cultivate.ie

Deepening Civic Dialogue

A Question SCALE Podcast

A Podcast featuring some of the contributors to the Question of Scale Webinar and Framing Paper was recorded in Cultivate’s new digital studio in WeCreate Workspace.

This production is available here  https://youtu.be/TnQaq_E3xaA

Framing Paper A Question of Scale - PDF

00:00.00 - Introduction
Davie Philip - Cultivate/ Ecolise.eu, Ollie Moore - Cultivate/ ARC2020
00:02.18 - Resilience - A Guiding Principle for a Just Recovery & Transition
Dirk Holemans - GEF
00:08.10 - Climate Emergency Economy
Jonathan Essex - Green House, UK, Bram van de Glind - GroenLinks, Netherlands.
00:17.10 - Introducing Doughnut Economics
Dr. Carol Power - Centre for Co-Operative Studies at UCC
00:28.00 - Just Transitions & Community Wealth Building
Sinead Mercier, Sean McCabe - TASC
00:46.00 - Historical Perspectives on Cooperatives in Ireland
Tommy Simpson - GFI
00:53.50 - Cooperatives Now
Sam Toland - Solid Network,  Aoife Hammond - Dublin Food Coop

Production - Eoin Campbell (JustMultimedia)
Music and Tech Support - Darren Flynn
The project is made possible with the financial support of the European Parliament to the Green European Foundation. The European Parliament is not responsible for the content of this publication.

A Question of SCALE Publication

A Question of SCALE: “Imagining a cooperative, community-led approach to regional resilience” (SCALE also being the acronym for Supply Chains and Local Economies).

Cultivate produced this framing paper with Green Foundation Ireland and the Green European Foundation. It is part of the Climate Emergency Economy transnational project, which includes Green House Think Tank, UK and GroenLinks, Netherlands.

The process began by bringing together some new, and old ideas for shortening supply chains and strengthening local economies into a position paper, which was distributed to 50 researchers and cooperative advocates. We then invited them to a webinar in September 2020 to discuss and build on the ideas. 10 illustrations as well as the findings from the webinar were then synthesised into the final framing paper.

The paper introduces and explores the potential of the Social and Solidarity economy, Doughnut Economics, Just Transition, The Commons, Community Wealth Building, Federated co-ops new co-operative approaches.

Question of Scale Framing Paper is available on the GEF website here..A Question of Scale - PDF

Read more: A Question of SCALE Publication

Permaculture Design Course 30 Jul - 8 Aug, 2021 in Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Secure a place

Deposit €100.00 EUR

The COVID-19 pandemic has further revealed the need for our globalized industrial systems to adapt so that our values and quality of life are central to the way we live. We will be implementing recommended health measures to put safety first while sharing skills, that are all the more important in light of our rapidly changing world, to foster resilience in our local and global communities.

This current break with many of our old systems provides opportunities to reconsider our relationship with the natural world, reconnect to our local communities, re-localise economies and intensify efforts to strengthen our resilience. The principles and ethics of Permaculture provide us with the design system for the future.

UK Permaculture Association Accredited
Full Course Fee €600 / Early Bird price of €550 if paid in full before May 31st, deposit not refundable after 14th June 2021.
Some concessionary places are available for low or no wage participants | €100 deposit secures your place | We accept Bitcoin
Please apply to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Book and Pay guide

Read more: Permaculture Design Course 30 Jul - 8 Aug, 2021 in Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Permaculture Weekend Courses 2021 (coming soon)

Full details to follow early in 2021 but keep an eye out for Permaculture Weekend courses running in Cloughjordan Ecovillage.

These will be scheuded from a Friday evening to Sunday afternoon and will delve deeper into themes touched on in the 10-day Permaculture Design Course. These are intended to be suitable for past students as well as those that haven't completed a PDC yet, though some will require completion of an introduactory weekend.

If interested, then we'd like your input to help direct our offerings to best plan a very uncertain year ahead!
Please fill in this short survey on what content would most appeal to you.

Many thanks and we look forward to posting more details.
The Cultivate team

Learning Journeys and Study Visits

Visit Ireland's Only Ecovillage - Learn about Living and Working Sustainably

Cultivate, in partnership with Cloughjordan Ecovillage, designs and delivers one to five day programmes for groups around a particular topic or topics of interest related to the transition to a low carbon and resilient society. These can include Green Building and Sustainable Energy, Local Food, Food Security, Community Energy Transition, Local Enterprise, Digital Manufacturing, Community Resilience and Sustainable Living.

We tailor the tours for each group and work with them to devise a personalised itinerary on their specific area of interest.  These study tours can range from one to several days, depending on the itinerary developed, though we recommend at least two days to allow for a more immersive experience.

Cloughjordan is a traditional Irish village which is now also home to the Cloughjordan Ecovillage. This is where we share our experience and knowledge with groups of all ages, sizes and interests.

Activities are based in the Ecovillage and can include tours, talks, practical workshops and social events in Cloughjordan and the surrounding area. We can also work with groups on transport, accommodation and meals. Groups interested in continuing professional development can participate in industry specific workshops and talks.

For more info, options or booking: email Veronica at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Read more: Learning Journeys and Study Visits