We are continuing to look for non-commercial cereal varieties. However, time is running out as many farmers have stopped growing these traditional varieties. If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, please contact us!
Do you know where cereals have been grown from saved seed?
Do you know of any straw-thatched houses or outhouses?
Do you have any old mattresses or other items that have been stuffed with straw?
The Synge cottage project
overview
Thatched cottages were, and still are, common on Inis Meain, one of the Aran Islands, situated off the west coast of Ireland. The famous author J.M. Synge visited the Aran Islands many times between 1898 and 1903, where he stayed in the cottage of a local family, the MacDonnchada's.
Having fallen into a state of disrepair (see below), the Teach Synge (Synge house) Restoration Committee were eager to restore Synge's cottage to it's original turn-of-the-century state and open it to the public as a museum to Synge's life and work. It was planned to re-thatch the cottage using locally grown rye thatch, instead of the more widely used, non-indigenous Connemara reed thatch. In 1997, the Restoration Committee approached Genetic Heritage Ireland to see if it could provide appropriate rye seed for this project from seed stored in the Threatened Irish Plant Genebank, and whether it might provide funding for farmers to grow this seed specifically for the Teach Synge project.
Genetic Heritage Ireland successfully obtained money for the restoration committee which allowed the funding of rye-growing for use in thatching the cottage. Having raised enough money from other sources, the Teach Synge Committee were able to restore the cottage which re-opened in August 1999 (see below). For more details, click here.
Synge Cottage Before Restoration
Synge Cottage After Restoration