Food for body and mind with Cloughjordan 'SpeakEATsy'

All roads lead to Cloughjordan this Saturday, December 8th, as the next installment of the highly anticipated speakEATsy event is on in the WeCreate Enterprise Centre.

Presenter of Down to Earth on Newstalk, environmental scientist and UCD climate change lecturer Dr Cara Augustenborg, is the key conversationalist in this fantastic event, which brings together a meal, music and mind matters. Themed 'Soil and Climate Action', the event is timed to coincide with World Soil Day, the latest IPCC report and the COP 24 meeting in Poland.Beginning at 7pm, the night kicks off with Templemore’s White Gypsy providing a complimentary seasonal beer tasting. An array of talent, including two bands, three poets, a singer songwriter, compelling conversation, sumptuous meal and DJs to finish, follows.This includes music from the HQs, a family folk band who have developed their own combination of folk blues and hillbilly funk to form a unique harmonic sound. Newly-formed Cloughjordan gypsy jazz combo the Cloughtown Swing Band will have their first public outing, while hugely popular speakEATsy regular Nicantsaoi will again feature, having released two new singles in recent months.

 

Poets include Earthman Bob, Martin McGuire and Mel White, while the conversation itself is on the topic of healthy soil and climate change with Dr Oliver Moore and Cara Augustenborg.

“I’m really looking forward to this conversation,” says Cloughjordan resident Oliver Moore, who works on agri-food policy matters for European NGO ARC2020, as well as lecturing in the Centre for Co-Operative Studies in UCC. “Ireland is a climate change laggard, but we have options. How we move forward with the best solutions – solutions that work for the soil, for rural livelihoods, and most of all to address climate breakdown – is perhaps the key issue of our times,” he adds.

Cara Augustenborg was appointed as an advisor to Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 and to the first National Dialogue on Climate Action in 2017. She also serves as an advisor to Cool Planet Experience's Climate Champion programme and was the first person in Ireland to join Al Gore's Climate Reality Programme in 2013. She is chair of Friends of the Earth Europe 2016-2018.

“SpeakEatsy at Cloughjordan Ecovillage is a wonderful opportunity to discuss a living example of a transition community right here in Ireland because what’s happening at Cloughjordan is, in many ways, what needs to happen all across Ireland if we are serious about tackling climate change and making the low-carbon transition over the next decade,” said Cara.

“There are lots of events held on a variety of societal topics around Ireland where the audience is 'talked at' and not enough events that emphasise conversation and dialogue. Conversation is urgently needed when it comes to issues like climate change and related matters like soil quality and food production. The format of the SpeakEatsy is very exciting because of its efforts to facilitate dialogue and learning from each other.”

The pair will discuss how there is an urgent need for climate action in Ireland and beyond. They will also, with audience participation, work out the implications of some scenarios for reducing Ireland's carbon footprint, with an emphasis on soil, farming and rural areas.

Food is key and core to speakEATsy, with a local food meal curated by Austrian-born Cloughjordan resident Johanna Taferner of apple juice business the Night Orchard. This multi-option menu, showcases the best and most varied of dishes with ingredients from the huge range of Cloughjordan food providers, including Riot Rye Bakehouse and bread school and CCF – Cloughjordan Community Farm, a local member-owned farm operating as a Community Supported Agriculture initiative.

The evening doesn’t end then either, with DJs from the Pressure Drop sound system and Anacalypsis to finish. Take that road to Cloughjordan on Saturday, December 8th; the Clough tic-tocs for climate change – feed your mind and body this weekend. You won’t be disappointed.

Entry to the speakEATsy costs €30. To book, see www.cultivate.ie. Supported by the GROW Observatory.