Bringing sustainability to the table.

A recent event hosted by World Vision at Smock Alley theatre to highlight issues of food security and sustainability really got me thinking about how little we think about the provenance of our food and the amount of food we waste. While I do my best to consume ethically ( buying Fairtrade and organic products), I am just as susceptible to the “bargains” as anyone else…the 49c tomatoes or onions or beetroot!So when we pay these cheap, cheap prices..who is being short-changed?

Farmers not just in Ireland but worldwide are bearing the brunt of our greed for ever-cheaper goods. Conor Spacey (Chef`s Manifesto) impressed on us the need for change and for it “to come quickly” 70% of our food is imported and he argues that we have lost our connection to food. He spoke about “deep-diving into food waste” and told us he now treats even the humble cauliflower as a butcher would cut and fillet a piece of meat, not wasting any. We were treated to his cauliflower six ways including a pesto made with the leaves ( which I always discard!) all of which were sublime.

In honour of two guests from Zimbabwe who were there we ate the local staple , sadza ( which is a maize porridge) and vegetable relish. Elizabeth Gwewo told us how climate change is impacting on her agricultural practices and how, with the help of World Vision, she champions farming and trains other farmers.Part of the vision of this enterprise is to train more females in what they call the Gender Extra Learner System.

And finally, in recognition of those refugees in camps whose only guarantee of food is a miserable 200 gms of bread, we ate bread of gold, a delicious bread and butter pudding.

This event has really made me look at what I am eating and more especially what I am wasting. I shall not be throwing out any more cauliflower leaves or stalks and I am particularly interested in trying Conor Spacey`s banana chutney…made with banana skins!!!

Empowering teachers to empower students. — Paula’s Global citizenship blog

The magnificent island of Madeira provided the beautiful backdrop to this series of workshops entitled “Empowering students with Etwinning”. A vertiginous bus climb through terraces of pastel coloured villas with terracotta roofs brought us to the Melia Mare hotel where spacious rooms overlooked a very inviting pool and the ocean below. The NSS from Portugal […]

Empowering teachers to empower students. — Paula’s Global citizenship blog

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.