Roinnt smaointe do phobail/clannta/comhluchtaí chun teacht le chéile
Some ideas for communities/families/companies to gather together and participate.
The idea is to pick something out of the ordinary as the task. It should be one that forces people to work and talk to each other. It is not a concert or a lecture etc. It would be good if it left some residual reminder for the forthcoming 7years.
A Picnic at sunset. A walk to a place where a picnic can be partaken. At the end of the Picnic everyone presents to the gathered circle, a hero of theirs – they hold up a photograph and give a brief reason for their thought. The Hero must be dead. The presentation should be short.
After all who wanted to have presented, people should have a conversation about what was the common denominator in the presentations and what they admire as a group. They should also talk about things they would like to different for the next 7 years. The conversation should be maintained as they walk back to their initial meeting point of the day.
Advice – pick a good spot and remember it could be cold later on. Bring what you need with you.
No cars as the walk is part of the conversation.
Build a flower or vegetable bed or patch. This requires a suitable spot and permission from the owner and it also needs some preparation and planning. We recommend three gatherings together for this.
- Get to know each other, decide the kind of garden and plan the work.
- Plan the sources of raw materials and assign the various acquisitions. Organize the tea for the meitheal on final day.
Meitheal Day. Half the time is spent in the actual process of building planting and the other half in sitting together beside the work to talk to each other and to sup the tea. As they sup their tea, everyone presents to the gathered circle, a hero of theirs – they hold up a photograph and give a brief reason for their thought. The Hero must be dead. The presentation should be short.
After all, who wanted to, have presented, people should have a conversation about what was the common denominator in the presentations and what they admire as a group. They should also talk about things they would like to different for the next 7 years. The conversation should be maintained as they walk back to their initial meeting point of the day.
Paint a derelict house or shed. This requires the owner’s permission and it also needs some preparation and planning. We recommend three gatherings together for this.
- Get to know each other, decide the kind of design and colours and plan the work.
- Plan the sources of raw materials and assign the various acquisitions. Organize the tea for the meitheal on final day.
- Meitheal Day. Half the time is spent in the actual process of repairing/painting and the other half to sup the tea.
A Painting Day. Pick a spot/scene away from the road. Set an appointed time to meet and park up. Warn people to bring their own painting gear and their sustenance. This may be organized as a picnic with people agreeing before hand on what each should bring. The walk to the ‘Spot’ is to get acquainted and to get out of normality.
At the end of the Painting session (half time) everyone presents to the gathered circle, a hero of theirs – they hold up a photograph and give a brief reason for their thought. The Hero must be dead. The presentation should be short.
After all, who wanted to, have presented, people should have a conversation about what was the common denominator in the presentations and what they admire as a group. They should also talk about things they would like to different for the next 7 years. The conversation should be maintained as they walk back to their initial meeting point of the day.
