Meitheal at Martin and Yvonne O'Flynn's farm

Once a month, usually on a Sunday, we join a group of friends to help out on one of our farms. We have been doing this for a couple of years now and it means we get a group of about eight people here every six months or so. We have painted houses, weeded forestry trees, done lots of fencing, cut down trees, and this time we planted a bed of willows for Martin and Yvonne who are basket makers in the Borlin valley, near Kealkil.

Martin assembled the materials using his speedy quad.

We laid a sheet of plastic, and held it down with wood slabs and stones

We cut the willows into pieces about 10" long and then using an piece of rebar to make holes we plked them through the plastic about 1' apart.

The tea-break is always a big part of the day but I forgot to take a picture of it

Team photo

 Willows soaking in the stream before use.

The meitheal is a great way to get to know people in a different way than you would get to know people in a completely social context. It is also a great way to get a big job done, that would  be daunting on your own. We just work for the afternoon and then the hosts make a meal for everyone.