Our Ethos

The Wise Woman Weekend is organised based on holistic sustainable principles by entirely volunteer energy.

Our website includes a Car Pool for people to offer and request a lift. You can make a new friend while reducing the degradation to the environment.

We selected St Angela's College for our venue partially based on their Green Team efforts. St Angela's composts most of their food waste and uses it to nourish their beautiful gardens. We can honour their efforts by separating our waste in properly marked bins during the weekend.

Where possible, we source all our goods and services in the immediate community, request environmentaly friendly products and actively seek women run enterprises.

The weekend is designed to introduce topics and ideas that an ordinary woman might not have either the time or money to otherwise explore. It is an opportunity to have a "peek in" and perhaps subsequently invest in the subjects that light your fire. We offer a diverse range of workshops to attract a diverse community of women.

It is our aim that cost not be a barrier to attendance.

To achieve this 15 - 20 facilitators work on the basis of payment in kind. They receive weekend passes, marketing opportunities and reimbursement of out of pocket expenses. At the end of the day, the facilitators are motivated primarily by the desire to share their gifts and to participate in an impactful event.

We do not charge an all inclusive price. You decide what you want to spend on food and accommodation.

We continue to offer a limited number of concession rate and work/exchange programmes. As ever, we are open to any creative solutions you want to present in terms of a fair exchange of energy. Contact us for details.

In 2008 we will have a volunteer access officer to help ensure women of all abilities can enjoy the weekend. Paula is an active lobbyist with the polio association. Please feel free to discuss any concerns you have with her. Alex, our booking agent, will put you in touch with Paula.

The founding members of the Wise Woman Weekend have taken the decision to limit the number of people attending the weekend in order to keep the event intimate, which is considered essential to the success of the event. Early booking is advised.

The Wise Woman is run on a self funding basis. In order to realise the full potential of the weekend we are seeking an appropriate sponor. Let us know if you would like to be that sponor.

Summary of the Audience Research:

From the first weekend in 2005, Sara-Jane Kickham and her students from the Limerick Institute of Technology have volunteered to collect audience research with the aim of making the weekend better each year. They do a great service for us.

Your comments are an important part of the evolution of the weekend. Please take the opportunity to complete the feedback sheets provided at the weekend.

You asked for organic gardening - we have gone a step further and Sian Cowman will be giving a workshop on Garden Design based on Permaculture Principles (which includes the concepts of organics). Welcome Sian.

You asked for crafts and Merovee has offered to do an ongoing communal weaving installation - drop in and out as you like, adding your weave. We like the concept and hope it works for you too.

You asked for more dance so Julie Voss wil be giving a workshop in circle dance. Amber is back with Egyptian Dance - as a workshop instead of part of the Pick & Mix.

The only 3 hour activity during the Pick & Mix is the guided walk to Deerpark Court Cairn. This is an ancient site located about a 10 minute drive from the college. We will not overlap the activities as much and the sessions will be shorter; so you should be able to do more if you want to.

You asked for the opening to be shorter so you can eat earlier and we are accommodating that request.

You asked for Saturday night to start earlier so dinner will be at 7 o'clock instead of 8.

When you book the weekend you should also book your meals. This will ensure St Angela's has firm numbers to work with so they can provide the normal good standard of food we have become used to. (In 2007 the number of meals served was much higher than St Angela's expected and this resulted in some food quality issues.) Although it has to be said, it was a bit of a water into wine feat that they succeeded in feeding everyone!

Many people would like to see longer mini treatments. The Wise Woman Weekend is an introductory weekend to try things you have not tried before. The decision has been taken to keep mini treatments to short sessions and to limit each person to one time slot so that more people have the opportunity to try the mini treatments.

Many of you are interested in keeping a connection throughout the year so we are going to try a couple of things. We now have a Wise Woman Blog . We are setting up a Wise Woman on line group so we can "talk" to each other. We will see how this develops.

