Oportus blog August 2023
- thomascloherty
- Sep 7, 2023
- 3 min read
It’s time for the seed to be planted…
I wrote last month about growth and touched on resources and waste - an undeniable problem in much of our world today, whether we are talking about waste products from manufacturing, discarded food products or fast fashion that ends up in landfill. I ended the blog with: ‘Maybe there’s the seed of an idea you’ve been sitting with for a while, that needs to get planted; a project or business that is lying dormant. Don’t let it go to waste!’
These are wild garlic seeds which were harvested from around our house this year; some of them may look like they are dying, but are still trying to produce shoots even though they haven’t been planted yet. I’d seen them growing by walls and roadsides a few times on visits here in the past, and in the first year after we moved to Ireland, but had never really taken much notice of them.
Checking them out went on my to-do list, but I missed at least one harvest season before getting round to actually figuring out how to collect the plants and seeds – what a pleasant surprise was in store!
A quick bit of digging online (before the actual physical digging!) revealed that they are not really wild garlic, but Babington leeks, thought to have been introduced and cultivated in Ireland around the 9th or 10th century by monks. They are pretty much maintenance-free and don’t mind the wild Atlantic weather here in Connemara. The bulbs stay moist and pungent for at least a couple of months after being gathered and the seeds are easily picked and stored for future use, or for sharing with others. We had a bumper crop this year and have given loads of seeds away. This picture shows the first bulb grown from a seed we’d given in London, next to one we harvested here – it’s a bit smaller, but it hasn’t gone to waste because it’s grown - the seed was planted!
There are so many problems in communities today; many of these problems just need an idea to be planted to get the ball rolling and find a solution. I have experienced a great deal of this in my work in the voluntary sector over the years, where people have ideas that can help but are not sure how to get started. It is amazing and a privilege to have helped:
Hundreds of kind people offer their spare rooms safely to provide shelter for people faced with homelessness
Other people who gave their time and expertise freely as mentors and befrienders to help others who were in the midst of a difficult transition
Local shops which donated stock to help community events
Large companies which were enabled to fulfil their CSR goals
People to donate food, clothing, household items and money to people going through challenges during riots, or who had fled war, persecution and abuse
The elderly to be served and made to feel special as well as supported to raise funds for day trips
People who supported young people to find ways of giving back to their communities
Faith and community groups to use their buildings as shelters at night during the coldest months of the year and then pack away the bedding etc. during the day so they could carry out their day-to-day activities
People to volunteer, enabling them to have experience to get back/into employment or set up businesses
The point I’m hoping to make in this blog is that many people want to help and use their skills or experience for good, be they individuals, small businesses or faith and/or community groups. There are also large companies which are short on ideas on how to impact their communities at grassroot levels.
People often have the seed of an idea that is going to waste and all that is required is help to plant that seed and enable it to grow.
Oportus as a business doesn’t want to see good ideas go to waste; we aim to open the door to opportunity, help these seeds get planted and make better use of skills, existing properties and other resources to make a difference to communities.
How about you - do you have an idea that can make a difference? Are you a company in need of ideas to fulfil your corporate social responsibilities? Are you a group that has ideas or needs ideas/training for your attendees?
If you are, get in touch either using the contact page or by email (details below). Don’t let the seed go to waste - it’s time for it to be planted!
Feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and or share this post and until next time, let’s keep learning…
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