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Ráth Ciarraí |
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Indigenous Gaelic culture is a tribal and agrarian-based way of life, and as such has always centered around the tribal identity in the heart and mind, and the farming and ranching community physically. While our ancestors did on occasion build settlements large enough to be called cities when viewed in the context of their day, never did we aspire to create the abominations that were the cities of the so-called “civilized” nations. We have always been a people who prefer small farming communities surrounding an only slightly larger trade center such as Emain Macha, Cruachan, and others. Even today, with the Anglicization and Americanization of Ireland, large cities are still a rarity as they are alien to our traditional way of life. As those of us who seek to preserve and restore our native way of life live throughout the world in Diaspora, more often than not we have become scattered, a people without their traditional communities, ripped from the comfort and support of one another and forced to live in the soul-crushing cities of the deoraithe. This cannot be allowed to continue. One of the primary goals of An Cónaidhm Tuatha na nGael and Tuath na Ciarraide is the reversal of the Diaspora; the bringing-together of our people into a modern incarnation of the tribal communities of our ancestors. Through these communities, we will be able to create a stronger base through which to preserve and restore our culture. By allowing for a greater self-reliance for our people by allowing each tuath to provide for a large part of it’s own power, food production, security, emergency response, education, and even employment through these communities, we will be able to halt and reverse the slow degeneration of our culture and rebuild our way of life. Ráth Ciarraí is the prototype for such intentional tribal communities, the first planned community of the Gael in Diaspora that will lead to many others. Built upon an agrarian and industrial base, Ráth Ciarraí is designed to be the physical core of Tuath na Ciarraide. A combination of cattle ranch, subsistence farm, residential community, corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility, and social and religious center, Ráth Ciarraí is the first in a long series of steps to reverse the crushing Diaspora that has torn our people apart. The design principle is simple- a community core based around the Halla, or feast hall, and radiating out into industrial sections, cropland, and ranchland. Similar in design concept to the Kibbutzim of Israel, Ráth Ciarraí is comprised of four key components-
Cultural and Religious Center Ráth Ciarraí is being built around a cluster of buildings which are dedicated to the preservation and practice of our culture and religion. Chief among these is the Halla, which acts as a combination of town hall, feast hall, “church” after a fashion, and general gathering place. It is in this Halla that gatherings will be held for communal feasting, as well as for each of the four sacred fire festivals of our religion. Within the Halla are our people bound as one, feasting and relaxing beside one another in the bonds of kinship. In addition to the Halla are the service buildings that handle mundane community needs ranging from laundry to basic medical care. These buildings are the core of the functionality of the community, encompassing everything needed to maintain the grounds of this inner core and the residential area that surrounds it, as well as see to the needs of the Ciarraide. Educational Center The children of the Ciarraide are not generally educated in deoraithe schools (though such a decision is up to the parent, such an education is seen as lacking and counterproductive to the culture). Instead, a variation of a community home-school is being developed for Ráth Ciarraí to educate our children. Not just a simple home-school, however, this center will be a Gaeilscoil, a school where all subjects are taught in Gaeilge as a primary language, and English as a secondary one. This is to help us achieve our goal of having our communities be Gaeltachta, places where our native tongue is spoken as a first language and English used only for the benefit of visitors, or for when our people leave the communities to deal with matters in the deoraithe world. Standard subjects such as math and science will be taught, as will cultural and religious subjects centered around our way of life. The curriculum currently being developed is far superior to that of most public school systems, and includes cultural-specific education ranging from our social structure and way of life to our history. Another educational center is the caste training resources that will be used by the leaders of each caste in order to train children and fostered adults in the ways of our many castes, cultural and occupational. Many of these resources tie directly into the many infrastructure or industrial aspects of the community, such as the workshops and laochra training centers, but others will have their own curriculum and resources set aside as well. Agriculture and Industry Ráth Ciarraí is intended to be a center for our tuath’s food production as well as a base of operations for multiple tribal businesses under an umbrella corporation in which every member of the tuath has a stake and a share. The industrial section of Ráth Ciarraí will be comprised of two workshops and a set of offices from which the businesses of the tuath will be managed. While privately owned by a member of the tuath generally, though managed by the parent company, these businesses provide income and employment for members of the tuath. The agricultural section of Ráth Ciarraí is not intended at current to be used for sale crops or cattle, however, provisions have been made in the event that such becomes an option in the future. Generally, the livestock, crops, herbs, and orchards of Ráth Ciarraí are intended for the Ciarraide people as a measure of self-sufficiency. Residences The homes of Ráth Ciarraí are a combination of earth-berm homes and traditional cottage-style structures. These homes will be arranged around the community core in a fashion that will allow them to easily access the centers mentioned above. The earth-berm designs are built to endure the tumultuous weather of Southeast Texas, be it hurricanes, severe thunderstorms, hail, snow (yes, we actually get snow a couple of times each winter), or tornadoes. The above-ground homes will be a mixture of convention homes and traditional ones based on Irish cottages. All homes will be built at the discretion and to the specifications of the families living in them.
