Dalwood Community Shop
Case study
Popular community shop expanding
A village shop in east Devon, which is run by volunteers, is doing so well that it is expanding.
The Dalwood community shop is a non-profit making enterprise, which was opened in 2001.
Forty-five residents help out each week, which is about 10% of the people living in Dalwood.
The project has taken off to such an extent that the shop has just been extended to provide more space on the shop floor and more storage room.
Kathy Laing, chairman of the Dalwood shop committee, said it was the hub of village life.
"I''m really keen on having a community in the village with a school and a pub and this shop has been tremendous in that."
The original village shop closed its doors about ten years ago.
The community version opened for business in 2001 with support from a variety of bodies including the Countryside Agency, as well as through fundraising efforts such as selling bonds to local residents.
Article from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/devon/4658817.stm
Dalwood Community Shop celebrates 10 years of trading with Birthday Tea Party
June 2011
On the afternoon of Friday 17th June Dalwood Community Shop celebrated its 10th Anniversary year by having a tea party in the village. One of the main focuses of the afternoon celebrations were to recognise the shops’ milestones and achievements over the past ten years, whilst also looking forward to the next ten years to come.
Shelagh Beak, secretary to the Management Committee said "We centred the event on our achievements, with considerable help from others, and our local food promotions.
A large display board featured our milestones illustrated with photos and press cuttings. The major ones were an extension, a new till and additional freezers, going plastic bag free, a lottery game (with profits going to the village hall) and most recently we installed solar panels.
We invited representatives from organisations who had helped us most and we were glad of the opportunity to give the village a chance to say thank you to them.
We were particularly pleased David Fisher came as he was very helpful when we set up when he worked for VIRSA. This is now part of The Plunkett Foundation and David is still supporting us. Sarah Mayall also came and she is helping us with a refit. Our Local Councils have been very supportive and we were pleased to see our Councillors and our MP.
We had a table showcasing the local products we sell. These included eggs, honey, biscuits cider, homemade cakes, chutneys, bread, together with meat products from a local butcher and dairy items from a local farm. Many of the suppliers also provided interesting information about sourcing and production of the items.
Two free draws were made for a hamper of local products and a donated bottle of champagne. Miles Tea from Porlock donated the teas and coffees and our dairy supplier donated the milk and cream for the scones”.
Shelagh concluded “The afternoon was full of laughter remembering and exchanging memories of the past ten years. We had good feedback from the event and we look forward to the next ten years”.