Shining a Light on the Landscape of Sustainability

We recognise that this past year has been hard for many, so with this in mind, we’d like to promote some other incredible initiatives working to create stronger, cleaner, and more sustainable communities. Each month we will be promoting a location that is home to one of our repair cafés, celebrating the many other inspirational, forward thinking organisations that strive to make Wales, and the world, a better place.

This month we are showcasing Carmarthen, quite possibly the oldest town in Wales and perhaps the birthplace of Merlin of the Arthurian legend. The Black Book of Carmarthen is understood to be the earliest surviving manuscript written almost entirely in Welsh around 1250, and refers in poetry, to the ‘Conversation of Merlin and Taliesin’ or ‘Ymddiddan Myrddin a Thaliesin’. In Carmarthen today, the magic of Merlin can still be found in the work of the residents who continue to enchant the town with their innovative foresight and compassion for their community and the climate emergency.

DR. M’Z

In 1997 DR. M’z held its first event, and from that time onwards has continued to support the youth of Carmarthen with numerous community driven activities. The name of this organisation commemorates a local GP, Dr. Margaret Evans, who inspired the project with her vision, enthusiasm and selfless efforts. Offering activities including, but not limited to, coasteering, canoeing, abseiling, activity holidaying, residentials, website designing, paintballing and quad-biking, Dr. M’z encourages the young people of Carmarthen to come together and invest in their community, in the most enjoyable way possible. Current projects run by Dr. M’z include LGBTQ+ which creates a safe space for young LGBTQ community members to meet, cultivating a positive environment where self-expression, reassurance and the confidence to be who we are is championed. Other projects currently being run are aligned with the innovative Grow it, Cook it, Transform it project funded by the National Lottery’s Community Fund, focusing on the environmental benefits of growing and cooking our own food and transforming neglected environments or worn-out items, to become more valued and purposeful community assets. Nurturing teamwork, confidence, pride, and a sense of belonging in the young people of their town, Dr. M’z are doing an incredible job, looking out for their future generations.

To find out more about how you can get involved or support Dr. M’z, you can visit their website here.

Carmarthen Foodbank

Originally set up by Towy Community Church in partnership with The Trussell Trust in September 2010, Carmarthen Foodbank began as an offering available one day a week and operated from a small office in Carmarthen Town Centre. Since then, however, the foodbank has grown from strength to strength, enabled by the launch of the social enterprise the Xcel Project in Johnstown, Carmarthen. In 2013, Xcel Bowl was opened, a ten-pin bowling alley that reinvests its profits into other community projects such as Xcel Recycled Furniture, Xcel Community Shop and Carmarthen Foodbank, which are all located on the same site. Run by a team of volunteers, this innovative organisation has become the fastest growing foodbank in Wales and has helped over 9,000 members of their community tackle food poverty. Offering emergency food parcels for people in crisis, the foodbank provides three days’ worth of food and includes a suggested menu of nutritious meals that can be made with the given ingredients. Adapting to the pandemic, Carmarthen Foodbank have been making deliveries throughout and have continued their fantastic work in supporting the people of Carmarthen.

To find out more about Carmarthen Foodbank or how you can get involved, you can visit their website here.

Xcel Centre

As the location of Carmarthen Foodbank, the Xcel Centre also houses other Xcel Project initiatives which are certainly worth a further mention. Xcel Bowl originated from the desire to renovate an old cheese factory into a church hall, however, discovering the desire of the local council to run a bowling alley on the site, Towy Community Church came up with the idea of running their own bowling alley – but one with a difference! Bringing investment and employability opportunities to the town, Xcel bowl is an inclusive environment that provides the community with a sense of pride and achievement, all whilst having a whole lot of fun. All profits from Xcel Bowl are reinvested back into the Xcel Project’s other initiatives like the Carmarthen Foodbank, or Community Money Advice, where they offer free, impartial and confidential advice on money and debt for those who need a helping hand. Also located at the Xcel Centre is the Xcel Furniture and Community Shop, a non-profit initiative collecting, recycling and selling second-hand furniture and white goods, amongst other items. All profit made from the Xcel Furniture and Community Shop is also reinvested back into the project, whilst items of furniture are also donated to local people in crises as a part of the Xcel project.

To find out more about the Xcel Centre or the Xcel Project, and how you can support them, you can visit their website here.

Arts Care Gofal Celf Projects

Arts Care Gofal Celf (ACGC) is a professional arts organisation based in Carmarthen showing how the arts can be utilised as a tool to address wider social, health, wellbeing and economic issues. Working in partnership with local organisations across West Wales, ACGC reaches out to people struggling for any number of reasons, including issues of isolation, mental or physical health problems, people with disabilities or those who have experienced substance misuse. This summer in Carmarthen, ACGC is running a series of creative workshops for adults who have experienced mental ill-health. The project is called Carmarthen Creative Communities Outdoors, and aims to use nature and the arts to relieve the debilitating symptoms mental ill-health can cause. Sketch Book Walk in the Park will be held on Tuesday 29th June from 1:00pm – 3:00pm, and encourages participants to find and sketch the beauty all around us in nature, the little things we often overlook in the wing of a butterfly, or the budding flower, whilst Poems in the Park will be held on Tuesday 6th July from 1:00pm – 3:00pm and prompts participants to discover the power of expressing ideas creatively. Booking for these events is essential and to do so, you can email rachel@acgc.co.uk or call and leave a message on 01267 243815.

To find out more about Arts Care Gofal Celf Projects, and how you can get involved, you can visit their website here.