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 Veronica Ryan (left) leading a recent tour for representatives from community-led housing practices and local authorities from around Europe. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Irish Independent Friday 13 June 2025

Climate Changemakers: Community is at heart of ecovillage that’s a model for sustainable living

Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Co Tipperary attracts visitors from all over Ireland and further afield who want to learn about the practical aspects of sustainable living.

Aisling Maria Cronin

Davie Philip and Veronica Ryan at Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co Tipperary. Photo: Steve Humphreys

 

Over the past decade, Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Co Tipperary has become a destination of choice for eco-curious people across Ireland and beyond who want to learn more about sustainable living.

The ecovillage is home to a number of sustainability organisations and collectives that are dedicated to providing practical advice. These include: Riot Rye Bake House and Bread School, which holds regular real bread baking courses; Small Change, which offers tiny house building workshops; and Cloughjordan Community Farm, which holds regular seed saving, soil health and crop growing workshops.

Education is a core component of the ecovillage’s work, according to its education officer Veronica Ryan: “We regard ourselves as experimenting with sustainable principles, in the truly scientific sense of the word: testing hypotheses and finding out what works and what doesn’t.

“I see the learning process as a two-way street: we hold talks and workshops and seminars sharing what we’ve discovered, yes, but we also learn a lot from the people who come to us.”

Davie Philip is the community resilience manager of Cultivate, a cooperative based in the ecovillage which holds training programmes and events on subjects such as community climate action.

“Cloughjordan was based on the idea that community resilience is key to building a liveable future,” he says, “and at its core, that is where our focus has remained. We’re really trying to encourage a different relationship with life and nature.”

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Philip has been involved in the development of sustainable communities in Ireland since the 1990s, while Ryan’s professional background is rooted in the NGO sector, specialising in education and the arts.

“During the 1990s, we were part of an emerging movement of environmentalists living in Dublin,” Ryan says. “There was a growing sense of energy and momentum around ideas like ‘sustainability’. We had a great desire to make that concept less abstract and more realised. What would it look like, in practice, to live somewhere that embraced sustainable principles?”

In 1999, this momentum led to the founding of Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd, the group behind Cloughjordan. The group was established as an educational charity, with the aim of pioneering an innovative approach to rural community development.

Members spent several years identifying potential locations for the project before a suitable 67-acre site was acquired in Cloughjordan in 2003. The ecovillage’s first houses were built in 2009, and the village is now also home to a number of small businesses, including an independent bookshop and a community ampitheatre.

Cloughjordan Ecovillage in Co Tipperary. Photo: Steve Humphreys

This community-centric approach is reflected in the ecovillage’s governance structure. As a registered charity, Sustainable Projects Ireland CLG is regulated by the Charities Regulator – these interactions are administered by the board, composed of volunteers who are mostly members of the community.

The ecovillage also has a number of primary activity groups covering areas like land use, education and development of the community. Four times a year, reports are produced by each group, detailing their recent activities and initiatives.

“Finding connection between what each group is doing enables everyone to decide on the best path forward,” says Ryan.

Philip adds: “The ecovillage members meet every month, where people are free to come along and express their perspective, knowing that we all have the same goal in mind. Disagreement can be regenerative. It reflects the idea of symbiosis: two combined solutions, with areas of conflict addressed, creates a third one that is greater than either of the original solutions might have been on their own.”

Acknowledging the traditional heritage of certain foods and growing practices is a key component of the ecovillage’s educational work, Ryan adds, citing the example of Féile na nÚll – Cloughjordan’s annual family-friendly community apple festival, which takes place this year on Saturday, September 20.

“The festival is focused on highlighting the many benefits that planting fruit trees can have for communities,” she says, “and as part of that, we will be holding talks on the history of the apple in Ireland – exploring what this fruit has meant to communities historically and how orchards have always been a huge driver of biodiversity.”

Veronica Ryan (left) leading a recent tour for representatives from community-led housing practices and local authorities from around Europe. Photo: Steve Humphreys

Corporate education workshops, school tours and community groups make up a large proportion of Cloughjordan’s visitor base.

“The most important thing for us is that every visitor leaves us with even one idea that they can put into practice when they return to their own community,” says Ryan.

“When it comes to embracing more environmentally friendly practices, everything should be community specific and grassroots led – that’s how real change happens.”

Public tours of the Ecovillage take place on the first Sunday of every month at 3pm, departing from Sheelagh na Gig Bookshop on Cloughjordan Main Street. Visit thevillage.ie to learn more.