Cailleach

As I finished secondary school and prepared to step into the adult world, I took a formative trip to Nigeria to visit the home of a school friend. I came back and spent another summer working in the North, before finally entering the den of iniquity and wildness that was 1980s art college life.

When we think of the images associated with our past, the colours of the landscape weave through the people, their dwellings and their clothes. In this episode, I explore why that is, through the lens of fibre. The fibres that come from plants and animals, how they led to traditions of spinning and weaving in particular.

As children grow, their observation of the world deepens. They absorb what they see around them, and bring their own logic and wisdom to their interests and passions. As I walk listeners through this stage of development, I flag places where as adults we might need to return to a child's view to examine our biases and influences for personal growth. This vital stage of childhood re-examined may help us check we're on the right path to maintain interest in our own life stories.

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We go back to the intuitive instincts of our young protagonist Jules as she senses something of Rowan's journey towards her. I discuss my intention in the development of her character as representing real, rather than Harry Potter, magic in the world for young readers.

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In this short meditation, I invite listeners to find the energy of early summer and tap into it to map what is growing to life within them.

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In the garden, this is considered the time of "hungry gap," but wild perennials and tired brassica leaves can be turned into delicious pestos. In this episode, I also touch on homemade cosmetics to feed the skin like any other organ. I then delve into a fascinating world of taking care of our own shit, as I explain how to make and manage a compost toilet.

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If our beliefs arise from the how the world is structured, how might that influence not only our views today, but our views of the past? In this episode, I talk about some of the revisions archeologists and historians are beginning to make about the gender of ancient remains, now that from this vantage point, they can see the biases of their original catalogers. I think about the diverse gender designations in many ancient cultures and explore the story of the peoples of Ireland through this lens.

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There is a principle in Permaculture called "Stacking" that refers to the efficiency in natural systems of elements carrying out more than one function or making use of energy in multiple dimensions. This interview with Morag was carried out while Morag interviewed me for her podcast Sensemaker in a Changing World. We covered a lot of ground, exploring Morag's work in Australia and around the world from refugee camps to indigenous people regenerating vibrant food systems.

I asked Morag about decolonialisation and the permaculture ethics she applies in this work.

The audio of this episode just focuses on Morag's answers, but if you want to hear the full recording of the two of us, it's available on her podcast.

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There are frameworks designed by systems thinkers that can help us understand where we are and navigate an ever-changing context. I discuss two that I have found helpful: The first is David Holgrem's system diagram for the change between pre-industrial and current systems, where the producers and those with power over resources became increasingly distant from each other. The second is Dave Snowden's Cynefin framework for navigating simple, complicated, complex or chaotic situations. These help me to know where I am, and as Snowden says, to go from confused to aware that I am confused, and steps to move between states.

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In this episode, I talk about our family's increasing privileges and our move from Dublin to the countryside of Wicklow. I juxtapose the cultural worldviews I experienced through travel and diverse friends with 1980's Ireland, where women are oppressed. I touch on my experience of gender and sexuality and State control of female bodies.

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