Laois man seeks land for community allotment campaign

According to a recent parliamentary response from Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue, Ireland imported over €400 million in vegetables in 2023.

This related to some 342,760 tonnes of various vegetables being brought into the country.

A Laois special needs assistant has launched an initiative to form community allotments in Laois where locals can grow fruit and vegetables for themselves, and potentially sell at farmers markets for a profit. 

Earth Buddy Eoin of Ballylynan has formed a group of over 50 Laois people interested in the project, and is currently searching for a suitable space.

"It’s gone crazy since I’ve started," said Eoin Mac, also known as Earth Buddy Eoin.

“The idea is to have a social enterprise where I can bring private allotments around the country. I posted it on social media and there was a huge response from interested people, we had about fifty people sign up almost instantly,” he explained.

"There are council allotments out there, but they have a waiting list. If you do it privately, you can build communities really well.  The problem is that land is so tied up in generations of families, and you have money coming in from the EU on that land, and people are afraid to risk losing that money.

"But my idea is to profit share with the farmer, so that the rent is 50/50. The social enterprise would get 50% of the rent, and so does the farmer. So if you have 50 people on one acre, that farmer is earning €1,500 a year on that acre," he said.

Working as an SNA in St. Abban's National school, Eoin has spent the last four years studying compost and soil health.

"I’ve been studying how to make living compost over the last four years, worm compost and soil health. Which is a massive issue no one is talking about when it comes to climate change. The planet is dying and we’re running out of time. 

“I want to give people the opportunity to grow nutrient dense, healthy food in a no dig, no chemical way,” he said.

Originally from Carlow town, Eoin lives in Ballylynan, and has lived invarious places around Laois since 2000. He was motivated to learn about ecology following his son's concerns over the environment.

"Really my aim is to teach people how to work with soil, rather than just digging soil," he said.

"People do want to go and have somewhere to grow their own food, they don’t want to go to supermarkets anymore when they can grow their own food. I was listening to first and second class in work the other day, and I heard that the food pyramid has been updated from ‘one of your five a day’, to one of your ‘seven a day’.

"I wondered when this had changed, but it’s because the way we are growing food with chemicals, and how we tillage, that the nutrient levels are dropping all the time. You need to eat more to get the same amount of nutrients," he said.

Locally over 50 people have expressed interest in the allotment idea, with many people messaging Eoin from different counties expressing their interest.

"A lot of people are afraid to grow food, they think they will make a mistake, and that’s not going to happen," Eoin explained.

"Growing food is probably the most natural thing to us as humans, our ancestors have grown food once they stopped hunting ang gathering because of climate change back then. It is a natural process built into us. If people are worried about their experience or knowledge, I will be there and the community will be there.

"Making mistakes is so important, and people forget that. Growing food is also cheap," he said.

Eoin highlighted how students in St. Abban's grew potatoes in school this year and held a farmers market last week. The teacher spent €3 on the seed potatoes, and had plenty left over to sell.

"You would pay so much on a bag of potatoes, when you can save your money and be outside in fresh air. In a field your endorphins and serotonin are flowing, it’s good for you mentally as well," he stressed. 

"It’s brilliant socially too, we almost have to force ourselves to build communities now. Most of us want to go home after work and close our doors and curtains, only to leave to earn money for a house we sit in all day long. Community has been lost, and it’s a great way to bring it back.

"Growing  and sharing food together is so important. It’s not a money making thing for me, it’s a social enterprise. I just want to see people growing food and eating healthily."

Eoin argued that where people rent offices, Laois County Council should buy and rent out more land designated for people to grow and sell their own food.

"A lot of people don’t have access to land, and no one is going to spend €25,000 on an acre in Laois to try make back. Community land is so important, give people a space to grow enough food for themselves and their family, and to maybe make a little money selling food," Eoin stressed.

"I’ve received great interest from people across the country, I recently had a farmer in Tyrone contact me offering two acres of land. I’ve received texts from Clare, Cork and Kerry, I’d like to get a local one up and running first!" he laughed.

Eoin was originally considering a space in Ballickmoyler which fell through. He is still searching for a space to establish their allotment.

"I would love to speak to locals around the county through a talk, to find a suitable area for people to travel to, and for someone to offer their land," he said.

You can contact Earth Buddy Eoin through his social media pages.