For the first time ever, COPE Foundation Mallow has undertaken a project in the bog in Nadd. The plot should yield over 130 bags of turf which people supported by COPE in Mallow will take home for the winter, but only after they learn how to save the turf themselves. The idea came from the local tradition of saving turf in the bog which many friends and neighbours in North Cork have been doing every year for generations. People supported by COPE who have intellectual disabilities and/or autism now have the experience of working on the bog and the processes that go with saving the turf.
Timmy O’Shea, who is supported by COPE Foundation Mallow says; “ I really enjoyed working on the bog, we met lots of neighbours and friends. We learned how to turn the turf, foot the turf and then bag it for bringing it home. We were good at it too, it is tough work but very rewarding. We were lucky the weather was good! I hope we can do it again next year.”
Jerry Mullane, Manager of the COPE Foundation Mallow says: “COPE Foundation is about enabling people of every ability to live life to the full. That means giving people as much choice about what they do as all the rest of us have. We just provide the outlet, the men and women themselves did the work on the bog. They have the interest and the drive, we are just facilitating them and we will all be lovely and cosy for the winter thanks to their hard work!”