We learnt how AWGS started 30 years ago, how they were proactive in assessing and responding to women’s needs, creating a space for women to thrive in a new environment (30 years ago there was a very small migrant community in Aberdeen). The initial recognition was that we came together to ‘sharpen’ each other. -Recognition of the skills and qualifications that African women bring – Work coaching to enhance women’s employability in a new country – Sharing experiences – Documenting our story – African women have been in Scotland for over 500 years – Bottom up approach, women setting the agenda – Building the capacity of organisation management to interact with key agencies – Challenging negative narratives concerning African women – Building the capacity and confidence of women as individuals – Developing a can do attitude – Encouraging women to get involved in politics

We also learnt what has kept the AWGS going for 30 years: -Passion -Focusing on the vision -Consistency -No self interest

The exchange was warm and collaborative, marked by open dialogue, shared meals, and mutual learning. Activities included:
• A round table discussion where both groups shared their journeys, successes, and challenges.
• Reflections on strategies that support women’s leadership, personal development, and community involvement.
• A communal meal that encouraged informal connections and strengthened cultural and emotional bonds.
• A knowledge exchange focused on governance, programme design, outreach strategies, and sustaining
engagement over time.

Learning Outcomes

1. Strengthening Relationships: A strong and meaningful connection was established between Sharpen Her and the African Women’s Group Scotland (AWGS). This relationship laid the foundation for future collaboration, shared programming, and peer support.
2. Clarity of Purpose (“The Why”): One of the most powerful takeaways was the importance of staying grounded in the organisation’s core purpose. The Aberdeen group’s success and longevity are in part due to their unwavering commitment to their “Why”—the core mission of uplifting and advancing African women.
3. Needs-Led Programming: Effective programming begins with truly understanding the needs of women in the community. The AWGS demonstrated how they continuously listen, adapt, and respond to the lived realities of their members, ensuring relevance and impact in their work.
4. Additional Insights
   • Sustainability Through Consistency: Regular, consistent meetings and activities contribute to strong community trust and participation.
   • Collaborative Leadership: Shared leadership models and empowering women at every level of engagement strengthens ownership and resilience.
   • Cultural Anchoring: Celebrating cultural identity and lived experience fosters belonging and strengthens the network’s sense of purpose.

"This was a highly successful and inspiring engagement for Sharpen Her. The visit reinforced the value of collaboration, peer learning, and purposeful connection within the wider community of African women in Scotland. Sharpen Her returned from Aberdeen with renewed focus, actionable insights, and a growing sisterhood dedicated to the empowerment of African women. We extend our gratitude to the African Women’s Group in Aberdeen for their warmth, openness, and generosity. We look forward to future opportunities for shared learning and collective growth. Further thanks go to the Scottish Community Alliance for offering us the opportunity to learn from a big sister organisation. We are very grateful."

N76 are rural remote, subject to geographic distances between communities and face similar factors around a viable and sustainable need for collaborative practice, joint funding applications and looking at ways in which to address issues and alleviate areas where there is a lack of service provision. Discussion with practitioners and volunteers on approaches that our island counterparts use to design projects and deliver tangible outcomes were invaluable. It was interesting to learn about the time and level of commitment required to drive this scheme forward. Critically, learning the need for increased focus on human behaviour and how many islanders mindset are reluctant to give up or move away from dependency on larger diesel engines. The scheme had experienced levels of visitor uptake. It was beneficial to hear and learn about the struggles. The value of being used by a few and the multi benefits brought to those who do choose to use the low-carbon car club far out ways the fear of perceived failure if at first we don’t experience a high uptake of a similar project here in the N76 area.

The Dial a bus scheme was of course a much different picture and reported to have a high uptake and impact on those eligible to access this particular service. There was incredible learning around how restricted the eligibility criteria is and that some service users may use up all their travel in a relatively short period of time. It meant a lot to engage and discuss with real lived experience from a variety of different participants within various organisations and volunteer groups etc. There were a great deal of shared learning and experiences from different perspectives and levels of experiences and stages of project/organisational development. Despite the differences between our Island & Rural communities in SW Scotland there were many identifiable
similarities including socio economic and political factors. We were able to also speak with residents on the island communities where further health & social inequalities were also identified and discussed such as child poverty, food poverty/insecurity, fuel poverty, lack of access to services etc.

Our communities often need to take two busses or a bus and a train to get to the next largest village – fares are not necessarily affordable to low income individuals/households, public transport often does not link up e.g. train does not run to connecting bus times etc. and transport providers in D&G lack in joint up thinking. The island communities and transport initiatives made big efforts to challenge this and are delivering a high and caring quality of service to the individuals who are engaged and accessing. It was interesting to visit Burgar Hill Wind
Farm and hear of the positive relationship with the RSPB. Learning about progress of the development of other Trusts and where they are with Local Place Plans, Community Action Plans and projects e.g. community buy outs of pubs/hotels and community housing etc. couldn’t have come a more timely point in our own community development activities and events.

