Mar 2
During our first trip to the Geopark, we met with friends, Wayne and Louise Hardman, for a paddle on the lake, tea and cookies on an island and lunch at Crom Castle. It was a lovely afternoon full of interesting conversation, but our ears really perked up when we started talking with Louise about her weaving.
Jan 25
Lots of us are dreaming of growing edible fungi at home. Not the magic kind but the gourmet kind (though there is a bit of magic in the process of growing shitakes!) These Shitake mushrooms have been grown by homesteaders Rob Doyle and Mairead Higgins in the Leitrim hills of Ireland. Oh they are lucky!!! Shitake mushrooms have health giving-properties. We we want to grow mushrooms too.
Michael at Castle Manor Rest Home
Dec 10
During our Place-Dreamer Pod Tour, we visited the Organic Centre in Co. Leitrim. The students of the permaculture course that was taking place there at the time came out to visit the Pod during their tea break. Between drizzles, they listened to Radio Dreaming in the Pod and gathered ’round the hatch at the back to chat with us about “Off-Grid” ideas, tools and cures. (It was also during our time at the Organic Centre that we met Hans Weiland who told us about his very interesting Off-Grid entertainment/weather prediction method involving clouds. We blogged about it here, and featured him and the topic of cures in our Off-Grid Radio Dreaming Episodes Part 1 & 2. You can listen to them here.)
Conversation wandered from solar panels, to the kelly kettle, to the bramble vine we were using as a clothes line (clothes pins naturally included!) and finally landed on the topic of “cures.” We talked about traditional cures and hedgerow cures and cures that one might find in the kitchen or vegetable garden. There were a range of voices in this group, male and female, Irish as well as folks from other countries. Once the conversation got rolling, many people chimed in with a cure from their granny or something they’d learned recently.
1. Gratitude: As it is the season of “Thanksgiving” in the U.S., we would like to express our gratitude to everyone and everything (people, places, creatures and things) that have contributed to, participated in and supported DREAMING PLACE and Radio Dreaming. (Of course our thanks includes you, our readers too!)
2. Episodes: We are very pleased (and grateful) to finally be able to announce that the complete series of Radio Dreaming Episodes (including the two NEW, long awaited Off-Grid Episodes) are now available for one and all to listen to, both on radio stations and here on our site. We would love for Radio Dreaming to play on your local radio station, so if you don’t yet see your local radio station on our broadcast schedule, please let us know and we will do our best to get the series on your local station.
3. Article: Now that the Radio Dreaming Series is complete, it is making it’s way onto the airwaves and also into “the local papers.” Check out this article recently published in the ‘Tempo’ section of the Taos News. (A larger, legible view of the article is available here.)
Nov 7
Cloud spotter Hans Wieland of Neantóg cottage in County Sligo is always eager to share his passion for clouds with anyone willing to look upward. Below inspired by Hans’ vision, Anna spotted this mind -blowing mammatus cloud over Kaçkar Mountain in Turkey. Must be worth quite a few points!
Drowned boat rescue
Inspired by the technological challenges of our journey into the wilds of Marble Arch Caves Geopark in Ireland and Northern Irlealnd for DREAMING PLACE, we returned to the island of Ireland early this summer for a new and entirely different experience. This time we carried with us folding solar panels, a kelly kettle and an important question.
What’s does it mean to be off-grid ?
Its always enlightening to travel with a question, it offers a slant, a fresh perspective and gives much inspiration. As we travel invitations flood in from people eager to share their off=grid lifestyles and ideas with us so we came back with a bundle of recordings for a final episode of Radio Dreaming.
We are excited to announce that Radio Dreaming Off-grid part 1 and Radio Dreaming Off-grid part 2 is almost ready and will be coming soon.
Listen to “What is off-gridding?“ and Radio Dreaming Episodes 1-4
Stretching the imagination
Listen as Hans introduces us to kefir.
Hans talks about kefir fermentation.
In the kitchen of Hans and Gaby Wieland we learn of the off-grid properties of Kefir. Lactic acid fermentation doesn’t need any energy to produce, it doesn’t need energy to keep .The result of a symbiotic relationship between lactic acid bacteria and yeasts it has been transforming and preserving milk for millenia. The usefulness of Kefir, its health giving properties, powers of preservation and tangy taste have ensured its preservation from the first dairying cultures. Hans feeds his kefir with goat’s milk. Water kefir is a slightly different strain that eats sugar.
“You put in lemon and raisins or sultanas and let it ferment for three to five days,” after which time it will have turned into a wonderfully refreshing drink, sweet and sour at the same time similar to elderflower champagne.
