Facilitating Flourishing Communities

22 April 2015 | Cost €70 for funded participants, €35 if un-funded or active in this area and €20 for Cultivate or Ecovillage members. There are two bursary placements available for low income or job seekers who would benefit from attending. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This is a one-day workshop in the art of facilitating transformative conversations. Conversations are the main medium by which people and communities change. The best conversations open us up, stimulate us, give us access to bigger views and new perspectives, make us feel part of a larger whole and lead to coherent actions. The worst conversations repeat pre-conceived views, involve no listening and change nothing. This workshop will introduce practices that support effective dialogue. The processes to be introduced in this session include the following:

• Circle Work – asserting equality and inclusivity in place of hierarchy
• Appreciative Inquiry – valuing what’s there, rather than starting with problems
• Café Seminar – encouraging participation and cross-fertilisation
• Open Space – enabling self-organising in line with where the energy is

Open Everything : A Collaborative Economy Convergence

Cultivate, WeCreate Workspace and the P2P Foundation are delighted to host Open Everything, from Wednesday 10th to Sunday 14th September 2014 in Dublin, Limerick and Cloughjordan, a series of events that brings together cooperative advocates, community activists, and commons animators to share perspectives and ideas on the question, “How can a commons-based collaborative economy strengthen the resilience of our communities?”  

These events will explore and further a commons approach to building and stewarding shared resources, building community resilience and creating meaningful livelihoods.

The highlights include a major conference that will reimagine cooperatives and look at how the cooperative model could facilitate sustainable livelihoods and service provision in our communities.  We will be introducing peer production and open hardware in both the Limerick and Cloughjordan Fab Labs. A symposium will examine the potential of the old idea of the commons, which is now being rethought with new ideas from the open source community and the cooperative movement.

If we are to make the changes that are needed to adapt to climate change, or to connect with each other in deeper ways and strengthen our resilience, we need to revive the commons. This series of events is for anyone interested or active in doing that.

See the website for full schedule and details.

Places are limited. Book now.

Organisational Resilience

Future-oriented ways of organising ourselves, inspired by natural systems and Permaculture design

Cultivate and Community Conscious

21 August 2014 | 10.00 - 17.00 ( With optional 2 day design challenge) | WeCreate, Cloughjordan Ecovillage 

In an environment that is constantly changing, our community-based initiatives and cooperative enterprises need to be adaptive, flexible and resilient. There is no one right way to organise, but new emerging whole system approaches such as the Viable Systems Model and Sociocracy can help us understand and design operating systems for our organisations that are truly collaborative.

These events are for anyone considering how we design organisational structures that can empower everyone involved to participate in shaping and making the decisions that affect them, while at the same time nurturing closer relationships and resilience.

An additional two day design challenge, for those wishing to go deeper into the practice of designing viable organisations, is available.

Read more: Organisational Resilience

Get Involved - Free Workshops on Enhancing the Sustainability of our Local Communities

We are offering free workshops to build the capacity of people already working to improve their communities, or who are thinking about getting involved in making their local neighbourhoods better places to live.

Tipperary - Saturday 17 May 2014 | 10.00 - 16.00 | WeCreate Workspace, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Cloughjordan

Waterford - Tuesday 20 May 2014 | 10.00 - 16.00 | Edmund Rice Centre, Waterford City

Kerry - Wednesday 21 May 2014 | 19.30 - 21.30 | Venue to be announced

Places are limited. For more information or to reserve a free place contact Davie Philip.

The session is designed to demonstrate the potential of new ideas that have been successful in other parts of Ireland, explore ways that people might cooperate better while protecting the environment and making their local community more resilient and sustainable. If you are active in the development of your community, involved in a community or cooperative enterprise, want to support local producers or want to be engaged in making your community a better place to live in any way, this workshop will be of interest.

Read more: Get Involved - Free Workshops on Enhancing the Sustainability of our Local Communities

Summer of Resilience

Co-designing a future that works for all

Hosted by the Cloughjordan Learning Alliance in collaboration with the P2P Foundation

August and September 2014 at Cloughjordan Ecovillage

The Summer of Resilience is a programme of events and inspiring conversations focused on community and collaborative approaches to regenerating the economy and society.

This is a great opportunity to visit Cloughjordan Ecovillage and Ireland’s first Fab Lab while learning, making and networking. With workshops, exhibitions, design challenges, a symposium, food and celebration, let’s explore how we create a future that works for all! Express your interest using this form.

Cloughjordan ecovillage

The Summer of Resilience is primarily based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage with additional events in Dublin, Limerick, Stradbally and in Cloughjordan town itself.