Learning Outcomes

• To create a lasting connection with the REH community groups: The N76 partners have years of experience of working in partnership to share knowledge and build capacity,
  while partnership work between the Rural Energy Hubs groups is a newer development. We hope to share the benefits of partnership working and in turn develop a lasting connection with the Orkney-based REH groups. This visit will create an environment to replicate each other’s success and create a rare legacy of organisations in the extreme South and North of Scotland working together in the long term.
• To share successes, lessons learned and future plans from low-carbon transport initiatives in the N76 project area with the REH groups in Orkney: The N76 partners hope to share experience of their own sustainable transport projects and partnership work with the Orkney hosts. Orkney is a shining example in electrification of transport and use of electric car clubs, but active travel projects have been viewed as more difficult.
• To learn about successes, lessons learned and future plans for the low-carbon transport initiatives in Orkney: Over the course of the trip (24th-27th February 2025), the N76 partners will visit community transport initiatives around Orkney, to learn from their experiences and to see these initiatives in action. This will include visits to Rural Energy Hubs partner development trusts from the islands of Rousay, Shapinsay and elsewhere in Orkney. This will allow the N76 partners to learn about community transport initiatives and aspirations in these communities, as guests of the local development trusts. Other items on the agenda include a visit to the Orkney car club to see a successful low-carbon car club in action, as well as to a community windfarm. The N76 partners will also visit the Orkney Disability Forum’s Dial-a-Bus scheme, since Dial-a-Bus schemes have been a recent topic of conversation as part of the project and there may be interest in setting up a similar scheme with community transport operators in the N76 area in the future.

"The most useful learning was provided by dedicated staff and volunteers striving to design and deliver community led solutions to community identified need. It is inspiring and motivational for us here in SW Scotland to adopt a islander perspective and celebrate the small wins, gradually as they do occur rather than get caught up in looking at too big a picture - as it overwhelming in terms of geographic range and the real lived experiences that are currently impacting on our communities in terms of accessing services such as medical, employment, education and social etc."

The recent visit to COPE Shetland served to fulfil and exceed the expectations outlined in our application, aligning perfectly with the anticipated outcomes we set forth. Our primary objectives were centred on enhancing our understanding of successful inclusivity models, exploring effective employment practices for individuals with disabilities, and identifying best practices for community engagement.

One of the key outcomes of our visit was to gain insights into effective strategies for fostering inclusivity in the workplace. COPE Shetland exemplifies this ethos through its structured programs and activities that engage individuals with disabilities meaningfully. We witnessed first-hand how participants were actively involved in every aspect of the three businesses—Home Co, Garden Co, and Soap Co—including warehouse operations, till management, and product creation. This operational model not only promotes independence but also boosts the self-esteem of participants, demonstrating a successful framework for inclusivity that we aspire to replicate in our initiatives.

Our visit allowed us to explore innovative employment practices that yield positive outcomes for both participants and staff. COPE Shetland provides participants with wages and holiday allowances, creating a sense of purpose and financial autonomy. This was particularly enlightening, as it underscored the importance of valuing contributors regardless of their abilities. By learning about the Access to Work grant funding, we gathered vital knowledge on how to secure specific support tools for individuals with additional needs, an approach we plan to incorporate into our operational strategy.

The warm and engaging approach employed by COPE Shetland serves as an exemplary model for community engagement. This was evident in their staff’s uniformity and the visible culture of respect and collaboration within the organisation. We appreciated how the use of participant imagery and storytelling in promotional materials connected the community to the individuals behind the work, fostering a genuine sense of belonging. This emphasis on personal narratives for customer engagement is a strategy that we will consider adopting to deepen our own community ties.

Our visit also facilitated networking opportunities that we had hoped to establish. Through discussions with COPE’s dedicated staff, particularly Joanne, who coordinated our visit, we identified several collaborative avenues moving forward. Joanne’s meticulous planning and dedication not only ensured a comprehensive agenda but inspired us with the commitment and passion that COPE Shetland embodies. We aim to maintain contact with COPE and explore ways to collaborate on initiatives that will further enhance support for
individuals with disabilities in our own community.

Overall, our visit to COPE Shetland successfully met the outcomes specified in our application. We left with a wealth of knowledge and practical insights that will substantially inform our strategies for inclusivity, employment practices, and community engagement. We are excited to implement what we have learned and look forward to the potential for future collaborations with COPE to further impact our communities positively.

