Town serves up a feast of local delights

FOOD grown within 50 miles of Clonakilty is on the menu this week as the west Cork town focuses on sustainability.

The 50-Mile Meals initiative was one of several projects unveiled last night as environmentalist and RTÉ Eco Eye presenter Duncan Stewart helped launch Clonakilty Energy Week.

The Sustainable Clonakilty group has spent the last six months planning for the event which runs until Sunday.

They said it provides an opportunity for locals and visitors to the town to explore and learn about energy conservation issues, meet with companies in the field and to enjoy music and a fun cycle to Inchydoney.

A dedicated office, which will be manned every day from 2pm to 5pm, has been opened at the town’s Waterfront development to offer information and advice about local energy providers and renewable energy experts.

Officials from Sustainable Energy Agency of Ireland (SEAI) will visit the town’s primary schools to give talks and workshops to pupils to emphasise that they will be the generation to make a difference. Art competitions have also been organised for the school children with energy-saving themes.

And several local cafes and restaurants have agreed to serve three-course menus all week with all the key ingredients selected from local growers and producers.

Sustainable Clonakilty’s honorary president Jennifer Sleeman will lead a talk and workshop on Eating Oil at 12 noon today, and the Quality Hotel will host an Energy Saving talk by An Taisce’s Green Home programme this evening, which will be preceded with three free one-hour workshops at 11am, 2pm and 8pm.

Sustainable Building is the theme of an event in O’Donovan’s Hotel, with Thomas Riedmuller of “The Hollies” project, at 7pm tomorrow evening.

On Thursday, local politicians and community leaders have been invited to the Quality Hotel at 7.30pm for the launch of Clonakilty’s Renewable Energy Study.

And on Friday, Darrara College will host a conference entitled Transition to a Sustainable Energy Future – Empowering Rural Communities in Ireland.

A Renewable Energy Fair will be held at the Waterfront Complex from 2pm to 6pm on Saturday where people can meet with local businesses involved in providing products and services to make the home more energy efficient and sustainable.

The event will close on Sunday with a fun family cycle from the Waterfront to Inchydoney and back, starting at 2pm.

* www.sustainableclon.com