| |
WORKING WITH RURAL COMMUNITIES
(Extract from WEA Biennial Conference Newspaper)
Twenty-six of us crammed sweatily into a small room, but were
held spellbound by two different but gripping tours de force.
We heard how Audrey Harwood moved from London in 1990 to the
small unsuspecting village of Helmdon in Northamptonshire
(pop 800). When Audrey became Secretary in 1994 a one course
Branch with £30 in the kitty was transformed into a key agency
in the life of the village.
The Branch was roused first by traditional methods of leaflets
and calls to former members. Then a course on "The Changing
Village" involved class members, and provided the spark that
led to a to a series of local studies publications and ultimately
a web site with information on the range of WEA and village
activities. This tied in the majority of village organisations
and called on the skills and generosity of key members of
the community. As a Millennium project a film of a year in
the life of the village was made which again demonstrated
the embracing nature of these activities. The most recent
branch AGM had an attendance of 44 and broke all records.
Meanwhile in North Yorkshire, Teresa de Saram has been working
with the North Yorkshire Widening Participation Partnership.
The WEA's role was, as usual, to find ways of attracting hard
to reach groups, or, in a word. MEN.
Teresa was recommended to make links with farming unions and
this led to an historic meeting with 6 very angry farmers
at Ruth Patchett's farm high in the Dales. Three and a half
hours into the meeting, mesmerised by the anger and sheer
bulk of the men, the tutors came up with the answer "you need
help with your administration" they said. Calm was restored.
The farmers became ambassadors for the Hill Farmers' Project
and 16 of them attended the group meeting. At the next meeting
their wives were also provided for, with a second course.
Ruth Patchett made clear and explicit what farmers were up
against with a detailed exposition of MAFF bureaucracy, and
how she and Donna Boynton had transformed this hideous nightmare
into a series of manageable programmes and courses. It has
taken 2½ years and has involved progression from an introduction
to MS Works, to advanced training in Access and Excel softwares.
It has involved networking for the farmers with help desk
support and exploration of the possibilities of diversification.
The farmers are totally converted to the value and importance
of the WEA provision. 360 farmers have attended 6 seminars,
and Radio 4 Farming Today, BBC1 Country File and other media
have homed in, raising the profile.
WEA Conference Newspaper - 13th May 2001 |
|