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Eco Living Festival

June 08, 2009 By: greenbuilder Category: Building Energy Rating, Building with Hemp & Lime, Design, Eco-village, Green Architecture, Green Design, Natural Building, Renewable Energy, Resilience, Straw bale building, Sustainability, Sustainable Building, Wind Energy, building with Cob, green books

Build your own Wind Turbine

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:

 

ENERGY: USE LESS, SAVE MORE

WIND ENERGY BASICS

 

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Rethinking the Country: The Transition from Dependency to Resilience

April 07, 2009 By: greenbuilder Category: Conference, Design, Renewable Energy, Resilience, Sustainability, Sustainable Building, Transport, Upcoming Events

Date: Monday 27th April, 2009

Location: Tipperary Institute, Thurles, North Tipperary

Price: Free but booking essential by Friday 17th of April

Booking:                              Tel. 01 674 5773

More Information CLICK HERE

Organised by Cultivate, Tipperary Institute, The Village, Irish Rural Link and Carnegie Trust

Supported by COMHAR, the National Sustainable Development Council, Dublin City Council, Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government, Sustainable Energy Ireland and the Carnegie Trust

Over the last couple of decades policy makers have tended to regard Irish rural communities as dependent on urban centers rather than as drivers for change. This conference brings together stakeholders from a wide variety of sectors to explore how we can work together to build resilience in a future of energy, climate and economic uncertainty.

What are the actions and positive changes we will need to make to enhance the quality of life of our communities? How will we provide livelihoods and strong rural economies? How will communities of the future provide for their food needs? What are the opportunities for sustainable transport and how will we heat and power our communities?

What do we do to engage people to address the ever more complex problems facing us today? All of this will require for us to work purposefully together to build resilience in these challenging times.

10.00 Registration

10.30 Opening

Representative from North Tipperary County Council

Conversation Starters

10.35 Towards Sustainable Rural Communities
Ciaran Lynch – Tipperary Institute

10.45 From Vulnerability to Resilience
Prof. Peader Kirby

10.55 Regional Food
Helen Lawrenson – Falkland Centre for
Stewardship, Scotland

11.05 Rural Transport
Seamus Boland – Irish Rural Link

11.15 Break

11.30 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“Given where we are at, what are you already doing to build resilience in your communities?”

12.00 World Café plenary

13.00 Lunch (not provided)

Conversation Starters

14.00 Entreprise, Livelihoods ands Jobs
Ben Whelan – Cultivate and the Village

14.10 The Power of One Community
Seamus Hoyne – Tipperary Energy Agency, Paul Allen, Centre for Alternative Technology and Zero Carbon Britain

14.30 Planning For Rural Sustainability
Bridget Kirwan and Catherine Corcoran,
Tipperary Institute

14.50 Education and Training for Local Resilience
Davie Philip, Cultivate and the Village, Michael Kenny NUIM

15.10 Break

15.20 World Café (view YouTube clip about World Café)

“How do we work together now to build resilience in our communities”

Beyond The Talking Shop

16.20 Making the Transition

Chris Chapman, Change Exploratory and Nick Wilding, Carnegie Trust

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