House Design Online

Build your own Wind Turbine

Congratulations to Peter, Alanna and all involved in the Eco Living Festtival which took place over the weekend.  The festival took place in the scenic little village of Drumsna on the banks of the majestic Shannon River near Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Leitrim.

There was something of interest for anyone interesting in ways to live more sustainably. I was particularly interested in a demonstration on how to build your own wind turbine. Suprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be so difficult, especially when explained by the people at Eirbyte.

Is it practical? Is it affordable? Is it sustainable? Yes to all, I would say. Lets all step out of the mode of mass production for a moment. Yes we could order something like these from China. But what is every local community started to teach local people how to build turbines locally.

The blades are manufactured using timber and many of the other componnents could be derived from recycled materials.

According to the people at Eirbyte, one doesn’t need to be an expert, many of the skills are taught at workshops throughout the country.

Within most local communities  however, we havethe expertise, We have carpenters, welders, electricians, mechanics and engineers, many of whom are underemployed at the moment. By consolidating these skills, local communities could become more resilient.

For more information on the Eco Living Festival and on building your own wind turbine, please follow the links below:

EIRBYTE

ECO LIVING FESTIVAL

BUILD YOUR OWN WIND TURBINE

SCORAIG WIND ELECTRIC

There are also a number of books which might be of interest:

ECO LIVING FESTIVAL
JUNE 6th/7th 2009

The first Eco Living Festival will take place on the weekend of June 6th/7th at the Drummsna Community Resource Centre, Drumsna, Co. Leitrim (on the N4 near Carrick on Shannon).

The weekend event will have a packed program, with many speakers from across the country, as well as demonstrations, local produce stalls, nature walks, field trips and hands-on permaculture gardening practice in store.

It will be the showcase event for Permaculture Ireland this year, where we offer the public many positive solutions to global problems – solutions that can start in our own homes and backyards.

With admittance pricing at a meagre €5 Euros (€10) and many sustainable living ideas to be had, who cannot afford to come along to our Festival?.

Peter Cowman BArch.,
Director

Living Architecture Centre

Venue:                                              The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim

Course Date:                                   17 May 2009
Instructor:                                     Phil Wheal
Course Fee:                                    €90.00

When it comes to designing our gardens, many of us settle for creating spaces that rigidly define areas into vegetable, flowers, fruit etc. and then select landscaping plants from a limited range of uninteresting species used in conventional landscape design that do little either aesthetically or productively.
Blending elements of permaculture, organic and conventional garden design this course aims to help you plan and create a garden that integrates the practical and aesthetic, using a wide range of plants and materials. Whatever your budget or size of garden, from a smallholding to an urban backyard you can create a productive, low maintenance space that can fulfil the gardener and artist in you.

For More Information THE ORGANIC CENTRE