Grow It Yourself (GIY) Ireland – new national food-grower’s network

Waterford will host the launch of a new national food-grower’s network called GIY Ireland on Saturday, September 12th 2009 as part of the Waterford Harvest Festival.

As the interest in home-produced food reaches fever pitch, a new organisation called GIY Ireland is aiming to inspire people to get growing and give them the knowledge they need to do so successfully.  On September 12th 2009 Waterford Institute of Technology will be the venue for the launch of this unique organisation which aims to establish food growers groups in every town and county in Ireland.  GIY networks aims to recreate the camaraderie of allotment growing for back-garden vegetable growers by getting them together on a regular basis to talk, learn from each other and exchange tips, war-stories and produce.

Journalist Michael Kelly established the first network in Waterford in 2008 – GIY Waterford now has over 100 members and meets monthly in the city library.  Meetings are free and open to people interested in food growing at all levels, i.e. from growing a few herbs on the balcony to complete self-sufficiency, from beginners to old hands.  There are now five GIY networks in the southeast and others in the pipeline nationwide. 
 
GIY Ireland is planning to establish at least one network in every county in the next 12 months by finding ‘local champions’ to set up a network in their area.  The organisation will provide these local champions with the necessary help and support they need to get a successful network up and running.  The event in WIT will officially launch the organisation and is open to anyone interested in finding out more about GIY Ireland.  The organisers are particularly keen to invite people who are interested in establishing a network in their area.  They are also interested in hearing from existing food growers groups that might be interested in becoming part of GIY Ireland.
 
Keynote speakers at the conference include Minister for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent TD, BallymaloeCookerySchool founder Darina Allen, GIY Ireland’s Michael Kelly and Will Sutherland from the John Seymour School of Self-sufficiency.  There will also be a series of afternoon workshops covering a range of topics including, health & nutrition, baking, permaculture, seed-saving, and allotments & community gardens.  Tickets cost €35 and include a 3 course lunch of mouth-watering local produce. 
 
The conference is part of Waterford’s Harvest Festival, a weekend of autumnal events that are sure to appeal to foodies everywhere.  Events include a taste of Waterford event called Blas na Deise on Friday night, a harvest feast in the city on Saturday evening and a massive farmer’s market in the city centre on Sunday 13th.  As part of WIT’s plans to support local food producers, the college is launching a new farmers market for students on Friday the 11th.
 
Following the event, the GIY Ireland website (www.GIYIreland.com) will be a one-stop shop for people interested in finding out about GIY networks in their area and will provide local networks with the information and materials (e.g. leaflets, grower’s calendars etc) to make their network a success.  There will be a downloadable monthly newsletter and a virtual forum where GIYers can meet to exchange tips and information on food production. 
 
Local GIY Network initiatives include monthly meetings; talks and demos; garden visits; seed and seedling swaps; product bartering and exchange; mentor panels where more experienced growers are available to beginners to answer questions and provide advice; grower’s meitheals where GIYers get together in one another’s gardens to carry out some growing-related tasks (e.g. making raised beds etc).

Visit the Grow It Yourself (GIY) Ireland website here.

Visit the Get Ireland Growing website here.