Today was a busy day!

It started off with a visit to Mulroy Meadow Farm in Fanad. There we met with Michelle and Cathal, the owners of the farm (and their dog, Rosie, who is the most adorable thing I have ever seen). They showed us around their farm including their greenhouse, their field, their duck and goose pens, their rooster & hen coops, their chicken coop, their pigsty in the forest, and their cow area. All of their produce is eco-friendly and has no chemicals in it at all, as well as pasteurized eggs. One of their biggest troubles is that the agricultural department of the country has been making it difficult for their business of pasteurized eggs since the companies who fund the department massively produce eggs unlike the farm. But they still keep on going with the farm, and all of their animals (including three small kittens!).

Next, we met Annette, who runs the gift shop in Carrigart. The town is very small, with only about 200 permanent residents (year-round), and almost all of their customers come during the summer tourist season and are mainly all residents of Ireland themselves. This gave us some perspective as to what our goal is when doing our projects since many businesses from around October to April can barely function due to lack of activity. Annette was very nice and we’ll be meeting with her again a few times!

Then we had soup and sandwiches for lunch at the Carrigart Hotel, followed by a small tour of the town. We went on some streets, learnt about Lord Lietrim (both the good and the bad one), and saw the park, which was inaugurated by the president of Ireland in 2010. The park was beautiful, and we saw quite a few murals along the way. There was no tide today so the shore was basically empty and we saw the legendary horseback riding too! We had a small scavenger hunt and were split into teams (the team I was on won!) which was very fun, because we were able to talk to many locals and learn more the town.

Afterwards we finally met with Majella and Mary at Gteic in person! We learnt about the town and Gteic as a whole, and how they operate the business. It’s now officially time to kick in the project work!

We had dinner at the Boardwalk and then had Irish dancing class which was quite fun!

One thing I observed is how close the community is, and how nice the people are. When we were walking around, Brandon (our local guide and the AllPeopleBeHappy representative for the area) knew everyone who drove by, and everyone on the street was so nice and lovely. The small town feeling is definitely there, so now I’m determined to make the most of our project and do our part.

Tomorrow, we embrace the physical activities!