The Ecovillage is located in the heart of Cloughjordan and received the Gold Award for best 'Socio-Economic Project' at UN International Awards for Liveable Communities in Xiamen, China, Nov 2013. It now has 100 residents living in 50 high-performance green homes; over 20,000 newly planted trees and Ireland’s largest renewable energy district heating system. Django’s is welcoming overnight guests, Cloughjordan Wood-Fired Bakery is producing award-winning breads and WeCreate, unique creative and technological workspace for eco entrepreneurs, is open for business.

Read more: Summer of Resilience

New Ways of Teaching and Learning

Resilience and Capacity Building for Community Educators

21 - 24 April 2015 | WeCreate Workspace, Cloughjordan Ecovillage | Course fee €500 | €300 if unfunded. There are two bursary placements available for low income or job seekers who would benefit from attending. The bursary includes all fees but not accommodation and food. | Contact Davie

Develop your skills in facilitating learning and using new tools to host conversations in your community. This four day training is hosted by Davie Philip, Cultivate Living and Learning and Chris Chapman, the Change Exploratory, in association with WeCreate Green Enterprise Centre.

Who is this course for?

This course is for adult and community educators, hosts and facilitators with some experience who want to refresh and develop their skills and ways of working to enable them to have impact and flourish, as we seek to transition to more values-based and collaborative communities.

What will it include?

The course will provide an introduction to inviting, active, experiential and place-based learning methods.  It will look particularly at the changing role of the trainer / facilitator, as we become more of a catalyst, rather than just a transmitter of knowledge. The course will provide an opportunity to look at yourself and how your strengths and vulnerabilities can best serve you.

The course is founded on whole systems (ecological and evolutionary) thinking and pulls on fields such as Community Development, 'The Art of Hosting', Sustainability, Community Resilience, and Permaculture. This course has proved to be extremely popular and inspiring for a wide range of participants from education, community and diverse professional backgrounds.

Read more: New Ways of Teaching and Learning

The Living Building Challenge – Case Studies from the Ecovillage in Cloughjordan

Presented by Éasca and Living Building Challenge Ireland

Part of Engineers Week in partnership with WeCreate.

Thursday 13 February 2014 | Enterprise Center, Cloughjordan Ecovillage (map) | 12.00 - 16.00 | €65 Members Only - Pay Now (Éasca, Cultivate, RIAI, Engineers Ireland, CIBSE members) / €80 - Pay Now (Non-members)

This workshop will begin with an introduction to the Living Building Challenge, and an overview of the imperatives and criteria used to measure projects in this system. Using the Cloughjordan Ecovillage as a case study, we will discuss how certain aspects of the Living Building Challenge were met by specific buildings and how other aspects could not be met due to regulatory or logistical challenges. Participants are encouraged to discuss how those challenges can be overcome in the future. Following a networking lunch, participants will be able to tour projects in the Ecovillage, with information presented by professionals working and/or living in the Ecovillage.

Read More: The Living Building Challenge – Case Studies from the Ecovillage in Cloughjordan

A Collaborative Economy Convergence

Saturday 16 November 2013 | 11:00 - 17:00 | Donation only (€15 suggested) | WeCreate Workspace, Cloughjordan Ecovillage | Schedule and map and more in this PDF

Cultivate and WeCreate Workspace based in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, are hosting a ‘think-in’ for people and organisations working, researching or interested in a more collaborative approach to economic, social and governance issues. We will explore areas such as:

• P2P Networks
• The potential of FabLabs and 3D printing for sustainability
• Social enterprises that facilitate new livelihoods
• Relocalisation, Community Resilience and Permaculture
• Co-working, co-housing and community supported agriculture
• Digital and Complementary currencies
• Open Source and Appropriate technologies
• Managing the Commons for the benefit of all
• Collaboration and sharing in urban and rural environments

Help Design the Summer Symposium

During this one day event we will also discuss the content and themes for a major symposium and exhibition on these subjects to be held summer 2014 - bring your suggestions and ideas!  If you would like to participate we would love to hear from you. Contact us with this form.  | Schedule and map and more in this PDF

Global Green at the Electric Picnic 2013

Out on the edge of the Picnic, an area shared with Green Crafts, you will discover the Global Green. This enchanting space is hosted by a community of cultural creatives pulled together by Cultivate, the sustainability collective now based at Cloughjordan Ecovillage.

This year we will let you experience a little of what it's like to live with and around us. Come away to Totally Tipperary, for food from Tipperary and a sustainable, locally sourced experience. Why not come over for a brilliant, morning brekky? Get the (bacon dry) cure bap and great gourmet coffee.