Find out more about kefir here.
Did you see Our elderflower fritters blog?
Our thanks to Hans Wieland of Rossinver Organic Centre, for providing info re Kefir fermentation for this blog. Hans runs courses on all aspects of fermentation. This blog is based on a transcript of our audio conversation with Hans at his home in Co. Leitrim, Ireland.
Campspot down by the jetty
We love radio and it’s the perfect way to share our adventures with people whoever they are and wherever they may be, in their cars, homes and workplaces.
Radio Dreaming Episodes 1-4 live-streamed on Soundart Radio every Monday in September at 3.30pm.
Listen in to Episode 1: Dreams, Food and the Edible Landscape live-streamed on Soundart Radio 102/5fm Monday 9th September at 3.30pm here
Or select and listen to Radio Dreaming Episodes 1-4 with ear buds right now on our blogsite.
See Radio Dreaming schedule updates here
Listen here as sound recordist Maurice Barnich from Luxembourg, tells how his electric car enhances his vision of a cleaner planet. (Extract from an in-depth interview with Maurice about his e-car)
On-shore and off-shore commercial windfarms are an evident sign of Ireland’s commitment to sustainable energy production. As we tour with our pod we look out for alternative and micro- energy generation. “If only we could photosynthesize.”
Our first stop on the pod tour is at Cavan courthouse. Here you can re-charge your electric car for free while you have your day in court!
A vision for a sustainable future cannot include energy production based on oil shale gas extraction using the fracking process. We support our friends and others who oppose fracking at Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark.
Jul 24
During our stop with the Pod at the Leitrim Sculpture Centre, we met artist in residence, Phoebe, who is also a poet and musician. She invited us up to her second floor studio above the print rooms to listen to her play her ukulele.
Between Phoebe’s lovely, descriptive song and the rare Irish afternoon sunshine streaming in the window, we were charmed to be sure!
Listen to the song here:
See, hear and read more of Phoebe’s work here.
Inhabiting the dream is camping off-grid on Trinity Island
What is it like to travel the length and breadth of Ireland in a home-built wagon?
Listen here to find out! (Note: headphones or earbuds are best for online audio!):
Lynne Maguire lives in County Leitrim and works as a cook at the Organic Centre in Rossinver.
Inhabiting the dream is…. finding buried treasure in unexpected places
While sitting in the Tesco Carpark in Cavan Town with the Pod dodging rain showers and waiting for visitors, a crew from Cavan TV rolled up!
Check out the following feature on the Pod Tour as it appeared on “Fashion and Lifestyle” with Siohban Harton, which is featured on on Cavan TV and is a part of Drumlin Media
Jun 17
Like a faithful pet our little pod follows us to outlying homesteads, castles, museums, lakes and windy hilltops, providing refuge to all sorts of people and their dreams. With its gleaming shell, comfy sofa and tool-kit of unusual props the pod becomes a vibrant hub of dialogue, music , ideas and laughter.
In the coming months we’ll be creating Episode 5 from audio footage gathered on the island of Ireland so completing our Radio Dreaming series. Look out for news of broadcasts on Community radio stations around the world.
A pod party is a great way to make art in outlying areas.
Jun 7
Inhabiting the dream is inspiring the curiosity of an Irish Hare
We are home after a month long launch journey to the homeplace of Radio Dreaming.
Inhabiting their Geopark dream has been fun, engaging and rewarding. Novel encounters with audience participants have included honey bees, Jehova Witnesses and an upturned boat.
Though we were rained on quite a bit, our big thank you to the people, places, creatures and things of Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark has left us with an inspiring afterglow.
And its definitely been worth the effort and all the hassles with funding. Our solar panels worked a treat and it has is been a fabulous way to celebrate Cultural Heritage, Geology and the Arts.
Check out our 100% linen silk-screen printed tea towels! We had 100 printed for backers’ rewards for our successful Kickstarter campaign as well as to sell during our recent Radio Dreaming Pod tour and here online.
A DREAMING PLACE online store is in the works, but in the meantime, if you are interested in purchasing tea towels, contact us and we will email you the details.
100% linen tea towels by Claire and Anna
Musicians in Pod at Green Lough
Today, 15th May we are at Green Lake on the outskirts of Cavan Town for the official opening of Green Lake from 7-9pm.
Please join us!!
May 13
Today we are out and about. Sure it will be another enjoyable and busy day. Perhaps today the crows will be listening in as they climb the thermals on the crag and the swans may be listening from the lough.
