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This last 2 weeks we have been a massive turning point and a time that have may made a lasting sustainable impact on our future. It’s the point we have been tirelessly working towards as a team for the last year or more with our aim to be less reliant on funding and more self reliant on producing our own income. The turning point has come through investment and development into staff and equipment to make this happen and through working with partners to understand their needs to find a place for us to fill that gap that makes it win/ win for everyone involved. Being a CIC we take our work very seriously as when we get it right then the community in which we are well placed can gain great benefit from this. We strive to pay a living wage, we are open to all and willing to train at our expense and we invest in people and the equipment to get it right when we can. Often being heavily reliant on funding we have hurdles to get over in doing this and face massive challenges in doing so but with a shared desire to make this happen, a fantastic team that shares vision we may have just cracked it this last few weeks. This week we started work on an order that should keep us busy for the next few years, It has produced 6 new jobs and jobs that pay the living wage in an area of deprivation that is so in need of this to happen. The people employed range between 17 and 60 and all come with great attitudes, the desire to learn and understanding of what we aim to achieve. Some we have worked with in the past, students that have now graduated, semi retired people who have taken part in our workshops previously and all with various skills to bring in to share. This is only the start though and we think that the future will bring in double the work force again on other products that are in development that we think will happen off site and with partners we have identified that share the same values and desires. Being a social enterprise is very rewarding but we do run like a normal business at times as we understand we have to be competitive in today`s world. Our business side of things needs to be run seriously and this is often a challenge as is all business in today`s uncertain world. Our eye is always firmly fixed on our community, how they can benefit from our actions and most often the environment is better for our work in waste reduction and actions that benefit the climate. For us, we think that the future is looking very positive and this is largely down to our drive to be less dependent on funding and to be more sustainable in what we do. Its taken a while because of restrictions, silly things like gaining degrees at university and finding the right team that shares vision but it finally feels like its happened and that 2020 is our year of growth and real development.  
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We've all heard about the climate emergency. If we're going to do something about it, we all have to do our bit to reduce consumption, reduce waste, cut carbon emissions and be nice to our planet. But we're not all eco-warriors. Do we really want to live in a tent and revert to the good old dark ages? What can the rest of us actually do, here in the 21st century?
We have done some radical thinking. Why buy things you'll hardly ever use? You buy it, use it once, put it in the shed, and ten years later, when it's rusted up and useless, get rid of it. We can't go on like that. So we buy it, and lend it to you and lots of other people. It won't last for ever but at least it will get as much use as it can take before it needs to be disposed of. We charge you an annual membership fee and a small fee for each item we loan you. It will work out cheaper for you and save you getting all cluttered up. They call it a circular economy. It's run on a not-for-profit basis for the whole community by a group with a proper constitution. It's for the whole community. It's not about how much money you've got. It's about saving carbon emissions, saving landfill, cutting waste, and reducing that pile of stuff filling up your shed. Our start-up costs and first-year funding have been granted by our local Treverbyn Parish Council. We thank them for their enthusiasm and generosity, doing their own radical thinking and having the courage to back something new. Your Community Needs You. We are looking for all sorts of help from all sorts of people. The more skills we can borrow, the more we can do for and with the community. The more things we have, the more we can lend out. The more money we can raise for ourselves, the less we need to beg from other organisations, and the more we can launch other ventures, such as repair workshops, swish events, fabric & textile workshops, upcycling groups or, well, other pieces of radical thinking. The more we can prove our bit of radical thinking actually works, the more we can encourage other people to set up similar things! If you want to suggest something you'd like to borrow from us, please use the contact form below. We value your input! If you are interested in volunteering in any category, please let us know with the contact form below and we'll discuss things with you. If you think you might have an item we need for our library, please let us know and we'll get in touch to find out more. If you run a local business who would like to sponsor us or donate items to loan, we'd love to talk to you. We'd also love to talk to any local business who can find us food for our community fridge project. If you'd like to donate money, keep that thought while we get our brand new bank account up and running! We'll soon have a donations section on this web site, or our "proper" web site which will follow this one into the same web-space. We are a properly constituted group run on a not-for-profit basis so you can be sure your money will go to the good of the whole community. To give you some sort of idea of the things we are looking for, here is our wish-list: Day-to-Day: Sim-Free Mobile, Simple Lap-Top. D.I.Y & Car.: Drill/Driver, Staple gun, Jigsaw, Reciprocating Saw, Palm Sander, Glue Gun, Mastic Gun, Small Electric Cement Mixer, Work Light, Dehumidifier, Step Ladder, Ladders, Drain Rods, Socket Set, Car Jack, Sat. Nav, Battery Charger. Garden: Wheel Barrow, Mower, Strimmer, Hedge Cutter, Leaf Blower / Vac, Gazebo, Patio Chairs, Patio Table, Branch Lopper. Cleaning: Wet/ Dry Cleaner, Carpet Cleaner, Pressure Washer, Steam Cleaner, Floor Polisher. Home: Sewing Machine, Cake Tins (especially shaped ones). Leisure & Activities: Tents, Camping Gear, Wetsuits, Metal Detector, Fishing Gear, Kayak, Scooter, Bicycle, BBQ, Camping Stove, Bunting, Marquee, Flags, Tables, Chairs. |
Our blog is designed to keep you up to date on Cultivate Cornwall news and all the different projects we are working on.
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