IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: The Dates of the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering Have Changed!

Ongoing warm dry weather, fire risk and water shortages mean we have made the decision to combine the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering and the European Permaculture Convergence into one event.  The Gathering will now take place on 10th and 11th August as part of the 5 day Convergence. Please click here to pre-book tickets… Or […]

Ongoing warm dry weather, fire risk and water shortages mean we have made the decision to combine the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering and the European Permaculture Convergence into one event.  The Gathering will now take place on 10th and 11th August as part of the 5 day Convergence. Please click here to pre-book tickets… Or read on for more details

With the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering and the European Permaculture Convergence a month away we are keeping a really close eye on the weather, and looking at the long term forecast, more of the same fine dry weather is expected. Already there are wild fires in the Sally Gap in Wicklow and Gardai have issued a red fire warning for the Wicklow Mountains which indicates an extreme fire risk and advises against the use of all outdoor fires, including barbeques and other ignition sources. (http://www.thejournal.ie/sally-gap-fires-4103525-Jul2018/) This obviously impacts the catering of both at the Gathering and the EUPC as we were intending a wood fired camp kitchen for both, and combined with water shortages, or at least potential logistical issues with the organisation of our events have given us serious food for thought over the past week or so. We think it is prudent to prepare for continued hot, dry weather.

So the Co-ordination Team, in consultation with Knockree Hostel, have brainstormed and using the permaculture principles of ‘Observe and Interact‘, ‘Apply Self-Regulation and Accept Feedback‘, ‘Creatively Use and Respond to Change‘, ‘Use and Value Diversity‘, and importantly, ‘Integrate Rather than Separate‘ we have made the decision to move catering from the field back up indoors to the hostel kitchen, and combine the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering and the European Permaculture Convergence into one exciting event.

In practicality, this means we are moving the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering from Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th August (arrivals on 3rd) to Friday 10th and Saturday 11th August (arrivals on 9th) so that it encompasses the 2 ‘Open Space’ days that we had planned for the EUPC.

The format of the Gathering will be the same ‘Open Space‘ that we know and love from other years, but we will also now get to share our stories with and hear from our fellow permaculturalists from Europe and further afield. The evening of the 10th will stay the open mic night that we had planned for the EUPC which also gives us an exciting opportunity for cross cultural pollination. Please bring your best Irish welcome, storytelling, music and song!

Another benefit of combining events is that we can now integrate catering and Sue Chef is catering as normal, though it won’t be over a wood fire outside but catered indoors in the Hostel.

For the first time, hostel beds will also be available for those who don’t want to camp! And finally, for those who were intending to come to both events it means that you won’t need to be away from home for as long, or to choose between the 2 events!

There are, however, more infrastructure costs this year than for a ‘normal’ Gathering, with hostel rental, marquee rental and staffing costs that are not normally present as usually we rely on volunteers organising the event and a borrowed field and tents. But again we have brainstormed and it’s really important to us to keep the All Ireland Permaculture Gathering as inclusive and affordable as possible.

  • A special 2 day ‘Gathering’ ticket for €50 which includes camping and catering. This €10 more than ‘normal’ but is a good reduction on ticket costs for full EUPC attendance. However, we need to plan numbers, so in accordance with the last 2 years Gatherings please pre-book your tickets online. It would be really great if you could also bring produce, as is normal for Gatherings.
  • If you would like to stay longer or come early then you are very welcome indeed to join us on the other EUPC panel days. Additional Day Tickets are available for €25, which to keep them in line with the EUPC tickets do not include catering, which is an additional €14 for adults or €5 for kids.
  • Because of the logistics of managing and organising hostel beds and changeovers, hostel beds are €80 for however long you are attending, whether it is one night or the full 5 days.

All these tickets are available to book online here before 8th August. Once the event starts there will only be day tickets available on the gate.  (And only the €25 day tickets will be available on the gate. If you would like to avail of Sue’s catering then please pre-book before the event so that we can plan.)

We hope you agree that this is the best solution all round and brings lots of opportunity and benefits for us all!  But, it is a major change, just a month before the planned Gathering so we really need your help getting this info out to the community. Please share this information to your online and offline networks and tell everyone you know!

If you have any comments or suggestions then please let us know, as usual this is your event for you to help co-create.

And finally, if the €50 ticket price really is a barrier to you please get in touch with your barters. There is lots to do in the next month and lots of opportunity for volunteering and getting involved.