Going back to basics

CLOSE to a hundred people crammed into our local village hall recently for the inaugural meeting of GIY (Grow It Yourself) Shanagarry, east Cork.

The organisers had hoped for 25, maybe 30 people, but by 8pm the original meeting room was bulging at the seams. We had to decamp down the stairs to the badminton hall. It was just about large enough to fit the throng of people eager to hear more about the new initiative that is engaging people from Dingle to Drogheda to Dublin.

A few positive things have emerged from this recession. Many of us have come to realise just how vulnerable we have become and how little control we have over our lives. Suddenly we appreciate the value of a degree of self sufficiency, how lovely it is to sit down to a plate of food where even one or two items come from your own garden or back yard.