Northern Rural Partnership
Transnational Group
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Traditional Crafts using Fabrics and Wool
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Action
For
Transnational
Enterprising
Development
Members of the Association of Rural Training Groups (including Springboard – our rural women’s network) are currently working on a project to share training, information and ideas for small rural business development with similar groups and projects in Ireland
Overall aim of the current project is to:
A quilt made by Rosemary Johnson of 'Quilting Mellons' fame,
who is acting as consultant and co-ordinator for this project
- promote an exchange of best practice in training and support for rural industries through the provision of quality training courses both in Lancashire and Donegal
- provide a base to develop new marketing opportunities for locally produced goods and stimulate tourism between the two areas
Transnational working between ourselves and Donegal/Antrim will provide a wide base for the evaluation of training provided for small rural businesses; will open access to new markets for micro business; provide a revival for traditional skills; stimulate new opportunities for employment in areas where agriculture is no longer providing an income.
Executive Summary
Following our development work over several years going back to 2000, and the past twelve months in particular, we will provide with partner groups
- training courses in both Lancashire and Donegal/Antrim in traditional skills e.g in fabrics – quilting, patchwork, weaving; environmental skills - woodcraft, stickmaking, drystone walling. These are the courses that have been requested through initial talks.
- meetings and seminars to discuss how training is implemented, including training for the disadvantaged, with the local providers of training e.g. Cresco Trust, The National Knitting Centre, Fás Training Centre, Sligo. Access to quality training and accreditation is often difficult to access through small community groups. The project will seek to identify how training is sourced, how it is delivered and whether a nationally recognised accreditation to support employment opportunities is used. The Training Organiser for the ARTG Robert Burrow will research and evaluate the findings. Robert is a trained and qualified instructor, registered with Lantra the Sector Skills Council for landbased industries and an assessor with NPTC.
- discussions on the methods of business support to enable entry into employment or business start up which is used following, or linked to, training (including support for the disadvantaged)
- participation in craft sales/fairs – This will provide opportunities for those involved in the training to develop marketing expertise, to benchmark their products against others producing similar goods and gain confidence in promoting goods to the general public and potential buyers from larger retail outlets.
The project will work in and draw beneficiaries from the Leader+ rural areas around market towns such as Clitheroe, Ballymena, Buncrana and larger cities e.g. Lancaster, Derry. Beneficiaries have been identified through the groups development workers and are representative of small rural businesses looking for additional income, individuals living in a rural area with little or no opportunity for training to secure employment, individuals who need mentoring support, due to lack of confidence or the inability to find the right course, to develop new enterprises.
NRP will take the lead role in the project for administrative purposes but NAL+ and local NI/Donegal Community Groups will be active in its delivery and evaluation.