Welcome to Feeding Ourselves 2026! This is our annual gathering, one which serves a growing Community of Practice of local food producers and organisers, community food advocates, agri-food and land-use researchers, food justice campaigners, Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) advisors and local food facilitators.

Held each year in Cloughjordan since 2011, the gathering brings people from across the island of Ireland and beyond to strategise, network and build collective capacity in food sovereignty, agroecology and local food economies.

Together, we work to strengthen resilient local food systems and support a just transition — where farmers everywhere can thrive, where everyone has access to healthy, appropriate local food, where meaningful progress is made toward ecological regeneration and community wellbeing, and where food and justice are two parts of a whole.

Feeding Ourselves the gathering takes place in the WeCreate Centre, in the heart of the Ecovillage and where the Community Farm’s Food Hub. (it’s at E53 VP86 in north Tipperary, on the trainline)

There are 4 full days of activities – see below for day by day details. There are also lots of evening fringe events happening on site, with our ecovillage and farm partners, and others. Our 2026 fringe programme includes a film, a forage, decolonial and other walks, the legendary speakEATsy food music and dancing event with Cloughjordan Community Farm, a farm tour and poster displays. Our film screening this year is On my Land with farmer and film maker Mamhoud Zwahre zooming in from the West Bank for post film conversation.

We have a number of different ways then, to engage your mind, body and soul on the fringes of this year’s Feeding Ourselves – and in the main day time event too…

To book your place for the daytime programme of Feeding Ourselves 2026 click here  

(speakEATsy and film ticketed separately to main conference)

DAY 1 Land Use & Local Food Futures
Thursday 26th March | 11.00 – 16.30 

A Multi-Actor Innovation Workshop: Connecting Land Use and Local Food Stakeholders to Strengthen Short Food Supply Chain Advisory Systems and Land Observatories in Ireland

Environmental Pillar I ERINN Innovation / CAP Network Ireland I EU4Advice (Cultivate) I COREnet (Teagasc) I Bioregioning South East Ireland I CODECS I Talamh Beo I Food Policy Ireland I OFN Ireland

This session provides an opportunity to focus on, understand and cultivate connections within the national AKIS (Agriculture Knowledge Exchange and Innovation System). It will also highlight the work of the Environmental Pillar, particularly its Land Use & Biodiversity Hubs. 

Two focused workshops will be held. 

Workshop 1: EU4Advice & COREnet – Advisory Services for Short Food Supply Chains 

This session focuses on the role of Short Food Supply Chain (SFSC) advisors and the need for advisory services in making local food systems viable and scalable. The workshop will build on learning from COREnet, coordinated in Ireland by Teagasc, and EU4Advice, coordinated in Ireland by Cultivate. 

Workshop 2: Land Observatories – Coordinating Land Use

This session will explore the need for informed, collaborative decisions about land use in response to social, environmental and economic needs, stresses and opportunities – from restoration and biodiversity, to pollution and rural development needs. 
To book your place click here  

DAY 2 Recognising and Resourcing Local Food Producers 

Creating the foundations for food sovereignty & food system transformation

Friday 27th March | 10.30 – 17.00

Talamh Beo I Cultivate I FEASTA I Bioregioning South East Ireland I Food Policy Ireland I OFN Ireland I Trinity School of Medicine I CODECS I EU4Advice 

Understanding and strengthening local food economies through recognising and resourcing local food producers: focusing on basic income for local food producers, procurement and the policies and actions to transform our food systems.

To book your place click here 

DAY 3 Growing the Movement for Food Sovereignty 

Saturday 28th March | 10.30 – 17.00

Talamh Beo I Cultivate I FEASTA I Environmental Pillar I Bioregioning South East Ireland I Food Policy Ireland I OFN Ireland I Deep Medicine Circle I CODECS I EU4Advice I Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (Palestine)

This day of the gathering is dedicated to movement-building: we are not just discussing food sovereignty, but actively revitalising it at the local, national and global levels. 

We will bring together our widest set of farming and food practitioners yet to build food sovereignty. We will introduce key elements from the previous two days on local food animation, and centre  young farmers of Talamh Óg. We will broaden our perspective, integrating environmental, food  justice, procurement, community health and more. Ireland’s EU presidency, which starts in July 2026, provides content for our focusing on key dynamics, developments and opportunities at the  European levels. And we will redouble our solidarity, our resolve and engagement with the people of  Palestine, including its farmers, with whom we are in a joint struggle for food sovereignty.          

Ten years after the Irish Food Sovereignty Proclamation was first articulated, we return to it together – farmers, growers, land workers, local food organisers and researchers, cooperative and community initiatives and citizens – to ask: what now? Participants will explore how food sovereignty moves from principle to practice – land access, fair livelihoods, agroecology, community distribution, democratic governance, solidarity, and the right of all people to healthy food.

To book your place click here 

DAY 4 Sunday 29th March | 11.30 – 17.00 
Farmers Dialogue I Seed Salon I CSA Farm Walk 

Join us for a full day dedicated to dialogue and seed sovereignty

The final day of the gathering will begin with a Farmers Dialogue, providing a calm, reflective space for both traditional and agroecological farmers to share their perspectives and concerns. The afternoon will feature a Seed Salon dedicated to Irish Seed Sovereignty. Additionally, there will be a Farm dialogue walk specifically focused on exploring Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and strategies for their expansion. This is a crucial opportunity for participants to connect, share knowledge, and collaborate on building a more resilient food system.

To book your place click here 

So let’s do this!

Feeding Ourselves 2026 will be more than just a conference – its will be a rolling gathering of people working on making our farming and food systems more resilient, more just, fairer for farmers and better for everyone. It will help us better connect with our more than living world, while embedding our actions and our strategising: its our land, our food and our selves after all.

If you are inspired by food sovereignty and related approaches to farming, food, rural resilience, land use and many more of the intermixed and intermingled problems we face – from the parish to Palestine, form your own farm or community to the thorny problems of planetary boundaries, regulatory rollback and the rise of the far right, come join us in this inclusive, diverse multi pronged way to build a better life for all.

Talamh Beo I Cultivate I FEASTA I Bioregioning South East Ireland I Food Policy Ireland I OFN Ireland I Deep Medicine Circle I CODECS I EU4Advice I Environmental Pillar I Popular Struggle Coordination Committee (Palestine)  I Cloughjordan Community Farm I Cloughjordan Ecovillage Mid-West Biodistrict