Mayo Abbey Parish Dev. Co. Ltd.

Mayo Organic Centre

Our Community Organic Garden was established in 2005 comprising of one acre. The garden is located adjacent to Mayo Abbey Resource Centre. Our aim as an Organic Horticulture Centre is two fold:

• To grow and use organic vegetables and fruit for the production of fresh nutritious meals for our elderly meals project and also for meals to children attending our community childcare centre Abbey Tots.
• To empower people with the knowledge and skills necessary to produce organic vegetables and fruit for domestic and commercial purpose & to support other communities who wish to get involved in Horticulture Projects

Courses are run on a regular basis.

Pictured right is Dan Clavin at our Organic Centre

Dan is the Teagasc Organic farming specialist based at Athenry, Co. Galway, who works with farmers across the West of Ireland and sees good potential for growth in the organic sector.

"Margins across all farming sectors remain very tight" says Dan. "National Farm Survey figures show average family farm income is now €12,000 a year. People call me every day asking how they can make more from their land. Organic farming is a realistic option for many of these people. We import approx. 80% of the organic fruit and vegetables we eat in Ireland which cannot continue. Their is plenty of scope to substitute these imports with quality locally produced organic fruit and vegetables which the Irish consumer wants".

Continuing Dan said, "The courses now established at Mayo Abbey provide an excellent platform for anyone who is interested in growing their own food or who may be interested in setting up a commercial organic horticulture enterprise. Completion of the new F.E.T.A.C. Level 5 in Organic Horticulture now on offer at the Organic Centre may also enable people to avail of attractive organic scheme payments on offer from the Dept. of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to help getting set-up and to sell produce off-farm".

Picture on the left shows the launch of the new F.E.T.A.C. Level 5 Organic Horticultre Course.

Geraldine Glendon, F.Á.S., praised Mayo Abbey Community for their foresight and vision in getting this Organic Horticulture Course up and running, providing localised training for unemployed people. Geraldine thanked the committee for their help and support and wanted to mention a special thanks to Ger, Craig and all the Community Employment Participants for their co-operation, and hoped to be associated with Mayo Abbey for a long time to come.