OUR FIRST ENTREPRENEUR LEAVES THE NEST
August saw some exciting developments at Small Works Victoria. We’ve established links with Fareshare and Tate Britain, set up a focus group with The Young Foundation about the Small Works programme, and we’ve also been featured in Peabody’s summer edition of the Engage magazine. Check out page 14 for the story.
We’ve been steadily increasing our programme of activities. Two new volunteer EFL teachers are joining us in September for one-to-one English lessons and our NetWorx computer class now includes afternoon ‘Ancestry Online’ sessions, which help people explore their heritage through the website ancestry.co.uk. We’re pleased to announce that Muzey Tesfay and Lucy Browne (pictured) of the Small Works Victoria team received a certificate from Peabody for “outstanding volunteer service” as part of the NetWorx programme.
Finally, we are proud and also a little saddened to say that our first social enterprise has outgrown Small Works and will be leaving the nest. StudentFunder, which helps students crowdfund their education, has recently won several awards and will be moving to a bigger office space in Canary Wharf. Congratulations to Juan and his team from all of us at Clear Village!
SMALL WORKS HACKNEY
STEPPING UP ACTIVITIES IN REGENT ESTATE
Small Works Hackney is attracting more and more people to Workshop 44 through various workshops and programmes. Last month, Now>Press>Play ran a series of successful audio experience workshops for children that covered topics such as recycling, global warming and ancient Egypt. The next few months promise to be busy too, with a range of activities already planned and many more in the pipeline:
+ Redemption Community School has started running a weekly educational programme to support children aged five to eleven.
+ String & Cup have started working with local residents to create an online community magazine for Regent Estate and the surrounding area.
+ The Otesha Project UK is about to kick off its Green Jobs programme which provides training for young unemployed people.
+ The London Orchard Project will host a free festival at Camley Street Natural Park on October 13th.
Both Small Works spaces had an interesting visitor: Taichi Fujimoto, the founder of Happiness Architect. Taichi is currently undertaking the ‘Homeless CEO challenge‘ which involves him meeting 500 change makers over 150 days. The Small Works team was proud to be included on day 101 of this innovative approach to social enterprise.
REGENT’S CANAL
IMPROVING SECURITY ON THE TOWPATH
Last month we introduced Keith Brown, the Lower Lee and Regent’s Canal Community Organiser employed by Clear Village. He works predominantly with the live aboard boating community. His work is to encourage and support people to develop their skills and knowledge in taking action to create positive change in the community.
In recent months, this work has centred on community safety and towpath security. The towpath has become a preferred thoroughfare for pedestrians and cyclists, besides being the place that boaters call home. It should be acknowledged, though, that the towpath does not have the level of safety and security of other main thoroughfares.
During September, Keith has been working with concerned community members and some MET police teams to develop community projects and initiatives which will tackle the underdeveloped level of security on the towpath. We are confident that major improvements can be achieved in the very near future.
WALLED GARDEN
SHOWING ITSELF IN ITS FULL SPLENDOUR
This month the garden has been a centre of experimentation for 700 school children. They learned about purple carrots from Afghanistan, had an adventure navigating the corn-on-the-cob maze, and found out about colourful potatoes and their origin. Essex Wildlife Trust gave a plant talk for the occasion and Havering council provided a mini farm yard heavy horse.
Major improvements have been taking place in the garden and it is now accessible for everyone. Works on the west wall are almost completed, the main path and fire pit have been built, and the builders will soon start on the toilet block. The nursery has been hosting activities, exhibitions and performances with the hanging gardens serving as a wonderful backdrop. As a result, the garden is gradually beginning to look like the amazing place we’ve always wanted it to be.
We would also like to mention that our partner Lois Amos of the Friends of Bedfords Park received the Royal Horticultural Society ‘London in Bloom’ award for work in the garden. The judges awarded the garden a level 4 out of 5 with a score of 80/100, which is a fantastic achievement for a new project.
RESILIENT ISLAND INITIATIVE, LAS GALÁPAGOS
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
From 26th October until 2nd November, Thomas Ermacora will be travelling to the Galápagos archipelago on board the beautiful 192 foot Evolution. Together with a small group of change makers, Thomas will meet with local partner the New Era Galapagos Foundation to discuss the co-creation of an environmental stewardship centre in San Cristóbal. The goals of the centre will be to:
+ Help local people learn about their ecosystem and become the environmental stewards of the future
+ Build up a local knowledge base of the most critical environmental challenges and how to address them
+ Provide a location for community members to learn about the local ecosystem and how to minimize their impact
The San Cristóbal centre will be the first of a network of 20 centres around the globe established as part of the Resilient Islands Initiative. Launched in 2012 byArchitecture for Humanity, Clear Village and Ocean Voyages Institute, the initiative aims to help the inhabitants of some of the world’s most fragile ecosystems face the challenges of environmental degradation and climate change.
This month Small Works Hackney hosted an exhibition at Workshop 44 to present the research and community feedback on the Marlborough Square project. Over afternoon tea a number of residents from Regent Estate gathered to discuss their hopes for the space and reflect on what improvements could be made. Many children also enjoyed using the chalk we provided to decorate the walls with their creative designs. From this event we can now take these collaborative ideas and bring them to life.
HARVEST MOON FESTIVAL
On Thursday 19th September we enjoyed a magical evening celebrating the harvest, the full moon and the achievements in the garden. We presented the final regeneration plans after much community consultation. The evening was accompanied by the London Contemporary Orchestra, a Moon Dance performance and paella supper choices.
HARVEST FESTIVAL
On Saturday 21st September we celebrated the harvest and all the achievements in the garden in 2013 together with the local community. Music, stalls, give-aways, storytelling, a BBQ and a bar in the Hanging Gardens of Havering made for an action-packed day which will be followed by many more.
CLEAR VILLAGE TEAM
WE WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME MARTINA AND MOLLY
MARTINA DAHM. Project Assistant
Martina studies product design at Lahti Institute of Design in Finland and works at Clear Village as an intern. Her interest in sustainability and participatory design started from a 10-day design workshop on an island in the Helsinki archipelago, where she created sustainable concepts with student all over the world. Martina is also a skilled photographer.
MOLLY BIRRELL. Project Assistant
Molly was born and raised in Melbourne. She studied politics and international studies at Monash University, where she pursued her interest in foreign aid and development. During this time she travelled to South America and volunteered at a community centre in Buenos Aires, where she developed a passion for community building and outreach. Molly is working as a volunteer at Small Works Hackney.
Sadly, Lisa Newberry, one of our lovely volunteers who is working at Small Works Victoria, is going to India for 3 months to do community work. We wish you the best of luck on this new adventure, Lisa!
MARTINA DAHM. Project Assistant
MOLLY BIRRELL. Project Assistant