The white February sunshine is reflected back off Lough Owel, dazzling the eyes. Onwards from Mullingar, through Ballynafid and Bunbrosna, until you pass the thatched cottage on the right. The turn off the main Dublin-Longford road is marked by a grey stone church.

Passing through the village of Street, it seems as if time is moving backwards. The potholed road leading up to Coolamber mansion slows the car's pace to a crawl. Built in 1820, the trim cream mansion is the nerve centre of a 150-acre estate, with its gardens, vinehouse, courtyard and farm buildings.

Inside, there is no butler to welcome you, no servants scurrying up the backstairs. Coolamber, in the 1990s, serves an eminently practical function. It is home to 27 students who have embarked on courses in agriculture, horticulture, cookery and hospitality courses. Their numbers are swelled by others who attend on a day basis.

The house, gardens and farm have become a training centre for students with learning disabilities. Bought by Rehab in 1962, it now comes under the ambit of the National Training and Development Institute, Ireland's largest non-government training organisation.

For students, in addition to skills training to a high level, there is continuing training in independent living skills, explains area manager John O'Connor. Students initially live in the mansion which provides a sheltered environment, with a house parent. From there, they progress to an apartment or house in the grounds. And, for the final six months of their two-year course, they may live in Longford and commute to Coolamber.

David Jordan from Wicklow and Breid McDaid from Donegal are both living in Longford while they complete their professional cookery course. They highly recommend the course, which leads to a City and Guild qualification, but, both of them say, with suppressed laughter, that a sense of humour is vital.

David says that the socialising is great: "When we stayed in the house, we went to the gym on Tuesdays, swimming on Wednesdays, and into town on Fridays for a night out . . . we are free to do what we want, it depends on the availability of the bus driver."

The course includes health and safety, food preparation, menu planning and recipes, food science and nutrition, cooking, hospitality and food service. Students do two periods of work experience. David worked in a hotel in Clifden, Co Galway, for six weeks and says he would like to go into hotel work. Breid would prefer a coffee shop as she would not have to work antisocial hours.

Meanwhile, they are busy devising menus and ordering the food for meals at Coolamber. The "best meat going" is bought in Granard while the fishman calls regularly and the garden supplies vegetables in season.

In addition to tending an organic vegetable plot, the horticulture students grow bedding plants and shrubs as well as designing and creating mini-gardens. Horticulture instructor Frank Horne says: "We will be starting with seeds next week. Growing bedding plants is a short process and gives students the feel for the entire process of going from seed to flowering plant. Last year, we sold quite a few plants to Dublin Corporation for a development project in the greater Ballyfermot area."

Shrubs are sold to local garden centres and landscapers. And, at the end of the day, there is no problem finding jobs for hard-working operatives, says Horne.

The job situation is equally good for graduates of the agriculture course, says O'Connor. The farm includes dairying, beef and sheep as well a suckler herd and a free-range egg unit. Graduates of the course are certified by Teagasc and this certificate is recognised by the Department of Agriculture for the purposes of financial aid packages.

On the day E&L visited, the agriculture students are in Dublin, viewing farm machinery, and the cows and sheep are left to the tender ministries of the farm manager Tim McGlynn and two able horticulture students who come from farming backgrounds.

Meanwhile, students on the accommodation services course are busy learning housekeeping, laundry, restaurant service, hospitality skills and customer care as well as receptionist and switchboard skills. O'Connor says all of the courses include an education component - literacy, numeracy and computer skills. Another City and Guilds qualification, the accommodation services course also includes work experience.

A training allowance is paid to students on the various courses in Coolamber. All of the students are in receipt of a disability allowance. Out of a total of £93.50, £48 a week is deducted for accommodation if students are staying in Coolamber.

`We like people to spend two weeks in Coolamber before they commit themselves," says O'Connor. "This gives them a good idea if they would like the course and the surroundings. We want people to be comfortable and happy here." It also allows staff at the training centre to ensure prospective students are capable of completing their course.

"We also have employer-based training for people in the locality," he says. "If people want to train in a particular area we would source an employer and write up a training programme. Training usually takes place in the employer's premises. These tend to be short programmes, about 12 weeks, in areas such as computers and office skills."