This year shows the return of live music to Global Green with our line up stronger than ever. As well as our usual daytime folk and electronica, we will throw some legendary night time parties. Synérgy will let loose Sunday night accompanied by DJ Rosko and the boys from the Pressure Drop sound system, bringing an infectious good vibe dance groove to the Picnic.

Global Green is a rustic space with an industrial edge that blends local and hand made with 3D printed. This is an invigorating mix of the urban and rural. It's a space to share, where you will find activists, local foodies, artists, hackers, makers, tree folk, musicians, and eco-entrepreneurs exploring collaborative ways to respond locally to the global challenges we face. 

So drop by and find out about grass roots experiments in community supported and urban farming and give cycling, up-cycling and composting a go, all while having your collective ear canals massaged by our reassuringly disheveled, motley crew of musicians and DJs... now that takes the edge off nicely, doesn’t it?

Read more: Global Green at the Electric Picnic 2013

Cultivating Liveable Communities County Laois

Wednesday 26 June 2013 | 10.00 - 16.00 | €Free but booking required (see below) | WeCreate, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Tipperary

A workshop and fieldtrip that explores how we can nurture our communities to be healthier and more sustainable, backed by local economies that are stronger and more resilient.

This free workshop, held in the new WeCreate Work Space in Cloughhjordan Ecovillage, focuses on how people and groups can work with and learn from each other to sustain the economic, environmental and social well being of our local areas. The methodology used in the workshop is participatory with an objective to facilitate collaboration towards enhancing the liveability of our villages and towns.

The fieldtrip includes a visit to the Cloughjordan Community Farm, the Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre, the education gardens and allotments, the eco hostel and the Ecovillage, Ireland’s largest eco-neighbourhood. Cloughjordan is the winner of the national Green Community award 2012 & 2013 and in 2012 was a runner up in the Irish Times ‘Best Place to live in Ireland’ contest. The community is one of Ireland's nominees for the 2013 International UN Liveable Communities Award.

Read more: Cultivating Liveable Communities County Laois

Environmental Sustainability Training Course in Clare

Starting 7 May 2013 Cultivate Living and Learning will be delivering a course supported by the Clare Local Development Company that will introduce the principles of sustainable development and new approaches to setting up community-scale enterprises around food, energy and tourism.

The overall objective of this training is to build the capacity of community catalysts to have an impact on the social, economic and environmental aspects of community life in Clare. If you are involved in community development or local business in any way this course will be of interest.  Starting on the 7th May in Ennis the course includes 4 two-hour evening classes, a field trip to Cloughjordan and a full day workshop. Places are limited on this course and, as it is LEADER supported, participants must have an address in Clare outside of Ennis. The evening classes will take place in the Clare Education Centre, Kilrush Road, Ennis and although the training is free there is a €10 fee to register.

PDF poster. For further information or to book a place contact Davie Philip.

Cultivating Liveable Communities

Ennis, Limerick City, Nenagh & Portarlington

A series of free workshops, delivered by Cultivate in partnership with four Local Authorities, are being held during April 2013. These explore how we can nurture our communities to be healthier and more sustainable, backed by local economies that are stronger and more resilient.

Read more: Cultivating Liveable Communities

Cultivating Liveable Communities

An introduction to Resilience and Permaculture

Tuesday 12 February 2013 | 19.30 - 21.30 | Central Hotel, Exchequer St | €10 Pay Now / Free to Cultivate Members

A presentation and facilitated discussion hosted by Davie Philip of Cultivate and Cloughjordan Ecovillage. This evening session will explore how we strengthen our communities to be more healthy and sustainable backed by local economies that are stronger and more resilient.

Totally Tipperary – A Green Business Showcase In Cloughjordan

Saturday 30 June 2012 | GAA Complex, Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary | €FREE

As part of the Cloughjordan Festival’s ‘Totally Tipperary’ day the new Tipperary Green Business Network will be hosting a showcase highlighting the benefits of going green. The day features talks, including renowned broadcaster Duncan Stewart, networking sessions, plus stalls and information from companies and agencies from all over the county.

Read more: Totally Tipperary – A Green Business Showcase In Cloughjordan

Intro to Sustainable Living: Free Course

8 Tuesdays starting 22 May 2012 | 18.30 - 21.00 | €Free | The Greenhouse, 17 St Andrew St, D2

Everyone recognises that it's more important than ever to live sustainably.  But how do you know what choices to make, and how can you learn the skills you need?  This course is now FULL

Read more: Intro to Sustainable Living: Free Course

Making Tipperary the Premier Green Business County in Ireland

Tipperary Green Business Network morning launch and networking event

Wednesday, 1 February 2012 | LIT Tipperary, Thurles | Call to confirm attendance 085-7409023 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Companies in Co. Tipperary involved in the green sector, and who want to network with similar organisations, are encouraged to attend the launch event. The Green Business Network is being established in Co. Tipperary to take advantage of the emerging Green Economy, harness its job creation potential, with the longer term ambition of making Tipperary one of Ireland’s greenest counties.

