see the enthusiasm he always brings along.
We have been registered for the Dingle Mini Marathon - and if there is anyone out there who would love to run or walk for us - please feel free and let us know. I also would really like to thank Neasa and Radville from the Pobal Scoil who did a fundraiser for us before Christmas and raised €731 for the community. Well done - and thanks a lot.I also would really like to thank the children in the school in Lispole for doing a few fundraisers for us and raising €240. All of the proceeds will go towards our building fund.
We will be joining the Farmers Market again on Good Friday and there is a lot of activity going on producing lots of new products.
9 Year old Sinéad Ní Chonchúir from Ballymorewest and 9 year old Ailishe Finn Ní Shé from Dingle, decided they wanted to fund raise for our community here in Dingle
They created and made hair jewellery and even T-shirts that they sold from their stand. They spend a lot of time thinking; organizing; creating and selling their lovely products.
At the end of their fund raiser they were able to bring home the incredible amount of € 50!!!.
They dropped by the office where they handed over the money in person to Betsie Konink who gladly accepted it on behalf of the community.We were very impressed! Not only because of the amount they fundraised but also the fact that 2 such very young people can find it in their heart to dedicate their time and put in a lot of effort to help a charity organisation and in this we were the lucky ones!
Dear Sinéad and Ailishe
From the bottom of our hearts
THANK YOU!
A group of the community went to England to visit one of the first Camphill Communities over in Yorkshire - and they had a great time and came back full of stories.The last few weeks have seen a hype of activity in the garden - people were preparing the vegetable beds and there was some planting going on in the tunnel.Some of the cows have come out of the barn - and seem to be enjoying to be outside again. Klemens - one of our co-workers from a few years ago has come for a visit - and it is great to see the enthusiasm he always brings along.
We have been registered for the Dingle Mini Marathon - and if there is anyone out there who would love to run or walk for us - please feel free and let us know. I also would really like to thank Neasa and Radville from the Pobal Scoil who did a fundraiser for us before Christmas and raised €731 for the community. Well done - and thanks a lot.I also would really like to thank the children in the school in Lispole for doing a few fundraisers for us and raising €240. All of the proceeds will go towards our building fund.
We will be joining the Farmers Market again on Good Friday and there is a lot of activity going on producing lots of new products.
9 Year old Sinéad Ní Chonchúir from Ballymorewest and 9 year old Ailishe Finn Ní Shé from Dingle, decided they wanted to fund raise for our community here in Dingle
They created and made hair jewellery and even T-shirts that they sold from their stand. They spend a lot of time thinking; organizing; creating and selling their lovely products.
At the end of their fund raiser they were able to bring home the incredible amount of € 50!!!.
They dropped by the office where they handed over the money in person to Betsie Konink who gladly accepted it on behalf of the community.We were very impressed! Not only because of the amount they fundraised but also the fact that 2 such very young people can find it in their heart to dedicate their time and put in a lot of effort to help a charity organisation and in this we were the lucky ones!
Dear Sinéad and Ailishe
From the bottom of our hearts
THANK YOU!
Wednesday, 23 January 2013
My Camphill Experience
Camphill Dingle June - August 2012
On my last day at Camphill Dingle I was asked to write a blog about my stay there, so that future volunteers would be able to read up a bit on what to expect. But how to prepare you for what lies ahead? Now, all I can do is relate my own story but hopefully you will find it reassuring and helpful for the adventure that is about to commence.
During my journey to Dingle I was extremely anxious about what lay ahead. I had no prior experience and, yes, it was also my first time away from home for longer than three weeks. As soon as I arrived however, these feelings vanished immediately. Even though my arrival coincided with the preparations for the annual Open Day, I was welcomed warmly into the community. The first few days I didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing but it didn't matter. The full-time co-workers were extremely caring and gave me time to arrive and get my bearings.
However, this did not mean that I was the new girl only allowed to watch. Oh no. As soon as I said that I would like to help wherever I can they gave me small jobs and responsibilities to keep me busy and get to know the people of the community. The Open Day itself was absolutely lovely and well worth a visit if you are around for it. My job was to give children donkey rides, which was immense fun. Walking around in donkey poo and mud all day, trying to pull reluctant donkeys across a field. Fun.
Seriously though, it was amazing. The people in the local community are so nice and supportive, something I had never come across before coming to Camphill. The aftermath of the Open Day felt like the whole community, even the walls of the farm and the vegetables in the garden, breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a huge success and everyone was very proud of what they had achieved. In the following weeks I learnt more about life than I had every learnt at school. Every day I did something new, different and exciting. Whenever I was unsure of what to do and whenever I felt insecure, someone more experienced was by my side to guide me. Very soon I did not need this guidance anymore as they helped me grow in confidence a huge amount. As for the residents of Camphill Dingle?
I have never met nicer people before in my entire life! Of course they have bad days as you and I do too but you pretty much instantly fall in love with them and then you just try to make their day better.
You can expect Camphill to be full of life changing experiences and you are definitely not the same person when you leave as when you arrived. But that's a good thing. As someone who had just left school and had no idea of what they wanted from life, Camphill gave me the opportunity to explore my strengths as well as my weaknesses and discover things I didn't know about myself. You must surely think that I am painting a pretty picture and leaving out all the bad parts but I can promise you that I am not. Whenever I felt frustrated or sad I had someone to talk to. Of course you will be tired at some point in your stay because one day off a week really isn't much. But even this doesn't affect you too much because you're having such a good time. Now as you are applying to go to Ireland I'm sure you have one burning question: What about the weather? Well, as I was only there during the summer I can only give you a small insight but know this: it does not rain all the time.
