The Lady Café Project in Clones Library

Monaghan County Library

Grundtvig Learning Partnership Programme

In the Autumn of 2012 the ladies of Clones, Co Monaghan were invited to sign up to an exciting new project in their local library, The Lady Café Project, which would run over a two year period. Set up under a Grundtvig Learning Partnership Programme the project focused on the lifelong learning of ladies over the age of 45 through informal methods such as autonomous learning, community learning and experiential learning.

One of the main aims of the project was to bring women together to actively participate in their own communities. Another aim is to make the participants aware of the existing services and groups available to them in their own locality. The participants of the programme were invited to take part in a range of classes and activities such as an e-learning course, literature, psychology (positive self image and self-esteem building), health workshops and craft workshops.

Members of the Lady Café Project

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The lectures and classes were designed to help the group recognize their own skills so that they can transfer their ‘know-how’ from the domestic field to a wider scope within society. A number of the ladies from the group have a keen interest in crafts as a hobby, it was felt that this would be a good way to showcase their skills. The group took part in programmes where they knitted and crocheted items for the shoe box appeal, while also attending workshops on millinery, card making, patch-work, machine sewing, soap-making and making Christmas decorations. From these workshops, these new skills can be used as a form of self expression or even to use the skills for a form of additional income.

The ‘Cook It’ four week programme, was delivered to the group and was designed to assist the group in enhancing their cooking skills. They learned the importance of cooking more nutritious food and the impact that healthy choices can have on their health. During the Cook It Programme the group discussed the issue of cooking on a budget and how to provide healthy cost effective meals for their families.

The group also focused on the health issues which often affect women of this age category. We hosted some wonderful information sessions and workshops on osteoporosis, eating disorders, women’s cancers and held a chiropractic workshop on World Move for Health Day.

In the psychology element of the programme the group focused on issues to improve the groups self esteem and self awareness. They attended yoga classes, workshops on promoting positive mental health, reiki and Indian head massage. The women participated in Colour Me Beautiful events which encouraged them to develop positive self-image. Through this part of the programme the group learned about the need to relax and spend some time on themselves, as they are often involved greatly in the care of their families and have little time for themselves.

A book club was set up and this further allowed the women to discuss issues which were relevant to them and to the project. A number of fiction and non-fiction titles were chosen which covered social issues such as domestic violence and the chauvinistic attitudes that women sometimes had to face. From Edna O’Brien’s titles which showed the position of Irish women in the 1960s through to Mary Robinson’s autobiography we explored how attitudes towards women have changed in Ireland over the last 60 years. The book club provided an important outlet for examining these issues and provided the group with a vital opportunity to speak about their own experiences.

Through the book club we also learned about the social standing of women in the other countries involved in the project and about some of the services available to them.

In the year of The Gathering, Monaghan County Library Service were delighted to host a partnership meeting of the Lady Café Group from the 18^th to the 22^nd of June 2013. This meeting involved representatives of each of our 7 partner countries (Mallorca, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania, Latvia, Turkey, Italy) arrive in Co Monaghan to launch the project exhibition, to attend meetings and to discuss the progress of the project to date.

The Grundtvig partnership allowed the group and the staff of Monaghan County Library Services to work with seven other organizations, public libraries, educational instates and social protection organsations, across Europe to share good practice, discuss problems and compare solutions on particular topics. A handbook of good practice will be produced by the participating countries.

The project is due to finish in June 2014 and it is hoped that the Lady Café Group in Clones Library will continue to develop the skills they have learned through on-going attendance at library events. As a library service, we hope to build on the new relationship with our European partners, particularly public libraries, in exchanging information and ideas on improving library services and possible future projects.

For more information about the project, contact either Laura Carey at Clones Library 047-74712 lcarey@monaghancoco.ie or Deirdriu McQuaid 047-74703 dmcquaid@monaghancoco.ie or visit the website at www.ladycafeproject.eu