Thursday 26th and Friday 27th May, Parade Tower, Kilkenny

This conference will focus on how local economies can become resilient in the face of peak oil, climate change and global economic uncertainty. The conference will bring together experienced campaigners, educators and economists from France, the US, Australia, the UK and Ireland.

The conference is divided into three themes:

“The Big PIcture” will take a look at the challenges that Ireland will face as the world reaches the limits in production of many non-renewable resources and asks what impacts the last few decades of globalisation has had on local communities.

“Building Local Resilience” will highlight the desperate need for communities to become more self reliant and that taking on the challenge could make for a better, fairer world.

“The Way Forward” closes the conference with a look at some communities from around the world that are “re-localising” in the face of economic and energy uncertainty and making the transition to a more sustainable future.

Throughout the two days there will be workshops and world cafe discussions interspersed between the presentations. These more informal sessions will go into the subjects in more detail and allow ample opportunity for participants to bring their own experience and perspective to the conference. It is hoped to use the ideas which emerge to help counties like Kilkenny adapt to a changing world.

For speaker profiles, more information and to register visit the official conference website here.

An illustrated public meeting on Wednesday 5 May 2010 at 8.00pm in Butler House, Kilkenny, by Professor John Sweeney President of An Taisce, and member of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Admission 5 euro

An Taisce
The National Trust for Ireland

with Dee Sewell of Greensideup

Saturday 24th April & Saturday 8th May, Ballyline, Callan, 2pm-4:30pm, 20€ per afternoon.

A course for those who have dabbled in growing their own food but need a bit of expert advice and lots of questions answered to improve their gardening skills. The course will take place over two saturday afternoons from 2pm – 4:30pm in Ballyclovan Cottage, Ballyline, Callan. Some of the topics covered will include:

• Preperation, bed layouts and soil types.
• Composting, green manure, mulching and crop rotation.
• Cloches & supports, polytunnels, cold frames and containers.
• Seed sowing, modules, watering, potting on and handling.

The tutor for the afternoon is experienced gardener Dee Sewell of Greenside-Up. The fee per afternoon is 20€ but it is recommended to book for both dates. Tea & Coffee & snacks provided.

Contact Brian on 0567725913 to book a place or text 0870665859. You can find directions to Ballyline here.

Congratulations to the Clonmel group for putting together this fantastic clip of the transition work they are doing. The recording is an ongoing project to document their work over the next five years and the changes society will experience through the eyes of the Clonmel Transition group.

Clonmel: A Town in Transition – Rough Cut from MOEVO on Vimeo.

The second meeting of the Kilkenny Economic Forum, an off-shoot of Future Proof Kilkenny, will take place this coming Thursday 25th March at 8pm in the Ormonde Hotel. All are welcome.

The subject of this months meeting is local currencies, electronic loyalty schemes and liquidity networks. The purpose of the meeting is to inform about these schemes and to discuss how they might be realised. There will also be members of Kildare’s Transition Initiative “FADA” in attendance.

A draft discussion document on Liquidity Networks and ZAPA loyalty schemes can be found below the fold. Continue Reading »