Lily de Sylva

   Hi, I'm Lily, originally from the UK, living in Ireland for the last 15 years.  I've raised 5 kids as a single mum, educating them at home for many years.  They were my inspiration for getting into producing food (I ended up as a small farmer) and helping to create strong, sustainable communities and local economies.  I've been active for the last 30 years in setting up community food and health projects, local markets, local currencies and training initiatives throughout the UK and Ireland.  That work has often tied me into festivals and arts events and I've worked on Dance Camp Wales and Glastonbury Festival (one of my kids was born there!).  These days, I mostly work as a trainer and consultant with community groups, helping to set up local food projects and social enterprises.  I also run my own learning events, including arts events with plenty of workshops and affordable concerts highlighting local/Irish performers.  In the pipeline for 2012 are a series of World Culture food and dance weekends, and of course, a second outing for Cloughtoberfest.... funds permitting!  I'm a very independent woman, so crowd funding really appeals to me... no artistic control from without!  I also really believe that crowd funding is the way forward as conventional funding begins to dry up.  We need the arts and education more than ever in times like these, and it's great to have that collective power to keep them alive.