Afri would like to thank the hundreds of people who joined us on a wonderful sunny day for our 22nd Annual Famine Walk from Doolough to Louisburgh on Saturday, 22 May.
The walk leaders Justin Kilcullen of Trócaire, Felicity Lawrence, writer and journalist for the Guardian, and Jo Newton of the Irish Seed Savers Association opened the event with short reflections on the walk theme: Hunger in a World of Plenty: Sowing Seeds of Hope.
The various speakers outlined how the injustices that led to the Irish Great Famine continue today in terms of unequal global food distribution and the way in which multinational companies increasingly control agriculture and the food processing system, while small farmers and food producers struggle to survive. A linking thread was that food insecurity will continue and intensify today unless we tackle issues such as loss of biodiversity, global warming, corporate control of food production, and the patenting and aggressive marketing of genetically modified seeds.
Afri Famine Walk 2010 from Dave Donnellan on Vimeo.
The opening ceremony began with the hauntingly beautiful music of Emer Mayock and Donal Siggins and the speeches were followed by a musical performance by Damien Dempsey who was joined by Emer and Donal before the crowd embarked on the 10 mile walk from Doolough to Louisburgh.
Image gallery
Photo credit: Derek Speirs
For some more impressions of the atmosphere and context of the walk check out the SHORT VIDEO that the Guardian Newspaper made on the day: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2010/may/25/food-ireland
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For further information download our Famine Walk brochure.
[…] For more information about the Famine Walk: http://www.afri.ie/famine-walk-2010/ […]
[…] Famine Walk from Doolough Lake to the tiny town of Louisburgh organised by the Irish campaign group Afri. The breathtaking beauty of the mountain scenery belies the tragedy that it had witnessed back in […]