May 10
We have been asking people at the Geopark for their definitions of Off- Gridding for our final Radio Dreaming Episode. Here are some initial responses from Louise, Judy and Marylin, who we spoke to at a Place-Dreamer Pod Tour home visit.
May 9
Today we are out and about again, playing Radio Dreaming to the winds and all who sail on them.
May 8
We dropped by to see Margaret Gallagher at her traditional Irish Cottage
Today we are out and about in the Geopark, making impromptu stops at beauty spots, lakes and forests. We’ll be serving tea to passers by and inviting them to step aboard!
Today we are in Enniskillen. You’ll find us in the courtyard at Castle Museum 10am – 5pm. Please join us if you are in the town on Bank Holiday Monday.
Today May 5th we are at Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre. It’s going to be a busy day!
Joanne at Marble Arch Caves Visitor Centre is very enthusiastic about the Pod.
Pod party visit to Wayne and Louise’s near Enniskillen
Today we are out and about in the Geopark. (Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark). We’ll be playing Radio Dreaming Broadcast to whoever is willing to listen!
May 1
We have been looking forward to re-visiting the cliffs of Magho, for its panoramic views across 5 counties, from Donegal bay to County Tyrone and Fermanagh. Our first morning off was experienced in Fermanagh time slowly and luxuriously after our busy rush of appointments and visits.
Yesterday we visited Rob Doyle and Mairead at their off-grid cottage. After an amazing breakfast in their cosy home we had a tour of their homestead and its off-grid features, including a wind turbine, a water turbine, shitake mushroom plantation, sustainable woodland for coppicing, fantastic homebuilt stove heating system, a veg patch, chickens.
Today Monday April 29th we are visiting the Organic Centre at Rossinver to get a tour and speak with the staff about their take on off-gridding. No promises… but we should be around.
On Sunday we turned up at the Organic Centre a day early and invited, Lynne who was cooking lunch for participants on the centre’s”Reed-Bed” course to chat with us in our wee recording booth pod. In the 80’s Lynne and her partner who knew nothing about horses or life on the road, built a gypsy caravan, bought a horse and off they went, to travel the byways of Ireland. We were interested to hear her story and her reflections about her previous life style, particularly because one of our missions on this trip is to record conversations and sounds for our final Radio Dreaming episode on off-grid dreams and self sufficiency. She regales her kids with stories from that hard but rewarding period of her life when many lessons were learnt and the importance of warmth water and shelter were all important.
Apr 25
This week we started off the Radio Dreaming Pod Tour in Cavan town outside the Courthouse, town centre carpark and Bullock Art Centre.
Many of you stopped by on the way out of court to work or the library to admire the pod, climb aboard the pod for a listen or to respond to some of our Place-dreamer props. We heard some wonderful and inspiring stories about boglands,wild food, and hair rinses. And some of you stopped by for tea with us. Up on the hill traveler children came out to look at our wee caravan and ask for CDs of our episodes for their grannys and grandads. After an interview with local Cavan TV, we were invited on to a boat rally. Tea and sandwiches and many stories later later we finished up at Sally’s house to rescue a drowned boat from the lake!
Radio Dreaming Pod Tour: Marble Arch Caves Geopark, Éire/Northern Ireland
25 April – 17 May 2013 Claire Coté (New Mexico) and Anna Keleher (Devon)
Part listening booth, part Place-Dreamer tool-kit, Anna and Claire’s roving off-grid installation features voices of Marble Arch Caves Geopark. A 5-part radio adventure, Radio Dreaming whisks you over-ground and underground in search of edible landscapes, wild dreams and myths of the land. Visitors to the Pod are invited to share a pot of tea, step aboard to listen or simply to dream.
Catch the pod at MAC visitor Centre 5th May 10am-5pm, Enniskillen Castle Museum courtyard, Mon 6th May 10am-5pm, Green Lake opening 15th May, 7-9pm Cavan town or look out for the Place-Dreamer Pod as it tours to off-grid locations in Cavan, Fermanagh and Leitrim through 17th or May.
Visit www.dreamingplace.eu/pod for info and venue updates.
We gave a little background about Ignatius Maguire in our recent post, “Transformation of Materials: Part 1, It Starts with Choice”. In this post, we move into the knowledge and Action that makes our choices real.
When we visited Ignatius’ farm he took the time to describe and demonstrate to us the whole process of “bringing in the hay”, a very relevant example of transforming a renewable material into something used by farmers all over the world to feed their animals.
Ignatius makes scything look easy. When we try it, it takes us a whilte to get into the rhythm and when we do, we feel the muscles that we would need to do the job all day long.
