wwoofing at Culdees

I've recently come back from Culdees on beautiful Loch Tay.

Culdees is a small international community consisting of transient wwoofers and others working on the farm and in the bunkhouse. The mission of Culdees is to create a Universal Multi Faith Ecovillage based on permaculture principles and is headed by the Reverend Maryse Verlaik-Anand.

Whilst there I undertook a variety of task and had my first experience of working with animals. Ruaraidh had a great time learning to be a farm dog with training from Nell.

I 'chased' escapee pigs and managed to milk the goat.

As well as doing a bit of weeding, cleaning the bunkhouse and cooking, I spent a couple of days removing staples from fence posts! The weather was great and the views out to Loch Tay breathtaking as the sunset.

During my time off I was able to visit some of the local sights including the Praying Hands of Mary in Glen Lyon and the oldest known yew tree in the nearby village of Fortingale. Another great place was the Watermill Bookshop in Aberfeldy which has been voted the best independent bookshop, well deserved along with its coffee shop and cakes!

All in all I had a great time, met some lovely people, sharing time working, singing and dancing!

www.culdeesbunkhouse.co.uk www.culdees-ecovillage.co.uk

Ed's Plot

I'm still catching up with my posting.

Also this month I visited Ed's site down on the Kintyre peninsula, where I'm helping to plan his tree orchard and shelter belt. The site is triangular and looks out to the island of Cara. A lot of space for trees!

The Alchemy of Chutney

Earlier this month I spent a day with Ed, my tutor, making chutney from his garden harvest. This included apples, onions, garlic, chillies and tomatoes and was mixed with vinegar, brown sugar and various spices to make a wonderful accompliment to salads, cheeses etc.

I now have more confidence to try and make my own mixes!

Felting

I was given a lovely birthday present from friend - a two day felting course with Liz Brown of http://www.heartfeltbyliz.com/ We spent two days frantically felting with Liz in her workshop and stayed overnight in a yurt!

Another Island, Another Shelter Belt

I have been visiting a friend on Kerrera and helping in the garden she has crafted there. There are different sections to the garden including vegetables and a small apple orchard. It is based at the north end of the island facing the Firth of Lorn where a shelter belt is a necessity!

Permaculture Weekend

Last weekend I helped facilitate the latest Design Course to run from Kilmartin House Museum. On the Saturday we visited Tarbert on the Kintyre Peninsula and searched for the newly arrived sheep at the Castle. The sheep have been bought in to keep the grass short rather than strimming. On Sunday we took the ferry to Portavadie to visit David Blair and his inspiring project at Dunbeag, Tighnabruaich www.dunbeag.org.uk

Drimlabarra Herb Farm

Drimlabarra Herb Farm

I recently visited and volunteered at Drimlabarra Herb Farm on the isle of Arran. Here Maureen and Keith Robertson grown organic herbs along with their own fruit and veg.
Whilst visiting I helped weed a bed of calendula which had been previously harvested for infusions, and when wet assisted with the cleaning and stock take in the herbal dispensary. It was interesting to see all the different herbs used and have a guess at what their Latin names translated to.

When the rain took a break I was back outside to weed the recently planted (approx 2 years ago) shelter belt. Another of my diploma projects, where I am acting as an apprentice, is the design and planting of a fruit garden along with shelter belt. The farm here is situated at the southern end of Arran, about 800 metres from the sea, facing south and getting the full brunt of the south westerly gales, very similar to where I'll be planting . So I was able to ask lots of questions and weed around the little trees!

Maureen and Keith are the co-founders of the Scottish School of Herbal Medicine in Glasgow http://www.herbalmedicine.org.uk/k/

Island Hopping

My daughter came to visit last week and we went island hopping. First to Luing, one of the slate islands off the Isle of Seil. We went across the Cuan sound in a very small roro ferry and walked to the village of Culipool with its white washed quarriers cottages. We then scrambled up the highest hill we could find to view the neighbouring islands.

It was then on to Easdale Island via a small open boat. Easdale covers approx 10 hectares and there are no cars on the island where a permanent population of about 60 live. Easdale is another slate island. The slate quarries flooded in a storm in 1881 and from then the industry declined with the last slate being cut in the 1950's. The community today is thriving with tourism being the main industry.

Later in the week we went to Lismore, travelling on a small enclosed boat from Port Appin. This time we took our bikes and cycled to Iond Naomh Moluag, the islands new heritage centre. A environmentally friendly, low tech building made from locally sourced wood and incorporating geothermal heating and a turf roof.

Permaculture

To me permaculture is about sustainable living and has a core philosophy of co-operation with nature whilst caring for the earth and its people - its not just about gardening! Permaculture has been steadily spreading across the world from Australia for the past 30 years and I first learnt about it approx seven years ago and have been learning and incorporating it into my life since. Permaculture and the emerging Transition Town initiative look at the twin problems of Climate Change and Energy Decent, and see these global problems as an opportunity to design descent pathways which make people feel alive, positive and included in the process of societal transformation to the post oil society of the future. Read Rob Hopkins book 'Transition Handbook - from oil dependency to local resilience' and you will be inspired!