Return to spirit of famed meitheal
But community has much deeper connotations than that, evoking images of a kindlier place, where people talk to each other, and where a sense of goodwill and neighbourliness prevails.
Without these attributes, rural Ireland could not have functioned in the time before television and cars.
Time moved at a more leisurely pace when people travelled by horse or on foot, offering plenty of opportunities to chat and to share the news with the neighbours.
Today, however, most of us speed around enclosed in metal conveyances, and can do little more than offer the neighbours a salute in passing. And the habit of informal visits to neighbours’ houses after the day’s work was done — where there might be a few stories, some music and bit of craic — has become a rarity.
That was a time when holding a meitheal was common practice — neighbours helping each other out to save the hay, repair a roof, or plough a field, in the sure and certain knowledge that when they were in need of a little meitheal help, it would be forthcoming.
In such transactions, money did not change hands, but there was the pleasure of a job well done, the companionship, a decent meal, and perhaps something to quell the thirst at the day’s end. Such encounters not only solved many a practical problem, but also built strong and enduring ties in a community.
Perhaps, in this age of instant communication, where we have a surfeit of alarming stories about the darker side of human nature, we have become a bit more wary of the open-door policies of old.
Nevertheless, vibrant communities still thrive, places where people willingly turn out to help each other in time of need or where, for instance, a community’s infrastructure is threatened by the closure of a small rural school. This spirit of neighbourliness and co-operation has recently been given a new lease of life with the introduction of Clonakilty’s Favour Exchange.
I asked CFE’s spokesperson Miriam Cotton about the organisation’s success and their plans for the future.
* The CFE philosophy looks set to go viral, Miriam. Were you surprised by how quickly so many people have responded?
>>Yes, we were. It’s been marvellous. We didn’t set up operations until January, and the economist Dr Gurdgiev performed the official launch in May. Now we have over 90 members, and more enquiries every day.”
* “What do you think it is about this concept that has such a huge appeal?”
>>Well, there’s more austerity today. And I think that during the boom years many of us became conscious that we somehow lost sight of the idea of community, as we became more self-absorbed. I don’t think that’s what people meant to do, but there seemed to be an inevitability about it. Now, we realise that something very important was missing from that scenario.
* Clonakilty has often been at the forefront of similar initiatives. It was Ireland’s first Fair Trade town, for instance. Why do you think that is?
>>I think it might be something in the water! But there’s a big mixed community here, people who have lived here for generations and those who have moved here from other places. That’s meant that we have a constant influx of new ideas and energy.
* I believe you came back to Clonakilty from the UK ten years ago. What made you decide to return?
>>I worked in business and marketing in the UK for 25 years, and I met my husband Bev there. But I always wanted to return to West Cork. This is a very special place. We have two children, our daughter who is away at college now, and our son who is autistic. He is being home schooled, and because of the many services on offer through CFE, he has members coming in to teach him gardening, baking and art. It’s made a tremendous difference.”
* I believe your local Macra na Feirme is setting up a Random Acts of Kindness movement. That’s a very interesting idea that has a lot to do with building stronger communities, an idea which has spread worldwide and promotes the notion that these acts increase the level of seratonin in the recipient, the person extending the kindness and, incredibly, even someone who observes the act.
>>“It’s a fabulous concept and it just goes to show how powerful the far-reaching effects of helping and supporting each other can be. Living in a community where people help and support each other can do a lot to stop us from feeling so helpless and dependent in these difficult times.
* Your idea has caught on in other parts of the country too, hasn’t it?
>>Yes, Tralee, Killarney, Limerick and Dublin, with more queries coming in all the time from people who want to set up their own group. We’re holding a workshop in November as part of the Economy Festival hosted by David McWilliams, where all the Favour groups can meet up and exchange ideas.
* Given that you don’t deal in money, how do you manage with the inevitable administrative overheads?
>>Anything we need we ask for. Nothing we do involves money. It’s all based on an exchange of time and labour and it brings those involved together in a constructive way that has knock-on benefits for the whole community. We’ve discovered that once you take money out of the equation, everything changes. People seem to behave differently, become generous and supportive and also enjoy themselves more. CFE welcomes new members, and are happy to support communities who want to set up their own groups.”