Granted, July was incredibly wet but there was glorious sunshine in June and August - on some days anyway.
By the time it came for me to leave I really didn't want to. Having thought at the start that three months would be far too long, they ended up going by too quickly. I met some incredible people in Camphill Dingle and am still missing them an enormous amount. I am definitely thinking of returning someday and I hope, that after your stay you will feel the same way.
*Cue cheesy line*: For someone searching for the meaning of life and their purpose within it, Camphill Dingle is the place to go!
Fiona
On my last day at Camphill Dingle I was asked to write a blog about my stay there, so that future volunteers would be able to read up a bit on what to expect. But how to prepare you for what lies ahead? Now, all I can do is relate my own story but hopefully you will find it reassuring and helpful for the adventure that is about to commence.
During my journey to Dingle I was extremely anxious about what lay ahead. I had no prior experience and, yes, it was also my first time away from home for longer than three weeks. As soon as I arrived however, these feelings vanished immediately. Even though my arrival coincided with the preparations for the annual Open Day, I was welcomed warmly into the community. The first few days I didn't really know what I was supposed to be doing but it didn't matter. The full-time co-workers were extremely caring and gave me time to arrive and get my bearings.
However, this did not mean that I was the new girl only allowed to watch. Oh no. As soon as I said that I would like to help wherever I can they gave me small jobs and responsibilities to keep me busy and get to know the people of the community. The Open Day itself was absolutely lovely and well worth a visit if you are around for it. My job was to give children donkey rides, which was immense fun. Walking around in donkey poo and mud all day, trying to pull reluctant donkeys across a field. Fun.
Seriously though, it was amazing. The people in the local community are so nice and supportive, something I had never come across before coming to Camphill. The aftermath of the Open Day felt like the whole community, even the walls of the farm and the vegetables in the garden, breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a huge success and everyone was very proud of what they had achieved. In the following weeks I learnt more about life than I had every learnt at school. Every day I did something new, different and exciting. Whenever I was unsure of what to do and whenever I felt insecure, someone more experienced was by my side to guide me. Very soon I did not need this guidance anymore as they helped me grow in confidence a huge amount. As for the residents of Camphill Dingle?
I have never met nicer people before in my entire life! Of course they have bad days as you and I do too but you pretty much instantly fall in love with them and then you just try to make their day better.
You can expect Camphill to be full of life changing experiences and you are definitely not the same person when you leave as when you arrived. But that's a good thing. As someone who had just left school and had no idea of what they wanted from life, Camphill gave me the opportunity to explore my strengths as well as my weaknesses and discover things I didn't know about myself. You must surely think that I am painting a pretty picture and leaving out all the bad parts but I can promise you that I am not. Whenever I felt frustrated or sad I had someone to talk to. Of course you will be tired at some point in your stay because one day off a week really isn't much. But even this doesn't affect you too much because you're having such a good time. Now as you are applying to go to Ireland I'm sure you have one burning question: What about the weather? Well, as I was only there during the summer I can only give you a small insight but know this: it does not rain all the time.
Granted, July was incredibly wet but there was glorious sunshine in June and August - on some days anyway.
By the time it came for me to leave I really didn't want to. Having thought at the start that three months would be far too long, they ended up going by too quickly. I met some incredible people in Camphill Dingle and am still missing them an enormous amount. I am definitely thinking of returning someday and I hope, that after your stay you will feel the same way.
*Cue cheesy line*: For someone searching for the meaning of life and their purpose within it, Camphill Dingle is the place to go!
Fiona
Wednesday, 9 January 2013
January 2013 News
It seems a while that I have written about all the events in our community . The new year seems to have started well - nearly everyone is back from their holidays and slowly getting back into the swing of the normal routine. The few nice days we had this week have been thoroughly enjoyed by all - and there even have been moments when the feeling of spring was felt.
We have welcomed Samuel from Germany into our community - he arrived to replace Hangul who will be sadly leaving us after 1 ½ years to go back to Korea.
January seems to be the birthday season in our community and we have been celebrating the first ones.Otherwise work seems to get back into swing. Steven is busy in the garden preparing the compost for the coming year and Tomas and Dominic are busy on the farm. Catriona started to help Katharina in our new food processing workshop which was started after Christmas and is also busy with weaving a big order of seat cushions that we got. Ann Marie has joined the gardening team in the afternoon and is still making sure that the weavery can produce products in the morning. Thomas R. had a good holiday at home and is now awaiting some new projects for the coming year while he is working in the garden.
All the animals got through the winter - though it seems to be the ducks that seem to be having the most fun as the rain does not seem to bother them to much. Tom and John ( the donkeys) seemed to have been spending little time outside these last few weeks and are longingly watching the world go by from their shed.
We have welcomed Samuel from Germany into our community - he arrived to replace Hangul who will be sadly leaving us after 1 ½ years to go back to Korea.
January seems to be the birthday season in our community and we have been celebrating the first ones.Otherwise work seems to get back into swing. Steven is busy in the garden preparing the compost for the coming year and Tomas and Dominic are busy on the farm. Catriona started to help Katharina in our new food processing workshop which was started after Christmas and is also busy with weaving a big order of seat cushions that we got. Ann Marie has joined the gardening team in the afternoon and is still making sure that the weavery can produce products in the morning. Thomas R. had a good holiday at home and is now awaiting some new projects for the coming year while he is working in the garden.
All the animals got through the winter - though it seems to be the ducks that seem to be having the most fun as the rain does not seem to bother them to much. Tom and John ( the donkeys) seemed to have been spending little time outside these last few weeks and are longingly watching the world go by from their shed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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