August this year marked the tenth anniversary of Growing Awareness, a Skibbereen based food and farming group and on Sunday next (September 28th) they have partnered up with An Sanctóir, the holistic centre in Ballydehob, to put together a day of walks, talks and demonstrations looking at local food production. The guided walk will take in the An Sanctóir’s ‘Nature Trail’ which supports a wide variety of wildlife and habitat areas, and will finish in the new Forest Garden Project begun this spring. The full days’ programme will include a selection of speakers, demonstrations and activities on topics such as: Beekeeping; Working Horses: Community and Schools Gardens; Allotments and Vegetable Box Schemes; Fruit and Nut Growing; Basket Making; Seed Saving and much more. Gardeners are invited to come along and enter the Heaviest Pumpkin and the Largest Diameter Sunflower Head competitions. You can enjoy the on site Cafe from the deck of a 40ft Pirate Ship whilst being serenaded by local musicians! People are also welcome to bring a picnic. The Café will be raising funds towards the running costs of the event and there will be no admission charge. For the full schedule of events visit www.ansanctoir.ie. For my column this week I took the opportunity to find out a bit more about 2 of the individuals who will be presenting on the day and learn something of their involvement in the food culture of West Cork.
Food Culture West Cork 