The event will feature:

Read more: Making Tipperary the Premier Green Business County in Ireland

Growing Together

An All-Ireland Conference on Community Supported Agriculture

17 - 19 February 2012 | Cloughjordan, North Tipperary | NEW FLYER (pdf) | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cloughjordan Community Farm in association with the National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS), The Soil Association (UK), Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA), URGENCI - Global Network of CSA’s, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Cultivate, and FEASTA present....

A weekend conference introducing the CSA concept to communities and growers on the island of Ireland.  The event will bring together food producers and emerging Irish CSA’s while creating networking and learning opportunities with experienced initiatives from across Europe.

Themes:

Read more: Growing Together

New low cost building programme for 2012

Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Programme Flyer (PDF) | More about the Village

Want to keep your mortgage debt to a minimum? Want substantially lower energy bills? You can have both these and more by joining forces with other self-builders and work with a team of professionals and volunteers to build yourself a low cost home in the Cloughjordan ecovillage.

Read more: New low cost building programme for 2012

Community Resilience Month

in association with Carnegie Trust UK, The Berkana Institute, Change Exploratory and Cloughjordan Eco-Village

From 25th October 2011     ... a celebration of community resilience including the launch of Cultivate's new film on resilience, courses, book launches, café discussion groups and a fully immersive resilience training weekend. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As the fragile global systems we relied on in the last century begin to crumble, community resilience offers a localised and sustainable response to the challenges we face both as individuals and as inhabitants of a shared planet.  Get started by downloading a free copy of Carnegie Trust's Exploring Community Resilience HERE.

See all 10 Powerdown Shows, the new Surfing the Waves of Change animation, and other resources at OUR NEW COMMUNITY RESILIENCE WEBSITE!

Facilitating Resilience

19- 20 April 2012 (with an informal evening option on the 18th)

Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Exploring how communities can adapt and thrive in these challenging times.

Read more: Facilitating Resilience

The Transition Companion with Author Rob Hopkins

Part of Resilience Month at the Greenhouse

Thursday 24th November 2011 | 18.00 | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

Author Rob Hopkins beams in from Totnes for the Irish launch and discussion of The Transition Companion, available on the night and via our online shop.

The Transition Companion draws on over three years’ experience of the worldwide Transition movement and gives a new, easily accessible approach to creating change.  It builds on the success of the bestselling The Transition Handbook (over 25,000 copies sold in the UK) and is packed with inspirational stories, photos and illustrations.

Daily Resilience in the Greenhouse

Join us at The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map) during Resilience Month (25th October - 25th November 2011) for....

• Surfing The Waves Of Change, being screened on the ground floor of the Greenhouse from 1 - 2pm, Monday to Friday, a 10 minute animated short that loops several times during the hour.  So make sure to drop in any time on your lunch break as it is always starting soon!
• The Cloughjordan Ecovillage's Connect 4 Resilience game, that allows the public to interact with the themes of resilience while playing a giant game of Connect 4.
• The new book from the UK Carnegie Trust, Exploring Community Resilience in Times of Rapid Change, on permanent exhibit and available for sale.

Surfing the Waves of Change - Launch Event

Tuesday 25th October 2011 | 19.30 - 21.30 | €Free | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

Join us for the launch of Cultivate’s new film, Surfing the Waves of Change followed by a discussion on the emerging field of community resilience. Join us for a night of culture and debate inspired by themes explored by both Cultivate’s new animated film and the recent Convergence festival.

View trailer here.

A Crash Course in Resilience - Workshops

Postponed to 2012 | €20 per session or €50 for three | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

A three-evening course exploring community resilience in these times of rapid change. Following on from the 10-week Community Powerdown course that Cultivate developed and has hosted across Ireland, comes a learning  journey based on the new Cultivate film,  'Surfing the Waves of Change' and Carnegie Trust's new publication, 'Exploring Community Resilience in Times of Rapid Change'.  The course will take place over 3 evenings and explore how we and our local communities can cope – and even thrive - through these difficult times.

Download a copy of Carnegie Trust's 'Exploring Community Resilience' HERE.

