Comas - Comas Community Kitchen

We plan to examine the feasibility and potential of a project to support people living in remote rural locations to benefit from micro-enterprise and increased self sufficiency.

The 'community kitchen' will provide a range of equipment for larger scale food preparation, preserving, production and packaging compliant with food hygiene regulation requirements. Enabling local people to process surplus home produce for storage, and make best use of seasonal foraged foods, extending their self sufficiency; and creating produce for sale using garden surplus and foraged foods as a micro-enterprise for households on low incomes.

We also believe that this project contributes to sustainable development through reduced food miles, more green/sustainable local lifestyles, reduced rural deprivation and increased introduction to small business development.

The Isle of Eigg off the west coast of Scotland will be the pilot site for the community kitchen. Island populations suffer particularly from higher food costs due to transport premiums on 'imported' goods, but they also have the potential to create a micro-economy of growers and consumers to ensure variety of produce and trading of surplus, and they have seasonal opportunities to market local produce to tourists.

Micro-enterprise is a concept Comas has taken from our links with developing countries, in which poor people are provided with tools or credit to help them overcome the barrier of initial investment required (i.e. for equipment) before they can start earning a basic income from a trade or product. It is particularly used with people who require very flexible approaches to employment, such as women with childcare or other caring responsibilities, or people with disabilities.

In the UK context, micro-enterprise will particularly benefit people who need to top up other low income work, or people whose enterprises would lead to fluctuating income (e.g. seasonal earnings) which would make regular repayment of loans for start-up equipment very difficult.

Opportunities for micro-enterprise will make a positive contribution to the area, in terms of household income and skills development among young people.

The people who will benefit from the community kitchen and micro-enterprise opportunities include:

· People who grow produce in their gardens and/or forage for wild produce

· Families on a low income who need flexible opportunities to earn around school hours and term times or other caring responsibilities

· Retirees who need to supplement pensions with additional income or increase their self sufficiency

· Young people who want to explore business ideas or combine earning additional income with distance learning or saving for further education opportunities off the island

· Individuals who need a first step into testing business ideas for local markets or for the tourist trade

· Local crofters and fishermen who want to add value to local produce before selling it on

· All local people who want to reduce food miles and make island living as economically viable as possible