Development
The development of Ráth Ciarraí is broken down into six basic stages, each expanding out the community in step with its growth in population as we move more of the Ciarraide onto it. The development and stages of growth of the Ráth is detailed below- Stage One- Stage one is primarily preparation for later stages of growth. A section of the land is cleared to allow for construction, the road is reinforced and extended into the core of the property, septic systems are installed for the immediate residences, wells are dug, etc. Three manufactured homes will be moved onto the site once all of this is completed, home to the first families. A small workshop will also be moved on-site to be a base for construction efforts. The first among these would include the Halla, the core community building, the completion of which brings the project to stage two.
Stage Two- Stage two begins with the completion of the Halla. With this core building finished, a larger area is cleared and the road further extended. Construction begins on the first four permanent homes. Some of these homes will be conventional stick-frame construction, while still others will be specially-designed earth-berm homes, which provide greater security, comfort from the hot Texas sun, and reduce the overall space usage by allowing grazing and light gardening on the berms overhead.
Stage Three- Stage three begins with the completion of the first four homes. This stage sees even greater clearing to make way for livestock pastures and the inner roadway. A fenced pasture for cattle, alpaca, horses and other livestock is built, as well as a barn and stable. The road is extended out into a single lane feeder road that circumnavigates the core of the community and allows residential vehicle access. A large artificial pond/pool is built, with a pump house and pipes built in for use in the event of a fire. This pool will also be a place to cool off with a good swim in the summer.
Stage Four- Stage four is one of the most cost-intensive thus far, and begins with the completion of the permanent homes. The dirt road is replaced with a paved one, and the manufactured homes are removed and placed on off-site rental property in order to defray development costs. In place of the manufactured homes is a parking area for guests and visitors, as well as two large steel buildings housing multipurpose workshops and a motor pool. At the rear of the community is the clinic, which will cater to the medical needs of the community.
Stage Five- Stage five is nicknamed the "Cultural Stage" due to the large number of cultural projects involved in this step. This stage begins with the construction of the crypt. This large, predominately underground earth-bermed building is where our dead are placed, often in urns in niches after cremation. The crypt occupies a place of honor behind the Halla in the center of the community. This mound and the center court of the community will be planted with a lawn. Atop the mound will be an altar for offerings to the ancestors. A river or pond sanctuary will be built for worship services, as well as a votive pit for sacrificial offerings. Next to the workshops a Materials Reclamation Yard will be built, which will handle recycling and such, as well as process excess or reusable building materials for storage so that they do not go to waste. Lastly will be the construction of the laochra training center at the edge of the community.
Stage Six- Stage six is the final stage for this phase of planning for the community. Agriculture begins with the planting of several fields of crops, as well as the transplantation of various fruit trees in orchards scattered throughout the community. A large greenhouse is built, as well as a granary and food packing facility, in order to process excess crops. An internal power grid is built in the form of a hybrid solar-wind power generation system at the edge of the community. This system will power key systems and act as a backup for the entire community in the event of a power outage. Lastly, a small store is built in the community which will allow for barter, sale of goods, as well as carry most basic necessities such as groceries.
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