This article first appeared on Galway Bay FM

Farmers in Connemara may have a new source of income open to them.

It involves plants that would thrive in the wetlands.

A group from Connemara has visited Offaly and Wicklow to explore the profitable resource for native bog lands.

A new concept in this country – in the use of bog lands could have potential for the future, and it has a name or title to go with it.

That is Paludiculture. Paludiculture means farming the wetlands, and despite the recent long dry spell there is no shortage of bogs and wetlands in Connemara.

A team from the Forum Connemara organisation viewed a project entitled ‘Peatlands for Prosperity’ in Offaly, which is going the Paludiculture route.

Suitable plants include bullrush, which is used for mats and chair seats and sphagnum moss, which has many values for land and the environment.

Whether Plaudiculture could prosper in Connemara remains to be seen, but the basics are available.