I don’t normally make New years resolutions, but…. this year I have decided to learn some new resiliency skills. Learning to sew, make bread, that type of stuff. One of the subject areas in the Transition Town movement is re-skilling, or relearning older crafts and skills. These skills are not that old, they were part of everyday life just one or two generations ago. My inlaws had an acre of land attached to their house. They had a cow for milk and butter. They had a few hens for eggs and meat. They grew spuds, veg and fruit for jam. They had their own water from a well in the back garden. Water shortages never effected them!
Our elders had loads of skills and crafts. They preserved food, made butter, maintained their well, raised hens and a cow, milked the cow and grew veggies.
So, here goes, over the next couple of months I will upload some how to guides to some resilient crafts and skills. The first one I am going to try out is how to make soap. See the attached file -> How To Make Soap .
Have a go yourself and let me know how you get on. If there is any crafts or skills you have yourself and would like to share email me on sustskerries@yahoo.ie or if there is anything which you like us to cover let us know.
Happy soap making, for a cleaner future.
The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) is a Paris based intergovernmental organization established within the framework of the (OECD) in 1974 right after the oil crisies of 1973. The IEA was initially dedicated to responding to physical disruptions in the supply of oil, but its primary function is now to act as a policy adviser to its member states, which includes Ireland.
The IEA has just released its key annual report, the World Energy Outlook 2010. And believe it or not, and without much explanation, the world’s leading compiler of everything about energy has gone from denying that conventional oil production will peak in our lifetime to saying, it happened four years ago !!. Wonders will never cease!, they then went on to justify continued world economic growth by conjouring up enough “undiscovered, undeveloped”, lousy quality, and very-expensive-to produce oil to keep the world sort of growing for another 25 years.
The WEO 2010 report states that “Crude oil output reaches an undulating plateau of around 68-69 mb/d by 2020, but never regains its all-time peak of 70 mb/d reached in 2006, while production of natural gas liquids (NGL) and unconventional oil grows quickly.”WEO 2010 – Executive Summary. The graph is taken from the WEO 2010 Executive Summery.
First, pay close attention to the legend for the chart. Starting at the bottom, note that crude oil from “currently producing fields” (dark blue) is already in sharp decline and is expected to decline from a high of 70 mbd in 2006 to ~15 million barrels per day (mbd) in 2035; a loss of 55 mbd over 25 years, or 2.2 mbd per year. The next band up (gray) is crude oil from “fields yet to be developed,” which we largely know about but have not yet really started producing significantly.
My only comment here is that these fields cannot overcome the expected rate of loss in the dark blue band below them. All of the conventional oil that we know about is now past peak. In order to keep conventional oil flat, we have to move up to the third band (light blue), which is “fields yet to be found” – which will apparently be delivering a very large 22 mbd by 2035. In other words, the IEA is projecting that in 25 years, more oil will be flowing from “fields yet to be found” than from all the fields ever found and put into production by the year 2010. Madness.
This means that over the next 25 years, the global economy will have to make do with less than half the rate of growth in oil that it enjoyed over the prior 25 years. How will the economy grow with less oil available? and so less energy available, especially when the Chinese and Indian governments have been busily buying up all the oil field futures they can lay their hands on. What will happen to the valuations of financial assets that explicitly assume that prior rates of growth stretch endlessly into the future? With a very optimistic, flat energy forecast, this inevitably means zero growth, so by definition a long recession, or as Richard Heinberg from the Post Carbon Institute calls it the “Long Emergency”.
We in Skerries, need to rethink the value of the money in our pockets, we also need to consider what is of value. Knowledge and skills. Food and water. We need to begin developing new skills, or re-learn old skills which will improve our resilience. If you haven’t already begun to grow your own food or get involved in the Community Harvest Group – Skerries , start now. Start with your own families resilience then get involved with local community groups like Sustainable Skerries or Skerries Community Association. When you or your family are able to grow just 5% of the food you consume, that is 5% more resilience you now possess. The difference between 0% and 5% resilience is huge, but getting from 5% to 50% is not such a great leap. Start to plan, then act….now.