He also shows us how he “shakes his hay” and forms it into rucks. Anna tries her hand at shaking hay:
After he forms the hay into neat rucks set to dry, Ignatius creates rope ties to hold the hay rucks in place and prevent them from blowing away in the wind. He spins hay from the base of the pile into rope, using a special tool, sort of like a crank-spindle made from the handle of a bucket:
We try spinning as well – it’s like magic and we feel sort of like Rumplestiltskin spinning our very own gold:
Ignatius chooses to process his hay in this way and enjoys it. He holds a wealth of knowledge that he keeps alive through daily use. He is fit and healthy and has an incredibly close relationship with his family’s land because of this choice. It is no doubt a lot of hard work, but Ignatius’ relationship to his land, seems to us to be one clear example of “Dreaming Place.”
We made our Funding Goal, thank you so much for supporting us along the way.
We chose Kickstarter as our funding platform and the process has taught us so much. Our backers are now in a very real sense, part of our project.
A big thank also to Claire’s audience at Ocho Art Space in Questa, New Mexico, for their interest and support of our “Radio Dreaming Launch and Fundraiser”.
The audio-visual presentation, like all other aspects of our work together, was a collaboration. It was a fun evening!
Anna spoke via prerecorded audio and then Claire picked up the rest of it live. Our collaborative DREAMING PLACE Drawings were also on view in their entirety and Radio Dreaming Episode previews were available for listeners on headphones. The audience was great, so responsive and they asked great questions! Aspects of this presentation will be available soon here at www.dreamingplace.eu.
Also, our Place-Dreamer Pod adventures have begun!
On Saturday, Anna picked up our new Place-Dreamer Pod, a taste of things to come. There were still patches of snow in the English Midlands and narrow boats were breaking through thin-ice on the canals. Looks like we may need long-johns, gloves, scarves and hats in Ireland; or will it be spring?
It was lovely to meet Nigel, of Diddyvans Teardrop Trailers, who built our Place-Dreamer Pod and see his workshop. Midlanders are real family people so as well as Nigel, we met his mum, who made the polka dot curtains, mattress covers and two extra cushions. The Pod is easy to manoeuvere (at least Nigel made it look that way as he brought it down the alley to hitch up with the van).
Soon we were streaming along the ancient Fosse Way with the Pod in tow, passing through quaint villages in Shakespeare country and looking forward to all that awaits us in Ireland.
Recently we’ve been thinking about transforming renewable materials around us into things that we use in our lives and how that process is an important element in our Place -Dreamer Toolkit. We have discussed this idea in previous posts about string HERE and hidden technologies HERE.
Because we are fascinated by these simple, but ingenious technologies and processes, we’ve been revisiting our unique time with Ignatius Maguire on his family farm. Including his grandchildren, his family has been on the land for eight generations.
He gave us an extensive tour of the grounds and the traditional, human-powered technologies and farm practices that he chooses to use to keep it all going. He is unlike most of his farming neighbors who have opted for more modern methods to harvest hay, plant potatoes and grow grain. Like that of Margaret Gallagher (see our post about her HERE), his dream for his life is shaped and colored differently than most.
Here, he describes his simple reasons for his chosen life-style:
Ignatius is a good reminder that we all have choices about what lives we want to lead, what technologies we want to use in our lives and for some of us, what processes, tools and technologies we choose to use to transform raw materials into things we can use in our lives.
Look for the second half of this post, coming soon – “Transformation of Materials: Part 2, Knowledge and Action” featuring more of Ignatius describing the traditional practices that he uses on his farm.
Great news! Our Pod is really coming together. We’ve just had an update from Nigel of Diddyvans Teardrop Trailers. His mate, Rob, has been over to help him put on the Pod’s aluminium “skin”. The wood-burner has been roaring, but even so the freezing weather has meant the varnish has taken an age to dry.
We just love that our off-grid Place-Dreamer Pod will be energy self-sufficient. We’re so looking forward to road testing it. The comfy listening suite inside will be powered by two leisure batteries stowed under the “Pod’s kitchen” hatch. The batteries will be charged by two portable solar panels and on grey days (for which Ireland is famous of course!) through a special plug fitted along with the tow-bar to draw surplus energy from the battery of our towing van, keeping the Pod batteries topped up as we drive from venue to venue.
What d’you think of it so far?
Help us launch our tour by contributing to our Kickstarter Campaign here!
Mapping Dreams at Killykeagan
We just posted a sneak preview of Radio Dreaming Episode 2 as an update on our Kickstarter Campaign in celebration of passing the £800 milestone. Check out the sneak preview here!
DREAMING PLACE 