Kindness of the Eco-Village

When I first arrived in the eco-village in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, I was not sure what to expect, what even was an eco-village? At first it looked like an ordinary town, small stores, colorful bright houses, and pubs, but as I got a closer look around the town I began to understand what an eco-village actually was. A place where people come together and live their life in an environmental friendly way. People come from many different places in order to live there, and those living in the eco-village follow a mission statement, “if we do not do the impossible, we shall do the unthinkable.” In other words, if we do things together it is possible to build a livable, safe and fun community. Since everyone living in the eco-village has similar morals, values and beliefs they get along very well with each other and lean on each other when in need. It is really important for the eco-village to be in a community within a town because it shows that people can be eco friendly in a way that does not leave you secluded from the rest of civilization. While I was staying in the eco-village I met a young woman black haired women named Johanna, her home was currently being built in the eco-village and during this time she was living in small hut with her husband and two small children. Johanna was an amazing chef but due to her living conditions she did not have a kitchen. The hostel in the eco-village allowed her to use their community kitchen to cook whenever she wanted as long as in return she occasionally cooked for guests. Johana made my classmate’s lunch and dessert occasionally and it was always amazing. She picked fresh fruits and vegetables using the community farm which was set up in August 2008. This farm is over 40 acres outside Cloughjordan and 12 acres in the eco-village. For a small fee of 64 euros a month, families are able to go to the farm and pick from a wide range of vegetables and use them for their meals. During the evenings, many people who live in the eco-village come together at a local pub and sing along to traditional Irish music. The pubs and bars in Ireland are very different from the bars in the United States. In Ireland, the pubs are full of a wide age range of people who sing and play a wide range of instruments such as the fiddle, flute, pennywhistle, and bodhrán. After a long day at work locals are able to come together, talk to each other and sing along to traditional Irish music.