This is a CTP of initiative: Transition Bro Gwaun (UK)
Following the initial idea to develop a food waste project, a project group was established which included some members of the core group and was responsible for pushing the project forward.
TBG successfully applied for some funding from Environment Wales to deliver a pilot project. They put on two meals made from waste food in a local pub and undertook a questionnaire to research the idea with the wider public.
The managers of the Co-operative supermarket suggested that they had sought permission to use the premises that the supermarket had previously occupied (but which were, at the time, vacant and had been empty for six years). This was at a prominent location in the town. The manager provided them with details on who to contact within the organization, and they offered the TBG the building rent free (but with no security of tenure).
The public questionnaire results suggested that people wanted a community space with a café, rather than the initial idea which was based around a food bank model.
Newspaper publicity and the fact that it was in a visible place with people on the premises helped attract people to work on the project as volunteers. This led to the project attracting a broader range of volunteers - including non-greens.
Needed to get planning approval and building regulation approval for the building to be used as a café. Pembrokeshire County Council were supportive of the renovation of an empty building, so they allocated a planning officer to support the project. The regeneration team at the county council were also helpful and supportive.
Donations, grants and in-kind support was received from a wide range of sources:
The learning from the COIN training (see CTP 104) informed the project development (particularly how the pilot was managed).
The supply of surplus food from local businesses was an important part of the project.
The project also makes use of a range of different ‘non-market’ forms of exchange and shows how these can be part of supporting a viable entity. These include community exchange, gifting, reusing and recycling.
Volunteers were important, both in renovating the premises and in running of the café.
Volunteers are from across the spectrum: not just committed greens, but also people who get a buzz from the ‘Ready, steady, cook’ approach to cooking. They have had some good chefs who enjoy the challenge.
Young people come from various agencies and get work experience.
Also supports people with learning disabilities who come and help (currently employing four).
Users of the building can’t be charged rent but instead are asked what they can do for the project in exchange (e.g. mutual support).
There are various systems in place to help with the day-to-day running of the cafe.
Previous events leading to CTP:
Two owners of local smallholdings (Adam and Ann Bushall) identified surplus waste food in the area. Ann was talking to local businesses about using their food waste to feed her chickens. Ann was on the core group of TBG and raised the idea of some kind of waste food related project.
Subsequently, Tom and Ann went on a Transition Thrive course. This is a course that has been developed by the Transition Network to help Transition initiatives stay active and engaged. At the course, they were encouraged to think of a project idea, so Tom and Ann focused on thinking about how to prevent this food waste from going to landfill.
They then took the idea to the core group. Ann was also talking to various shops including the local Co-operative supermarket. At that time they were unable to donate any waste food, but the manageress came to some of the meetings. From the beginning there was a number of non TBG people coming the meetings about the project. This led to the pilot project being developed.
Consequences:
The project has reduced the amount of waste food going to landfill. At the end of the first year, they rescued about 500Kg per month – a figure that has now further increased to around 850kg per calendar month.
The project contributed to the publicizing of food waste as an issue - especially locally. Shops are getting better disposal systems and landfill is more frowned up. At first, they only received food waste from small shops, but now, after almost three years, they get food from Co-op, Tesco and Bookers as well as more food from local people.
They also made a decision to have food parcels to address the food poverty agenda. They get a lot of short life food (which is the most common form of food waste).
Some food that can legally go to animals is distributed (e.g. to Ann and Adam's smallholdings).
Lots of groups use the building for meetings: a sewing group, a writers group, a farmers market group, a greening group, a sustainable tourism group.
The Transition café is an exemplar of a project that can be developed without big grants but which draws on the assets and support of the community. It constitutes a flagship project for how to build a different kind of economy. (Chris spoke to the Climate Change Commission for Wales about this, using the café as an example).
Some people can be resistant to using the café because they do not want people to perceive then as being poor. There can be a perception that it is primarily for people on benefits.
All the conflict has been good and productive for learning. The café has raised some interesting discussions about ethics and priorities.
For example, the donated food can vary from healthy (fruit and veg) to unhealthy (e.g. soft drinks, packets of crisps). Some cooks will not want to use the unhealthy food because they think the café should be healthy. But the more environmentally minded volunteers highlight the carbon footprint of the fizzy drinks and processed food and how this should not be wasted. This has led to some very interesting debates.
Furthermore, some children who visit the café want coke and burgers and don’t want the healthy food. This also leads to amazing debates and uncomfortable compromises because ‘when you are saving the world, it's not easy’.
There has been some debate about how much they charge for the food that the serve. Should it be more expensive because (a) Some people say they are undercutting other cafes and (b) they need the income to survive? It is a difficult decision because people know that the building is free, much of the labour is free so people don’t expect to pay much when compared to other places.
Another tension relates to how much support to volunteers and beneficiaries they can provide for free (as ensuring that they are properly supported can create extra responsibility for existing volunteers). To date, most placements have been free but one recent school placement has been paid for.
Finally, there have been some debates about how much they want to expand and in what ways. This relates to the fact that they want to be financially self-sustaining. They have lots of offers to go and give other people advice on how to set up a similar project. Could get grants to expand the project further - not as a chain but in the form of learning and training.
The establishment of the café has always felt like a CTP – as noted above. For in combination with the turbine project (see CTP 107), it has 'really put us on the map' in terms of being a group which has delivered real projects and has gained credibility.
All sorts of people contact them about the project. For example, they figure in the ‘21 stories of Transition' pamphlet that was produced for the COP21 conference. Lots of people contact them for interviews or information (E.G. TRANSIT) They hit on a good idea that made sense to a lot of people and that could be replicated in different ways.
The project definitely contributes towards meeting the wider objectives of TBG - particularly with regards to the aim of encouraging wider community engagement in their activities.
However, it also goes beyond their original objectives, and mirrors the shift in the wider Transition movement in being a tangible expression of community resilience. Both the café and the wind turbine project are new forms of local economic resilience.
They also have lots of visitors (including tourists) who are inspired by the project and who take the idea away. Lots of people want to talk to them about the project. They have a sheet that explains what they do.
Chris’s personal learning concerns the realization and tacit know-how on ways of setting up community projects that are not dependent on big grants. Furthermore, the experience has taught him how communities can be surprisingly strong and entrepreneurial in finding new ways to operate.
They are currently considering whether to get money to capture the learning and enable it to be shared. They have learned huge amounts on how to run a project like this (e.g legal considerations, relevant systems in place, etc.). They also want to get into people’s waste in their homes. However, in so doing they face the challenge that most available grants are about something new. For it can be difficult to get financial support for capital projects or for keeping existing projects functioning - as funders are often interested in novelty.
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