I think Coachwerks...
"Last Saturday I popped into the Community Café at Coachwerks for a cup of tea and ended up learning how to weave a basket. I now have a brand new fruit bowl and I’m as proud as a school kid. I found this experience totally enlivening, not only because I learnt new skills and felt a rare sense of community but also because of the confidence one gets from having a bash at something new in a non-judgemental environment. It makes people active and motivated. The whole building seems to thrum with possibility—the people involved are so open to ideas and suggestions for the space.

I now help to run the performance night Stray Signals, something I never would have had the confidence to do alone. The marketing, financial and organisational skills I have learnt are invaluable. There are so many exciting projects going on, it is easy for people to get involved, contribute and take responsibility for the events happening in the space. I personally feel more competent and capable as a result of the projects I’m involved with.

During a break from working on my own project last week, I met a photographer who has a darkroom in Coachwerks. He was taking pictures with a pinhole camera and let me watch the film develop. When I emerged later in the day for a coffee I met Matt who was making a small wind turbine for a local school. There is now a clay bread oven in the space which many people (including myself) have helped to make. The multiplicity of this environment is unparalleled. As well as participating in the various projects, you are encouraged to contribute as well. It is extremely rare to find a space that is this inspiring and affordable. I feel that every effort should be made to support Coachwerks and the projects it undertakes."

Dulci