Read more: A Crash Course in Resilience - Workshops

Daring to Live the Future Now - Weekend Workshop

From Friday 18th at 19.00 to Sunday 20th at 16.00 November 2011 | Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co Tipperary | €295 - includes hostel accommodation, breakfasts & evening meals, facilitation and a copy of the book Walk Out Walk On | PDF Flyer with bios and more detail

A deep dive learning adventure for people who want to make a difference and accelerate their capacity for living and leading the future today.  Hosted by Deborah Frieze, Chris Chapman and Davie Philip and built around the book: Walk Out, Walk On: A Learning Journey Through Communities Daring to Live the Future Now by Margaret Wheatley and Deborah Frieze.

For details and to book contact Chris Chapman: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Networking for Community Resilience - Invite Only Event

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 | 14.00 – 16.30 | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

An invite only networking café discussion on the strengthening of Community Resilience. This event will bring together Carnegie Trust’s community of practice, Cultivate partners, emerging county resilience networks, community development organisations, transition town groups, Convergence stakeholders and anyone active in the area. To receive an invite contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Walk Out Walk On - Event

Exploring Community Resilience In Times Of Rapid Change

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 | 19.30 – 21.30 | €10 | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 | EVENT FLYER - NEW!

In this era of increasingly complex problems and shrinking resources, can we find meaningful and enduring solutions to the challenges we face today as individuals, communities and nations? This session will launch the UK Carnegie Trust's new publication ‘Exploring Community Resilience In Times Of Rapid Change’ (available for sale on the night and in our online shop) and the new book from Deborah Frieze and Meg Wheatley, Walk Out Walk On (available for sale on the night and in our online shop). The evening will include stories from the books from Deborah Frieze and Nick Wilding and a facilitated discussion into the nature of resilience.

Climate. Culture. Change. - Film Series

Coming Soon in 2012 | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

The first three events in the Climate. Culture. Change. film series brought to you by EUNIC and Cultivate.

Facilitating Community Resilience - Training the Hosts

Saturday & Sunday January 28th and 29th 2012 | 09.30 – 17.00 | €150 | The Greenhouse, St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)

Cultivate is offering this 2-day training session for people who see themselves as catalysts for change in their local community and who want to support others in understanding the challenges of community resilience.

The intention of this course is to build the capacity of people to adapt and host Cultivate’s Community Powerdown course in their own communitie as a spur for more local actions. Extensive use of active learning methodologies, games and 10 short films developed especially for this course, means that the trainer does not have to be an expert in the content.  The role, rather, is to generate and sustain inspiring and challenging conversations that in turn become a platform for action. 

Hosts will be given a DVD with the 10 films that are used in the delivery of the learning plus two PDF handbooks, one for the learners, and one for the trainers themselves. The training outlines the sequence of learning, the facilitation techniques, the methodologies utilised and how to guide the exercises. Hosts are encouraged to work flexibly, responding to the needs of participants within the broad design and flow of the course as a whole.

Global Green Festival Clothes Swap

With DJ Steve Reddy

Thursday 25th August 2011 | 7 to 10pm | €5 in with complimentary cocktail on arrival and BYO for later | The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 | map

Flamboyant granny, conservative tranny, outrageously plain, or just plain outrageous, whatever your  festival style, come and re-cycle your festival wardrobe at the Global Green Festival Clothes Swap.  Out with the old, in with the new.  Bring your old dresses, skirts, shirts, shorts, wellies, raincoats, bags or hats,  and exchange them for a whole new sustainable and stylish wardrobe for this year’s Electric Picnic.

Steve Reddy DJ

The Global Green at the Electric Picnic

View 2011 Photos On Facebook | Michael D. Higgins Speaks at Cultivate Tent 3rd Sept 2011

2, 3, 4 September 2011, Stradbally Estate, County Laois. The Global Green returned for a 5^th year at the Electric Picnic as the place to slow down, to celebrate cultural transformation, and to imagine a future that works for all.

Read more: The Global Green at the Electric Picnic

David Fleming’s ‘Lean Logic’ Published & Available

A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It

David Fleming’s Lean Logic was published in his memory in July 2011. 

Lean Logic does not conform.

It is a community of essays about inventive, cooperative self-reliance in the face of great uncertainty.

Read more: David Fleming’s ‘Lean Logic’ Published & Available

A Crash Course in the Green Economy

Green jobs, community resilience, sustainability and the local economy 

Wednesday 20th April 2011 | 10.00 – 16.30 | Nenagh Arts Centre, Co Tipperary | €15 / Free to the unemployed - Apply via Green Works

This one day course hosted by Green Works Tipperary will feature presentations and discussions examining green and local jobs, sustainable development and the growing opportunities in Ireland's green economy. With special guests including Fr. Sean McDonough and information from different Tipperary agencies this timely course promises to demystify the green economy, help learners see the potential of jobs in the local economy and direct jobseekers to further training available in Tipperary.

