RESIDENTS in Lochaber have launched a crowdfunding scheme to raise the £250,000 they need to start Glengarry Forest Cabins.
The Glengarry Community Benefit Society (GCBS) has been created to run the forest cabins, which is expected to create several jobs in the area.
Profits from the cabins will be used to fund work at Glengarry Community Woodlands, including “a forest school, woodfuel business, the management of the woodland, and the purchasing of land for community benefit”.
Ross Lynn, vice chair of GCBS, said: “Like many rural communities in Scotland, Glengarry is fragile and faces a number of significant challenges, ranging from access to affordable housing and employment opportunities to managing tourism in a sustainable way.
“The community share offer with Glengarry Forest Cabins will appeal to those who want to invest in a project [that] has environmental and social sustainability at its heart.
“This is also an excellent example of empowered communities developing innovative ways of addressing local issues and ensuring they have a sustainable future.”
Morven Lyon, programme manager at Community Shares Scotland, which supported the creation of the group, said: “GCBS joins a growing number of communities across Scotland using community shares to kickstart pioneering, sustainable, community-led businesses.
“It is inspiring to see the group demonstrate what can be achieved through community ownership and in particular how community-owned land can be managed and developed to provide wider benefit to the local community.
“It’s been a fantastic project for the Community Shares Scotland team to work on and we’re already looking forward to visiting the cabins when they’re up and running.”
Read more stories on Scottish Field’s outdoors pages.
Plus, don’t miss Guy Grieve’s column in the December issue of Scottish Field magazine.
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