We arrived at Tim's place in Lisheen last Sunday evening. It was a worrying cycle - in part because we weren't sure where we were going - and in bigger part because the light on my bicycle was dying. It was only emitting a pathetic beam that illuminated nothing. I was cycling blind and had no choice but to trust Laurence's nonchalant assurances that it was fine (I think that he thought that I was being overly dramatic).
We've been settling into the West Cork way of doing things for a couple of months now and have gotten to know some of the eccentric "blow-in"* community that lives here. I've found the abundance of unconventional attitudes to be really refreshing. I've twice been advised to follow my intuition more by people I have just met and I have been bemused that the local social events include live story-tellings, shamanic ayahuasca ceremonies and art-house film screenings. There is a thriving organic food and craft culture but the diversity of residents becomes especially apparent when reading the notice board at somewhere like the Supervalu in Bantry where there are flyers for yoga, meditation, herbalists, homeopaths and all kinds of musical instrument lessons.
It was an intuitive feeling that prompted Laurence to randomly ask a stallholder at Ballydehob Christmas market if we could come work for him. We had found ourselves short of a place to stay in the run up to the Christmas break and were getting a little concerned about where we might end up. Much to my surprise, the stallholder (Tim) agreed to Laurence's request more or less straight away and here we are a week later, ensconced in his house, sharing our meals.
Tim owns 3.5 acres and has 6 polytunnels. He grows vegetables and plants which he sells along with pestos, chutneys and cider (and probably loads of other stuff) directly to the public at Skibbereen market every Saturday. It is the first place that we have volunteered which is exclusively a commercial enterprise and it has been interesting to notice the difference in approach.
The first thing that stands out is the sheer volume of produce. We spent the better part of our first day picking the last of the seasons cherry tomatoes. Scouring each of the hundreds of plants individually and then clearing the 40m long row by pulling each one out by the roots. On the previous small holdings we have savoured and used even the smallest things grown, but here at Lisheen this is just not practical. Tim tells us to pick the biggest and nicest and leave the rest. Initially I found this request almost painful - "But we can make Green Tomato Chutney!" - I found myself exclaiming. Tim was nice and obliged me but I slowly came to see that with harvesting being so time consuming, it is only really worthwhile picking that which will be eaten or sold. Besides, maybe it's good to give a bit back to the earth via the compost heap. Perhaps it's a bit selfish to keep it all for ourselves.
Judging from the amount of veg here, it is clear that Tim knows his stuff about gardening and I am astounded that he manages to run the whole thing on his own year in and year out. In a just a few days you get a sense of the man hours needed to grow the vegetables to supply a market stall and it makes you wonder how the food in the supermarkets can be so cheap. I have read that cheap petroleum and subsidies distort the price of food but it's quite another thing to really see it. It's a whole lot of work for comparatively little pay or as Tim likes to say "I work for one and six pence. You gotta do it cos you love it cos it won't make you rich!" I feel like a tiny sponge underneath a huge waterfall as I try to soak up the abundance of information that Tim is happy to share. Yep, I think both mine and Laurence's heads have been set buzzing with possibilities. We'll definitely have plenty to explore and discuss over the Christmas break.
*"Blow-in" is a term used to describe non-native West Cork residents