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Congratulations to
everyone who made it to the Faslane/Sellafield
protest!
Witness the fitness from RTE news here.
More to come soon...
"Soil and Soul: corporate power, land reform
and community empowerment”
"An inspiration to anyone who cares about their own
connection to place, past and the nature we have all lost
and hope to reclaim".
On
Monday, April 8th 2002 at 8pm Alastair McIntosh will give a
talk in the National University of Ireland, Galway. This
writer and activist has campaigned extensively for a number
of years on many different issues – both environmental and
social. McIntosh’s beliefs are rooted in his upbringing on
the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. He has experienced how the rise
of the modern era has undermined traditional communities but
also appreciates that we must somehow balance this with
modern gains.
McIntosh’s book
"Soil and Soul" demonstrates how principles of
community empowerment can be successfully applied.
McIntosh describes his
approach as standing in the Scots generalist tradition of
human ecology and the "democratic intellect".
This understands the role of the "professional"
as being to "profess vocation" by placing
knowledge in the service of the community. That "community"
is both social and ecological - underpinned by the
interconnectedness of all life, in other words, by
spirituality.
Radical work, often with marginalised people, calls for
living at a level of comfortable sufficiency, but not of
surplus. It entails asking, "Is what I'm doing now
feeding the hungry: is it relevant to the poor or to the
broken in nature?" This tends to trouble the peace
of both oneself and those around one - colleagues, friends
and family. It readily touches on the Jungian "shadow".
However, there is no way of avoiding such uncomfortable
realities if our activism is to be meaningful, effective and
caring.
For more information check
out www.alastairmcintosh.com
or e-mail Clare Butler, Ecosoc member at ballyhaunis@care2.com
or call 086 3097622"
About the planned talk Alastair says:
“……………we'll
talk
about our work in Scotland, and keep the focus on the inner
strength
and
sources needed to continue such work, and the problems of
compromises
and
corruption, such as what I've just been discussing. I think
the best
approach
with this sort of thing is to have guest input to start
with, then
open it progressively to a sharing with the group so that we deepen
the
group's capacity to express community”.
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Climate
Change
They
want to give George bush a Nobel PEACE Prize!