A community co-op in Edinburgh which is working to build a low-carbon society has launched an £8,000 crowdfunder to enable to access National Lottery Funding.
Shrub supports community sustainability efforts in the city, providing “a welcoming space for rethinking our relationship to waste, reducing consumption and developing effective use of resources”.
It develops and shares skills, supports community empowerment, and delivers “innovative waste prevention, creative reuse and repair practices in a living laboratory of circular economy”.
Initiatives include the Swapshop, where people can swap, donate or buy second-hand clothing, books, shoes, bags, bric-a-brac and household items; upcycling workshops; a food sharing hub; the Zero Waste Hub Cafe; and the Wee Spoke Hub where trained mechanics run bike-fixing lessons.
Shrub has just been awarded a Community Led Grant from the Lottery for its Zero Waste Community Hub – but one of the conditions is that it secure £8,000 of match funding.
On the crowdfunder page, which offers rewards for donations, the co-op says the money will allow it to continue
- making a circular economy accessible to those on lower incomes,
- redirecting textile waste away from foreign textile markets and landfill by partnering with hostels and other charities who can make use of the clothing it cannot sell
- teaching people to repair clothing through workshops
- educating the community on the importance of slow fashion
- using its premises as a Zero Waste Hub.
- organising community events
- organising Freeshops to keep unwanted items from landfill
- educating the community about behaviour change activities to hep combat the climate crisis.
- running its vegan cafe and community space.
- improving employability among its volunteers by training them in customer service, communications, governance and policy, barista work, swapshop pricing etc.
- helping local people struggling with food poverty