Tipperary as an Eco County

Wednesday 6th April 2011 | 17.30 - 20.30 | Tipperary Institute, Thurles | Please confirm your attendance w/ Caroline Egan, Coláiste Éile, Thurles, 0504 21166

The students of Coláiste Éile and Tipperary Institute in association with Green Works Tipperary Hub invite you to this workshop and the launch of the Tipperary Green Business Network.

Read article in the Nenagh Guardian.

The Economics of Happiness

Wednesday 20th April 2011 | 20.00 – 22.00 | €6 | Nenagh Arts Centre, Co Tipperary 

Cultivate, in association with Grow It Yourself Ireland, Slow Food Tipperary, Green Works and Tipperary Claiming the Future and the Cloughjordan Ecovillage present The Economics of Happiness.  Both hard-hitting and inspiring, ‘The Economics of Happiness’ is a new documentary about the worldwide movement for economic localisation. This film demonstrates that millions of people across the world are already engaged in building a better world and that small scale initiatives are happening on a large scale. It also shows that countless initiatives are united around a common cause: rebuilding more democratic, human scale, ecological and local economies – the foundation of an ‘economics of happiness’.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion facilitated by Davie Philip from Cultivate and the Ecovillage and featuring broadcaster and environmentalist Duncan Stewart, author Fr. Sean McDonagh, Charles Stanley-Smith from Tipperary Claiming the Future, Sarah Fleming from GIY Ireland and Peter Ward of Slow Food Tipperary.

Community Powerdown Trainers Review

26th November 2010 | 1:30pm to 4:30pm | €Free of charge - For Powerdown Trainers Only | Cultivate at the Greenhouse, St Andrews Street, Dublin 2 (map) | Booking 01 674 5773 

This afternoon meeting is an opportunity to share what is working, how best to secure funding and an update on course content as we change the name of the course from Community Powerdown to Community Resilience. Resilience from a community point of view refers to the capacity of a community to overcome adversity and adapt to change positively. The unprecedented floods and the big freeze that Ireland endured last winter highlights how unprepared we are to cope with any unexpected incidents and the level of our vulnerability.

'Community Resilience' is a 10-week learner-centred course that facilitates possible actions that can be made locally to adapt to the challenges upon us. These actions include; integrated and future-focussed approaches to the rebuilding of social capital and systems of reciprocity; the reduction of carbon emissions and fossil fuel use; and the development of community resilience around food, energy and buildings. Tools and processes to help communities to engage in the sustainable economic development of their area are also included.

Community Resilience Trainers Course

Exploring the art of sustainability and how you can help your community adapt and thrive in these challenging times

Saturday and Sunday | 27th and 28th November 2010 | 09.30 – 17.00 Both days | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map) | FULLY BOOKED 

We are looking for people who see themselves as catalysts for change in their local community and who want to support others to understand the challenges of Community Resilience.  We are training people to deliver a ground-breaking 10 module course called 'Community Resilience'.  This course, also called ‘Community Powerdown,’ was designed by Cultivate and has been successfully delivered many times across Ireland and beyond.

Read more: Community Resilience Trainers Course

Community Resilience Trainers Course

Exploring the art of sustainability and how you can help your community adapt and thrive in these challenging times

CLOUGHJORDAN | Wednesday - Friday | 8th - 10th June 2011 | €250 (Residential)·/ Members 20% off | Bookings +353 (0)505 56060 / email davie [at] cultivate [dot] ie | Free to the unemployed through·Green Works·

·Cultivate, through Green Works, are training people to deliver a ground-breaking 10 module course called 'Community Powerdown'.· We are looking for people who see themselves as catalysts for change in their local community and who want to support others to understand the challenges of community resilience.

Read more: Community Resilience Trainers Course

Community Resilience Training - Roscommon

Cultivate Learning...   Exploring the art of sustainability and how communities can adapt and thrive in these challenging times

Tuesdays from 5th October 2010 for 10 weeks | 19.30 - 21.30 | RIDC Offices, The Enterprise Hub Castlerea, Co. Roscommon

Delivered by Davie Philip, Cultivate and the Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Resilience from a community point of view refers to the capacity of a community to overcome adversity and adapt to change positively. The unprecedented floods and the big freeze that Ireland endured last winter highlights how unprepared we are to cope with any unexpected incidents and the level of our vulnerability. This 10 week learner-centred course facilitates the possible actions that can be made locally to adapt to the challenges upon us.