Frank Mc Keown
Chairperson, Sustainable Skerries.
We had our first CHG public meeting last Thursday evening in the Sailing Club. It was well attended by some very positive people who obviously cared an awful lot about their food, how safe it was, was it organic, where it came from and how secure it was. We had a great chance to talk to our local grower. He explained his own career in growing and the path he took to become a small-scale organic grower. He was a real inspiration! The whole room was assured that this man was as passionate about growing local, organic food as they were about eating it. He demonstrated a huge wealth of knowledge and experience in growing good organic food.
Everyone got the chance to ask loads of questions about the logistics of collecting the Veg box, what was going to be in the Veg box, were there any eggs in the box and what was the growing season and what type of veg was available. We also got to see a sample Weekly Veg box which included spuds, carrots, eggs, parsnips, winter greens, two types of swede, onions and cabbage, sprouts and more. There were various chutneys and preserves which the grower also produces himself from his own produce, these proved very popular. These chutneys will be available to buy when picking up your veg box.
One of the things which also became very obvious was that this was a room full of people who shared a desire for good food, which was organic and grown locally. We all seemed to be on the same wavelength. The 90 minutes of the meeting was a lot about getting to know each other, and what we wanted from our CHG project.
This had the feeling of a very positive meeting, hopefully the start of a great local food project which forms part of the local food network which Sustainable Skerries is establishing. The other parts of this network are the local GIY group and the Allotments group. Sustainable Skerries will continue working towards a resilient Skerries with a strong and vibrant local food network and supporting our local farmers market.
This is a short update on the status of the Community Harvest Group – Skerries.
We have replied to everyone who expressed an interest in joining the CHG. At this stage we have a very good response rate to the publicity which went out earlier in the month.
A public meeting will be now held for all potential CHG members during the third week of November. We will confirm the date, venue by email directly to the potential members ( it will of course be in our beautiful Skerries!).
At the meeting, we can all get to know one another and the farmer. It will be an opportunity to learn more, ask questions, share thoughts, concerns, ideas etc
Most critically, at that meeting we will be signing up members via the membership agreement and the members application form. Signing up will include completing a direct debit mandate for the upfront monthly payments. Each member will receive a copy of the agreement in advance. The Community Harvest group will also sign an agreement between it and the farmer.
Also at the meeting, we would be delighted to find members who would like to join the core group. This core group will essentially lead the Community Harvest Group – Skerries with the farmer, positions to be considered will include (treasurer, communications officer, members day liasion etc )
We are very excited about the Community Harvest Group – Skerries and are thrilled that there are so many people interested in joining. We look forward to meeting everyone and creating a community of people who who want to receive fresh, seasonal and local produce and want to directly support local independent farming to achieve that.
Risk of Flooding in Skerries Sunday night and Monday morning Met Eireann have issued a flood warning for Dublin coastal areas, for Sunday night and Monday morning.
They are tracking an area of low pressure which will combine with high tides and rainfall similar to that which occurred in February 2002. Skerries, together with many areas in Dublin, was badly affected by the 2002 floods.
The weather is subject to change but it is worth checking the weather sites over the next few days. The SCA has contacted Fingal to highlight the need for sandbags to be ready for the town. If you want to request sandbags phone Fingal Co Co on 01 890 6210, give your name and address and they will assess if your house is at risk and supply bags accordingly.
Stay Safe, Do NOT Enter flood water.
Sustainable Skerries is launching the Community Harvest Group. This is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). CSA’s are a partnership between the people in the local community and the grower where we all work together to provide healthy, local food for our families and our community. This partnership allows us to share both the rewards and also the challenges that our independent farmers face every year. CSA’s are a relatively new concept in Ireland but they have been working wonderfully in USA, Canada and in Europe for many years.