We like the suggestion that at the registration desk we ask for volunteers to help us during the weekend! So we will have a volunteer sign up sheet on hand at the welcome desk and hope with more people helping out for a few minutes here and there the load carried by our core group of volunteers will be a little less. Thanks for that idea!

Here is what women have to say about the weekend:

2007

"Came dragging my heels, had fun and insights."

"I loved this weekend. I'm more connected to myself, new friends, mentors. This has been a great strengthening and growing experience."

"The weekend is fantastic and has been great experience for me. As a young woman (24) I feel so welcome and accepted at this weekend. I feel privileged that I could meet such amazing women and learn from them."

"I never expected this weekend to have such an effect on me. I want to tell all my friends and family to come back next year and experience such a wonderful thing."

"It was fantastic on so many levels - I met so many great women. I had great rest and ate wonderful food. Smashing accommodation and beautiful setting. Experienced sisterhood on a great scale."

"Wonderful - always gets better and better."

"Very well run and organised. Good programme, beautiful location, great accommodation, great facilitators, great everything - Yippee!"

"Came a bit sceptical, leaving inspired."

"Very good value."

"It was informal enough to allow 'me' and others to relax. e.g. not competitive dressing - just comfort amd glamour."

"I had some reservations of how I would adapt to such a weekend. There is a great mix of people and age groups."

"I didn't know what to expect and was blown away by the respect, space, encouragement and kindness I have been given here. It was so easy."

"Amazing weekend. Lots of fun, feeling and freedom to be myself. Very supportive, encouraging, loving. Inspiring women everywhere."

"I loved the variety of choices of workshops and diversity or people."

"I liked it alot and never felt lonely despite, unexpectedly, having to come alone. All women were very nice and I met a lot from last year. Workshops were great."

"Meeting and chatting and sharing stories with all kinds of women was wonderful."

"I cannot wait for next year."

2005 and 2006

"Workshops were excellent. Food was great. But meeting all those women was wonderful. The fun we all had was unbelievable."

"It was very grounded and real. Not too over the top."

"There was an environmental/earth theme throughout - keep this ."

"Other like minded women from all corners of the earth. Very international."

"Alternative workshops in the United States tend to attract professional new age aficionados who usually don't have a tenth of the humour of this crowd."

"I love wome., I love being a women. I love men. I understand why they love us!"

"Was very fearful - was terrified it would be all new agey, but was relieved to find ordinary (and extraordinary) women like myself."

"The sense of fun and playfulness was invaluable! It was so much fun compared to a narrow constrained view point I have experienced in Australia."

"Meeting like minded women in one place...I had opinions I had for 30 years changed and it feels good, liberating and safe."

"Sharing positive vibes that can last way beyond the experience."

"I felt daunted by coming alone but found it a supportive atmosphere and an unexpected opportunity to meet other women."

"I have never been with all women and found it a very different experience and didn't realize it could be so good."

"The feeling of sharing - talents, food, time, losses, sadness, joy - truly liberating."

"Meeting like minded women, weaving more networking, support and information."

"Workshops were very good and the craic was brilliant."

"Looking at a healthier lifestyle."

"Wonderful experience mixing with all ages and way of life."

"It was fantastic, inspirational and educational."

"Knowing I wasn't alone and was normal."

"It has enabled me to make a life changing decision."

"I've gained courage from other women who are doing wonderful things."

"It's not so cliquey being all women and in fact empowering."

"Reminded me of my main purpose and path - so easy to get diverted and forget."

"It has made me realise how much we can rely on each other for support and that we are not isolated as we often feel."

"I feel empowered and very positive about the way forward and the contribution women make towards improving the world we live in."

"Great energy of women - honoring who we are."

"Enjoyed how enthusiastic the workshops made me feel about life."

"I know now what I am capable of doing and will do it."

"It's OK to be me."

"Quality was fabulous."

"I always fail to predict the buzz of all-women space - their strength/warmth/knowledge to share."

"I never felt so joyous and happy!"

"Wonderful, inspiring,  fun, humbling, empowering, joyful, childish and fun."

"Great weekend, looking forward to the next one - just what every women needs."