Read more: Community Resilience Training - Roscommon

The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change

Cultivate and FEASTA's Carbon Sinks and Cycles Network present...

Thursday 26th August 2010 | 7.30 pm | The Greenhouse, 17 St Andrew Street, Dublin 2 (map)  |  €10 / €5 Cultivate and FEASTA members and unwaged  | Bookings on 01 674 5773 

With Albert Bates from The Farm, Tennessee, introduced by Richard Douthwaite

Civilisation as we know it is at a crossroads. For the past 10,000 years, we have turned a growing understanding of physics, chemistry and biology to our advantage in producing more energy and more food.  In the process, we have produced exponential population surges and pollution now crosses catastrophic tipping points of resource depletion, ocean acidification, desertification and climate change, threatening massive famine, sea level rise, and worse.

In this special evening session, Richard Douthwaite from FEASTA will introduce Albert Bates, the author of The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change, The Post Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook and other books, films and new media on energy, environment and history.

Read more: The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change

Convergence - The Creative City – People and Places

With David Engwicht - Creative Communities International

Friday 28 May | 19.30 – 21.30 | €5 | Wood Quay Venue

Ever wondered what it might be like to live in a city that encourages people to reach their fullest creative potential?  What would such a city look like?  How would it feel to live in such a city?  David Engwicht, artist, writer and street philosopher, unpacks what it takes for a city to become a creative city and why every resident has the power to make their city a place that nurtures the creativity of its residents.

The Wood Quay Venue is located in Dublin City Council Civic Offices in the heart of the city. The entrance to Wood Quay Venue is from the walkway directly behind the amphitheatre in the Civic Offices Park.

Convergence - Investing in Ourselves

Realising Jobs and Capital for Communities

Tuesday 1 June | 10.00 – 16.00 | €30 | St Kieran’s Hall, Cloughjordan | Full Schedule

This event explores how to enhance community assets and create jobs and livelihoods in our localities. Topics covered include social finance, mutuality, cooperatives, community land trusts, asset development, energy bonds and other ways for communities to invest in themselves and become economically viable.   Programme includes:

• Designing Financial Institutions for a Shrinking Economy, Richard Douthwaite, FEASTA
• Identifying, Utilising and Optimising Community Assets, Kate Braithwaite, Carnegie UK Trust
• Development of Community Land Trusts, Bob Paterson, Community Finance Solutions, UK

... plus case studies, the launch of the Carnegie Manifesto for Rural Communities and a tour of the Cloughjordan Ecovillage

Presented by Cultivate, Tipperary Institute, Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd. and Carnegie UK Trust

Convergence - Reflecting on Resilience

An Ecumenical Gathering

Monday 31 May | 20.00 – 21.30 | €Free | St Kieran’s Hall, Cloughjordan

Our resilience can be described as our ability to deal with trauma, tragedy, and all kinds of threats. The more resilient we are the faster we bounce back from difficult experiences. The term ‘resilience’ is also widely used by ecologists and is defined as the ability of ecosystems to maintain themselves in the face of disturbance. Resilience from a community point of view refers to the capacity of a community to cope with stress, overcome adversity and adapt to change positively. The current economic and spiritual difficulties, along with the unprecedented floods and freeze that Ireland endured recently, highlight how unprepared we are to cope with any unexpected incidents and the level of our vulnerability.

Facilitated by Professor Peadar Kirby, this event brings a number of churches and faith groups together in Cloughjordan to explore the importance of nurturing resilience in these challenging times.

Featuring Noirin Ni Riain, theologian, musicologist and internationally acclaimed Irish spiritual singer; Sean McDonagh, Columban missionary priest and author; from Cloughjordan, Rev. Brian Griffin, the minister at the Methodist Church; Fr. Tom Hannon, a priest from the Catholic Church; and the Reverend Stephen Neill, Rector at the Church of Ireland.

Convergence - Rethinking Education for a Sustainable Ireland

Monday 31 May | 09.00 – 17.00 | €Free | Tipperary Institute, Thurles, Co Tipperary | Full Schedule (pdf)

What are the models of education we need to meet the challenges of today?
How do we transform our education system to help us move towards a sustainable Ireland?
How can we ensure that learners and educators are equipped to deal with future shocks?

