The owners of small holdings on Clare Island are being invited to grow rare flower seeds which would be distributed to Internet and mail order customers worldwide.
Clew Bay, with a population of less than 200, is regarded as a botanical jewel because of the number of rare wild plants which grow there.
The enterprise is the brainchild of a British-based businessman, Austin O'Malley, and his wife, Felicity. The O'Malleys outlined their unusual proposal to island farmers before Christmas and received an enthusiastic response.
The idea is to contract out the production of the seeds to island farmers and the product will then be packaged, marketed and sold to international markets via the Internet and flower magazines.
At the pre-Christmas meeting, Ms O'Malley distributed a report on the wildflowers of Clare Island prepared by Prof Peter Benson, a professor of horticulture at Southwark College, London, following his visit to Clare Island in 1999.
Prof Benson listed 22 plants found by him during his tour of the island which could form the basis of the wildflower project.
These include creeping cinquefoil, slender speedwell, sea sandworth, wood anemone, wood sorrel, dog violet, primrose, royal fern, birdsfoot trefoil and daisy bellis perennis.
Members of the Wildflower Project have agreed that the costs of setting up the pilot project will be borne initially by those involved in it. The costs so far have been borne by the O'Malleys.
The group have agreed that the first Clare Island wildflower seed should be from next summer's harvest and be packaged and ready for sale by autumn 2004.
The project is being aided by the National Rural Development Programme and Meitheal Mhaigh Eo has shown an interest in aiding the project and expanding it to other islands in Clew Bay.