ESC: Cultivating Capacities for Change Making - Ecovillage events and trainings

Sustainable Ireland Cooperative Society Ltd. is a national NGO and Civil Society Organisation focused on education, communication and civic engagement. The organisation has played a key role in furthering ecological sustainability, community resilience, the cooperative model, and the social and solidarity economy in Ireland, through numerous courses, events, publications (print and digital), exhibits and festivals since 1999. Our aims are to: • Promote and encourage community-led responses to environmental, social and economic challenges • Accelerate the transition to a resilient and low carbon economy Since 2000 Cultivate have run the annual Convergence Festival focused on building sustainable community. This unique programme of events has celebrated community resilience and social inclusion while championing the changes needed to create a sustainable economy, society and built environment. Global Green - Cultivate co-ordinate the Global Green area at the Electric Picnic, Ireland’s largest music and culture festival at the end of August. Over 20 different entities working together to create a vibrant hub of fun and fascination. Cultivate have a long term agreement with the organisers of the Electric Picnic to develop and manage this dynamic sustainability area of the festival. Permaculture - Cultivate has been teaching Permaculture Design courses since 2003, running a full PDC in Cloughjordan since 2010. Using the ecovillage as an example of permaculture in action, this course is a unique experience in Ireland and always attracts a diverse and multinational group. The GROW Observatory (GROW) - In November 2016 Cultivate began this 3 year Horizon 2020 funded project. GROW sought to engage citizens both nationally and across Europe to generate and share data and knowledge on growing and the land. The objective was to progress more sustainable land use practices, smart soil, land governance and policy, and create a unique data repository for science. Elements of Change festival - In 2019 Cultivate collaborated with local organisations Cloughjordan Arts and Cloughjordan Community Farm and the Ecovillage to host the first iteration of a community-led festival celebrating diverse sustainability practices. The majority of the content (including workshops, talks & arts) was provided by locals while also drawing in national speakers and acts.