Common Good Comics Volume 01 by Magic Torch Comics

COMMON GOOD COMICS SOCIAL ENTERPRISE STORIES

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IN THE EARLY 1990S, A LADY CALLED KATHARINE STEWART HAPPENED UPON PEOPLE FROM THE COUNCIL AND THE FORESTRY COMMISSION WHILE SHE WAS OUT FOR A WALK.

IN 1996, FOREST ENTERPRISE PUT ABRIACHAN FOREST ON THE MARKET.

MAY I ASK WHAT YOU ARE DOING?

THAT WAS THE FIRST RUMBLINGS THAT THE FOREST WAS GOING TO BE UP FOR SALE.

THE COMMUNITY HAD ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR THAT THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHEN THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

SO THERE WAS A BIT OF RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION WHEN IT JUST SORT OF HAPPENED.

THE CONCERN WAS THAT LARGE TRANCHES OF FORESTRY LAND WERE BEING SOLD AND GATES WERE BEING LOCKED.

WE DID CONVINCE THEM TO PUT ACCESS RIGHTS INTO THE SALES PARTICULARS, WAY BEFORE LAND REFORM.

WE ASKED THE OWNERS IF THEY WOULD WRITE AN ACCESS AGREEMENT INTO THE SALE.

PEOPLE WERE BEING KEPT OUT BY FOLKS WHO WERE MAYBE JUST BUYING BIG CHUNKS OF LAND AS A WAY TO AVOID TAX.

THEY ROLLED THEIR EYES AND I DARESAY WERE WONDERING WHAT WE THOUGHT WE WERE DOING. NONE OF US WERE FORESTERS.

AND THEN THEY CAME BACK TO US…

IT WAS.

WHY DON'T YOU BUY IT?

OH… UHMM…

IN FEBRUARY 1998 WE GOT THE DEEDS AND IT’S BEEN A ROLLERCOASTER SINCE THEN.

SO WE GOT A FEASIBILITY STUDY, AND LOOKED AT FUNDING TO SEE IF IT WAS AT ALL POSSIBLE. 19

WE PULLED TOGETHER LOTS OF MONEY FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES FOR THAT FIRST BUYOUT. 540 HECTARES OF UNMANAGED FOREST…

IN 1999 WE WERE PART OF THE MILLENNIUM FOREST, THE AIM WAS TO REFOREST WITH NATIVE TREE SPECIES.

…THAT'S WHY FORESTRY WERE SELLING IT, IT HADN'T BEEN PROPERLY MANAGED SINCE IT WAS PLANTED IN THE SEVENTIES.

OUR AIM WAS TO REFOREST THE GREAT GLEN.

TAKING TIMBER OUT MEANT ROADS HAD TO GO IN.

IT WAS IMPORTANT TO US THAT YOUNG PEOPLE WERE INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE FOREST AND WHAT WAS GOING ON IN THE FOREST.

LOTS OF THAT WORK AND HARVESTING WAS FIRST DONE AROUND THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.

SO WE STARTED OUR ROUNDHOUSE PROJECT.

WE ALSO STARTED INVESTING IN MORE FORESTRY KIT TO ALLOW US TO DO THE LOW IMPACT THINNING, TAKING TWO TREES OUT OF EVERY FIVE.

WE ALSO EMPLOYED THREE STAFF TO GET SCHOOL GROUPS COMING OUT

THAT ALLOWS CONTINUOUS TREE COVER, LARGER TIMBER AND MORE NATIVE SPECIES TO GROW.

AND BEGAN TO DEVELOP OUR OUTDOOR LEARNING PROGRAMME. 20

WE'RE LUCKY THAT THERE'S A STERLING BOARD FACTORY NOT TOO FAR AWAY.

NOW WE'VE GOT A TRACTOR, A CHIPPER, A PROCESSOR…

EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO, WE NEED TO DO A LARGER SCALE FELLING, AND WE BRING IN CONTRACTORS WITH LARGER MACHINES.

WE ARE ABLE TO SELL OUR POORER QUALITY TIMBER TO THEM WITHOUT SHIPPING BEING TOO DIFFICULT OR EXPENSIVE.

WE’RE ALWAYS REALLY CONSCIOUS THAT THIS IS A COMMUNITY PROJECT – AND PEOPLE LIVE HERE.

WE'VE CONTINUED THE CYCLE OF THINNING, HARVESTING AND REPLANTING A MIXTURE OF NATIVE TREE SPECIES AS WELL AS SOME SPRUCE AND LARCH.

SO IF WE’RE TRANSPORTING TIMBER OUT, WE MAKE SURE LORRIES AREN’T TAKING THE STEEP ROAD DOWN OR TRAVELLING DURING COMMUTE TIMES.

WE DO HAVE TO PLANT COMMERCIAL CONIFERS TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE MONEY IN THE BANK FOR THE FUTURE.