This conference brings educators, learners, state and civil society organisations together to…

• Challenge the dominant educational paradigm
• Explore the education needed for developing resilience and sustainability
• Highlight and promote innovative and successful approaches to learning

The outcome from the day will be a draft declaration on sustainable education that the delegates can sign up to. This declaration will then be used to stimulate conversation, debate and ideas for change in the curriculum and the way education is delivered. It is proposed that a ‘guardian group’ be established to develop this project and to pursue its implementation.

Convergence - The Resilience Tour

A Bus Trip from the Greenhouse to Cloughjordan Ecovillage and Back

Sunday 30 May | 10.00 – 19.00 | €50 | Starts at The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map)

This is an opportunity to visit and experience the Cloughjordan Ecovillage, one of Ireland's most exciting ecological projects. The ecovillage will include 130 homes, renewable energy for heating, land for growing food and trees, an enterprise centre, community buildings and a vibrant environment for living and working. The tour will be focused on the elements that can be replicated in any community or neighbourhood to strengthen its resilience. The bus trip starts at the Greenhouse in Dublin and the day will feature films on the bus, a presentation of the project, a tour of the ecovillage, a light lunch and is back in Dublin by 19.00.

Convergence - A Day In Transition

From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience

Saturday 29 May | 11.00 – 18.30 | €10 - only 100 places | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map) | Full Schedule (pdf)

Hosted by Cultivate and Transition Ireland and Northern Ireland in association with ECO-UNESCO, Re-dress and Near90FM

Transition Towns is an inspirational process, conceived in Ireland in 2005 and now adopted by communities all over the world. The model aids communities in finding new ways of coping with the challenges we face, together. By localising our food production, developing renewable energy sources, enhancing our
local economies and future proofing our buildings, communities develop the resilience to weather the storms of these challenging times.

Read more: Convergence - A Day In Transition

Convergence - Rethinking the City

The Resilient City

How Do We Creatively Transform Our Cities to be Green, Smart and Sustainable?

Friday 28 May | 09.00 – 17.00 | €60 / €40 | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map) | Full Schedule & Registration Form

This conference brings together stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors for a radical rethink on how we transform our cities to be green, smart and sustainable in these challenging times.

What are the converging challenges facing our cities? What actions and changes do we need to make to future proof our buildings, develop smarter transport systems, and heat and power our neighborhoods? How do we reduce our energy dependency, reduce carbon emissions and build resilience in our cities? How do we motivate people to participate in addressing the ever more complex problems facing us today?  All of this requires a systemic and multi-disciplinary approach to enable the development of sustainability and resilience in our communities. This Convergence conference brings the ideas and people together to explore how we do this.

Convergence - The Green New Deal from Below

Cooperative and Bottom-Up Opportunities of the Green Economy

Thurs 27 May | 20.00 – 21.30 | €10 / €5 | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map)

Gavin Harte the former National Director of An Taisce and the founder of the eco-village in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary will facilitate this panel discussion and conversation into the potential for grassroots, community and cooperative approaches to a Green New Deal. Panelists include Duncan Stewart, broadcaster and environmental activist; Ann Irwin, the National Co-ordinator of the Community Workers Cooperative; Ray Doyle from ICOS, the umbrella organisation for co-operatives in Ireland; Shirley Gallagher, a social entrepreneur and manager of the Cleantech Network supporting SMEs in Ireland; and Chris O’Leary, a former Cork City Councillor with a background in cooperatives and community organising.

Convergence - Greening our Communities

An EPA Sponsored Green Communities Network Event

Thurs 27 May | 13.30 – 17.00 | €Free | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map) | RSVP 'alice [at] cultivate . ie' to confirm your booking | PDF

The Green Communities Network is a joint initiative of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the EPA and An Taisce to encourage the growth of green communities in Ireland.  The objective of the network is to radically increase the numbers of individuals and communities living, working and playing in a more environmentally sustainable manner to bring about real and measurable reductions in environmental impact in areas such  as waste, energy usage, water usage and carbon footprint.

But what are the hallmarks of a green community? There may already be communities in Ireland that are well on their way to being ‘green’ and environmentally sustainable.  This half day session will bring together community and environmental initiatives from around Ireland to enquire into what it means to be a ‘green community’ and explore strategies for our communities, in the broadest sense, to become green, smart and sustainable.

Convergence - Planning Our Retreat from Fossil Fuels

Exploring the Ramifications of Peak Oil

Wed 26 May | 19.00 – 21.00 | €10 | Cultivate, The Greenhouse, St Andrew St, Dublin 2 (map)

John Gibbons leads a discussion with with Minister Eamon Ryan, David Korowicz from FEASTA (The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability) and ASPO Ireland Director, Richard O'Rourke, on the ramifications of Peak Oil and what we can and should be doing to prepare for it.