By joining, we as members get a lot closer to where our food comes from. Each member pays a set monthly fee and in return you receive a weekly box of locally grown, freshly picked and seasonal organic vegetables. As a member you can also visit the farm on Member’s Day to walk the land, learn about the vegetables being grown or even help with the harvest. A newsletter is sent out regularly keeping you involved in the daily happenings on the farm. By forming CSA’s we make each farm a community in itself.
The CSA allows everyone the opportunity to have access to a resilient, local and healthy food supply. We are currently getting a panel of people who are interested in joining the CSA. We understand that you will have lots of questions and reservations. So we will be inviting potential members to a consultation meeting. This will give you a chance to ask questions about the food, the money and how the scheme will operate. We will have the organic farmer at the meeting and we in Sustainable Skerries will be there to pull the whole thing together and help make it work.
Community Harvest Group is a working group of Sustainable Skerries, we are a “Not For Profit” group affiliated to the Skerries Community Association. We are limiting the number of members in the scheme to approximately 25 in the first year. The reason for this is to allow us in the Community Harvest Group, you the members and the Organic Grower to learn and develop at a reasonable rate in the first year.
If you are interested in learning more or in becoming a member please contact us at:
Email: sustskerries@yahoo.ie
Phone: 087 2266 922
Sustainable Skerries has started running a series of workshops with the Skerries Community College transition Year students.
Subjects we are examining are Peak Oil, Food, Water, Transport and Resilience. We will discuss what Skerries is going to look like in 20 years. To quote Chris Martensson, “one thing we know for sure is the next 20 years will be nothing like the last 20 years”. So we will examine what Skerries will be like in terms of food, water, transport, ESB, how we heat out homes and what will our healthcare system look like. Finally, what can we do to make our town more resilient, better able to withstand external shocks.
The TY Students will be entering the ECO-UNESCO competition with the sustainability and resilience as a major subject area.
Sustainable Skerries in conjunction with Codema are holding a public information meeting in the Little Theatre on Thursday 7th Oct at 7:30 pm.
Residents will be given an insight into the current energy standards of Dublin homes and they will also receive expert, independent advice on saving energy around the home. Homeowners who are interested in improving their homes’ energy performance will also learn about the benefits of joining an Energy Smart Community and getting work carried out as a cluster.
Please come along to get some very valuable information which will save you money and carbon.
Free Advice on saving energy around the home, applying for energy-saving governments grants, how by being part of an energy smart cluster you can have good quality work done at the best value. Sustainable Skerries is working with Codema to ensure the residents of Skerries can avail of these energy saving oppurtunities in an open and transparent way.
Codema was founded in 1997 as a not-for-profit limited company. It was set up on the initiative of Dublin City Council, with support from the European Commission. Since then, they have acted as the sustainable energy adviser to Dublin City Council and – as of January 2009 – they act as adviser to the other three Dublin local authorities; including Fingal County Council. They aim to make sustainability the norm in County Dublin, while contributing to the global issue of combating climate change.
Another very successful day up at the allotments. We got up to the fields at 10am, finished up at 1pm, just before the heavens opened and watered the newly sown grass seed.
The work party got all the marked out pathways cleared and grass seed down on the upper field. Also the lower field is now partly marked out and ready for the next work party to get stuck into clearing pathways and clearing access to the lower field.
Another work party is planned for next week, Sat 9th Oct 09:00am, Weather permitting.
Some of the Work Party. Sat Oct 2nd
Sustainable Skerries and Codema will hold a public information meeting in the Little Theatre on Thursday 7th Oct at 7:30 pm.
Residents will be given an insight into the current energy standards of Dublin homes and they will also receive expert, independent advice on saving energy around the home. Homeowners who are interested in improving their homes’ energy performance will also learn about the benefits of joining an Energy Smart Community and getting work carried out as a cluster.
Please come along to get some very valuable information which will save you money and carbon.
Sustainable Skerries 