Dear ,

We send you this newsletter in the spirit of Lughnasadh (Loo-na-sa), the late summer festival, halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox. It is a celebration of summer and the gathering of the grain harvest. 

In this time of year we witness the ripening of the trees; nuts forming on the hazel, oak, beech and chestnut. The meadow grasses are golden and shedding their seeds. In the hedgerows the attentive eye may notice berries of the hawthorn-, rowan- and elder, still small and green. The children are keeping a close eye on the blackberries, and in some sunny spots they are almost ripe! 

Over the past weeks we could hear the sounds of grain harvesting in the fields in the area.It has reminded us of how our ancestors gathered in the grain for Lughnasadh and lit fires to honour the Corn Mother as she gave birth to her harvest child, the Grain; the seed that would bring next year's harvest as well as the grain that would sustain life throughout the winter months.

Learning Village

The ripening of the land around naturally brought us into the energy of Lughnasadh. The children literally have been reaping all that they have sowed the last months in their gardens. Their joyful exclamations ring across the land as they call to each other to witness the abundance of harvest, a single potato buried in the earth to be dug up 10 fold. 

We heard the legend of the Irish hero Lugh, who many think of as a sun God. The myths of Old Ireland tell that the festival of Lughnasadh was begun by him, to honour his foster mother Tailtiu, and it was held on the land that still bears her name - Teltown in County Meath. It is mentioned in the early Irish manuscripts and is a truly ancient festival, celebrated all the way into the 20th century. In later times Lughnasa was called Lammas - loaf-mass - a time to bless the newly baked bread and give thanks for the harvest of grain.

On this day of Lughnasadh we at Terranu share our homemade wheat-sheaf loaf around the fire. We also  thank and honour Pachamama, the Earth Mother in a special ceremony where we pay her our tribute in the form of our prayers, songs and small offerings.

Gardens

These last weeks we have been blessed with abundant rain. As the wind sends the clouds swirling through the sky, there are moments when the warmth of the sun kissing our cheeks reminds us that it is indeed the height of summer. There is an abundance that is flowing from the garden that we could have only dreamed of 5 months ago when we started digging beds, and setting up the polytunnel. The tomatoes are ripening and the courgettes are bountiful, beans and cabbages are fattening and the gherkins keep on flowering. The generosity of the earth, when tended with loving hands is humbling. 

The last few days we have been filling the paths with wood chips, which gives the garden an organised feeling, and does the very important job of preventing the beds from drying out in the wind, while softening the water rushing through the garden when it is torrential. Now the coming weeks will be filled with harvesting, preserving, fermenting and slowly preparing the garden for the winter months, while fully enjoying the current abundance.

Stacking functions

Over the last weeks we have been busy with a project that has several layers of benefit. We 1) cleared the “old road” to become the “new road”, and in the meantime 2) controlled the invasive rhododendron, 3) cut firewood for the winter, 4) made woodchips for the garden paths and 5) improved water drainage. 

On the map below you can see that a green strip at the edge of our property was covered in rhododendron. As beautiful as the flowers are in early June, this species completely takes over the Knockmealdowns and other parts of Ireland, and needs to be controlled. 

With help of visiting friends and family we put our chainsaw to good use and cleared a strip of 70 metres long and 10 metres wide. This allows us to re-established the old horse and wagon road that runs through Terranu as a farm access road, while also stocking up on firewood, creating 8 trailer loads of wood chips for our garden paths and clearing the ditch of debris. Clearing the ditches allows for proper water runoff (very useful, as we are experiencing 200% above average rainfall this summer). Next we will have a digger come in to clear the roots and topsoil and make the road accessible once more!

Community Investment Circle

As we mentioned in the last newsletter we are actively looking for investors for the Terranu crowdlending. This form of community mortgage was inspired by a similar project in Spain, and we are thrilled to announce that we have commitments for 45% of the total needed funding. If you like to read our full brochure please visit our website. We warmly invite you to share this with people in your circles who might be interested in supporting a project like this.

We wish you an abundant harvest time!

With love from the Terranu team,

Nakyta, Sarah, Pieter & Merijn