Learning Outcomes

• Upon completion of the Community Learning Exchange, we will be able to implement effective tailored skills training programs that significantly enhance employment opportunities and support systems for individuals with additional support needs, fostering a more inclusive community and workplace environment.
• By the end of the visit, we will be able to analyse and address potential barriers to employment and social participation faced by individuals with additional support needs, and devise creative solutions to promote accessibility, equal opportunities, and social inclusion in their community and workplace settings.
• We will be able to design, implement, and evaluate effective communication strategies that cater to diverse needs, promote empathy and understanding, and foster respectful interactions between community members, service providers, and individuals with additional support needs, leading to improved relationships and more inclusive service delivery.

"One of the standout aspects of COPE Shetland is its emphasis on individualised support. Observing how staff members tailor their approach to meet the specific needs and preferences of each participant was enlightening. This experience underscored the importance of understanding the unique challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and the necessity of adapting support mechanisms accordingly. We learned that creating customised pathways can significantly enhance engagement, motivation, and overall satisfaction for participants. This approach is something that we intend to apply to develop more individualised support plans in our own programs."

We spent the first hour sharing details about our governance, meeting, accountability, decision-making structures etc from each of the three projects, learning tactics from each
other, each in a unique position. We were able to ask each other lots of questions. The introduction of Slack was a big hit! The second hour was spent learning more about sociocracy and consent decision making, and hearing how Ally Park put it into practice within their team.

Finally, we spent a good chunk of time exploring how we might go about co-writing ‘contracts of care’ within our teams, and what they could address (e.g. sick leave, grievance, processes, access needs etc). It was clear that a lot of nuance, personalisation and consideration was required to make sure these were just and equitable. It generated a lot of food for thought for each organisation to go away with, but the stand out point for everyone was the desire to integrate access riders into their workplaces.

The ‘contracts of care’ that we began to generate has helped us get going with our own in our individual teams, but also has led to another workshop that the Seed Library has been able to fund, in which we are sharing this concept and its relation to land work with other food growers and community gardeners in the city. So we are really glad that the impacts of this exchange are rippling out to our wider network.

We are also now developing a conversation with the Glasgow Community Food Network and the Green Party councillor for Dennistoun about co-operative governance which will begin with a blog post – I will make sure we credit CLE for the funding to support these initial talks!

Learning Outcomes

• To share knowledge and practices for successfully working together in co-operative, non-hierarchical structures. Similarly, to help each other understand ways of dealing with conflicts within a non-hierarchical workplace.
•  To identify the specific challenges and opportunities present in land worker’s co-operatives, how we can best embrace them, and also ripple this awareness out to our wider community.
• To build a sense of solidarity and community within Glasgow’s food grower’s co-operatives sector, and create tactics for support and accountability into the future

"Through strengthening our skills in working in a collaborative ecosystem at work, we improved our engagement activities within the community. There is much to be learned from nature about collaborative partnerships, and so this a learning exchange that reflects both our interpersonal work environment and also the literal ecosystems/landscapes that we’re partnering with. There are also other food-growing co-operatives in Edinburgh and other parts of Scotland that we would like to connect with in the future, drawing from the tools we will develop through this exchange."

In 2025, Nourish Scotland started a community meals knowledge exchange programme. This programme aimed to review what ‘good practice’ looks like for community meals and gather intelligence on the current provision of these meals across Scotland. Crucial to doing this work well was getting a good cross section of meals involved – those with different prices, approaches and, importantly, in different geographical areas/communities. For this reason, we were keen to engage Kyle of Sutherland’s Community Café , given its unique remote location – in comparison to Edinburgh for example where there the landscape of food provision looks very different. We planned to facilitate exchange visits between the meals so that learning could happen between them.

Given the distance to Kyle of Sutherland, we were unsure whether an in person would be possible. This funding enabled the Nourish members of the programme to visit Kyle of Sutherland. It meant we were able to experience, review and properly reflect on the meal. This informed key learnings about the differences in community meal provision across Scotland. For example, sourcing looked very different here than it did for a community meal in Glasgow – as did the menu and customer base. What we found about the current state of community meal provision is that it is increasing, but that it’s not always clear when, where, who is running the meals. For meals that means it’s difficult to share learnings and for customers it means it’s not always clear when they can/can’t go to a community meal.

This work has helped to shed light on this invisible network. In doing so, it will help policymakers understand where community meals fit into the current landscape of food provision as well as inform expectations and help set directions for this type of provision. There will be a report produced in the coming months that will detail the main findings.

Learning Outcomes

• Facilitated key relationships between community meal providers across Scotland
• Shared and built on key learnings around payment, customers, dining experience and funding models
• Developed findings around what good practice means for community meal provision

"We know that community meals are a part of transitioning out of a food bank or ‘food aid’ model towards a more dignified way of eating together in community. Some community meals are more successful than others at escaping the stigma associated with food aid and food insecurity – and are therefore more accessible to a wider range of people, not just those in most acute financial crisis. In addition, research indicates that two thirds of people who need help with food are not getting it, in part because of the stigma associated with food aid. Community meals, if done right, could provide part of a solution to some of these issues in the medium term."