BUT IT MEANS WE HAVE MIXED INCOME. FOREST TIMBER INCOME. INCOME FROM OUR OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAMMES AND OUR NURSERY.

BUT WE ALSO HAVE TO BALANCE COMMERCIAL FORESTRY WITH OUR SOCIAL FORESTRY. THAT CAN BE CHALLENGING.

AND WE WILL STILL OCCASIONALLY LOOK AT GRANT FUNDING FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS.

KEEPING PATHS CLEAR FOR FORESTING WHILE ALSO MAINTAINING ACCESS TAKES EFFORT. 21

OUR MOST RECENT PROJECT HAS BEEN OUR OUTDOOR NURSERY – CHILDREN ARE OUT PLAYING AND LEARNING THROUGH PLAY ALL DAY. UNTIL IT'S DARK.

WITH ALL THE GROUPS WE RUN, WHETHER IT'S CHILDREN OR HEALTH AND WELLBEING GROUPS FOR ADULTS, WE USE THE FOREST SCHOOL ETHOS.

GROUPS HAVE BUILT ALL THESE HIDDEN STRUCTURES AND SHELTERS DOTTED AROUND. AND WE DON'T PARTICULARLY SIGNPOST THEM.

AND IT'S FULL. WE ALREADY HAVE A WAITING LIST.

YOU'RE OUT EVERY DAY, IN A ROUTINE, WITH A ROLE FOR EVERYONE TO PLAY.

FAMILY GROUPS LOVE IT WHEN THEY COME UPON THEM.

ABRIACHAN ISN'T PARTICULARLY FLAT – AND SO YOUNG PEOPLE WORKED WITH US TO DESIGN 14KM OF MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS.

WE'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT GAELIC, SO WE HAVE A GAELIC CAFE SET UP.

WE'VE INTERACTIVE TRAILS AND GUIDED WALKS, SOME GEARED TOWARDS FOLK AFFECTED BY DEMENTIA AND DIABETES.

BIDH SEONAG A' DEANAMH BROT FIOR BHLASTA

AND WE HAVE DARK SKY STATUS HERE, SO EVERY WINTER WE HAVE STARS AND STORIES SESSIONS.

FOLKS FEEL LIKE IT'S THEIR PLACE. AND BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN AROUND SO LONG NOW, SOME OF OUR ORIGINAL WEE ONES NOW HAVE KIDS AT OUR NURSERY.

THERE'S A LOVELY CYCLE OF STEWARDSHIP TO THAT, GROWING OUR FUTURE ALL THE TIME. 22

After a few years of running the guest house halfboard we realised it wasn’t really working for us.

We felt it was better to be a very good hostel than a struggling guest house.

And the income from the hostel was vital to help keep the shop afloat.

And there was more demand for the hostel.

It’s a vital, lifeline service, well stocked. Licensed.

It’s hard to explain how important a shop is to a small island.

And of course, it provides jobs.

Without it, life here would be hard.

And with the numbers of tourists growing since the turn of the century, the Co-Op accommodation was sometimes bursting at the seams.

Not that there haven’t been challenges for the island. The population dwindled again in the 1990s.

But we made some early successes with tourism to try and address that.

So we built two wooden pods in 2017 to create more space.

We’ve invested a huge amount in the hostel to make it greener and more comfortable.

And we’re looking to widen our green credentials across the island, looking at solar panels and shifting our schoolbus to an electrical vehicle.

And we’ve developed an eco-workshop and tool library.

We already recycle cardboard and glass on the island. We’re also helping to sustain the island’s community market garden

However, the community shop remains at risk from deliveries by the larger supermarkets and online retailers.

We strive to ensure our products are good value for customers and for the planet, and to improve self sufficiency on the island.

And we sell all their produce in our shop 25

It’s important that it’s a communityowned shop that can invest. And we have a responsibility for this space.

That there’s less risk but we have a shared responsibility. To keep a roof on it and to keep it warm. In a small community, you need to be able to talk to one another, and I don’t mean over the phone.

The shop, Beltane House, they’re a main meeting place. There’s meals, functions, concerts, the weekly pub, cinema, meetings and even a pop-up café through the Covid era, all in this space.

In the summer, people come from all over the world to stay with us and visit Papa Westray.

The glue that fixes the island are these events and meeting points.

And through the winter months, it’s a vital community centre for our island.

The space where we’re together when we need to be. Our space. 26

TELL YOUR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE STORY

The Social Enterprise Archive Toolkit (SEAT) is a tool to help people value and share their stories and ensure that they are kept safe for future generations. Aimed at the social enterprise sector it could be used by any community. It has three sections which lead you through activities to improve record keeping practice and create an archive which will benefit your organisation. https://www.gcu.ac.uk/archives/communitytools/seat/ Scan QR with a camera on phone or tablet.