Dryslwyn Community Shop Ltd
We are a “not-for-profit” limited company, formed by the local community, of whom over 200 people are members of the company. We run a post office and general store selling a wide range of food, household goods, sweets, stationery and newspapers, and have recently opened a tearoom and internet café.
Opening hours:
Mon & Tues: 8.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m.
Wed & Sat: 8.30 a.m. - 12 noon
Thurs & Fri: 8.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m.
We have 1 part time employee, who works for 3 hours per week to take deliveries of stock, but who also works as a volunteer.
We have 57 active volunteers who work in the shop and post office, including the part time employee above.
In addition, we have a flexible pool of about 12 other active volunteers who support their shop doing gardening/decorating/cleaning/stock-purchasing etc.
This is our published Stock Procurement Policy:
Product range
· There will be a good range of basic priced and branded goods.
· The range will include healthy (low sugar, low salt) food and drink options.
· Stock will include environmentally friendly products, organic and Fairtrade goods as part of the normal range.
Sourcing
· Locally-grown foods and goods produced locally within a 15 mile radius will be stocked where possible, providing they are of comparable quality with goods from elsewhere, and no more than 2% higher in price. The purpose of this is to minimise transport, and maximise freshness, thus reducing the need for preservatives, and to support the local community.
· Members are encouraged to recommend suppliers, but all contracts will be negotiated and completed by the members of the sub-committee on behalf of the company.
· We will accept surplus produce from local gardeners providing it is of good quality and that they are registered with the Environmental Health department, at the discretion of the sub-committee.
· Wherever possible, supplies will be obtained from organisations operating on principles consistent with ours i.e. not-for-profit, democratically run, community-focussed.
Currently we have the following in stock from local suppliers:
Milk, bread, organic and non-organic eggs, organic beef and lamb, sausages, cheeses, fruit and veg, jams, chutneys and marmalades, granola, ice cream, chocolates, fudge, a range of cakes and confectionery, greeting cards, and artwork. We are about to stock pork products from a local piggery. We also stock a wide range of goods from a local wholesale “cash and carry” which specialises in Welsh products, and Welsh gift items from another small local company.
There are a number of local people who operate their small businesses via the internet who find the proximity of our post office a critical factor in their success.
The mailing programmes carried out by the adjacent garage (a main dealer for Mazda cars) are also facilitated by our proximity. Customers at the garage can use our tearoom whilst waiting for their cars to be serviced etc.
We already display arts and crafts made by a few local people, and now that we have opened the extra space of the tearoom we intend to house more.
We actively encourage local gardeners to bring their surplus produce to sell at the shop.
The extensive renovation, refurbishment and re-equipping we recently completed (with the aid of a large grant from Carmarthenshire County Council) was done wherever possible by local tradespeople and suppliers.
Our website (about to be launched as www. Dryslwyn.org.uk) has a local business directory and features local accommodation providers for where to stay in the area.
We actively involve the children from two local primary schools in events at the community shop, such as poster competitions and the making and hanging of decorations for our Christmas tree (on November 27th).
The residents of a nearby home for people with learning disabilities gain some useful therapy by maintaining our small garden and making things e.g. birdfeeders, for sale at the shop.
Our website (about to be launched as www. Dryslwyn.org.uk) has a “what’s on in Dryslwyn” section, which will predominantly support the local village hall.
By enabling local people to do their shopping locally, we have significantly reduced their carbon footprint, as the alternative would be a minimum extra 12 miles, even to buy a newspaper. One calculation showed that the carbon dioxide emissions saved is enough to fill 3 million party balloons each year!
The existence of the shop, staffed by the community, has helped to invigorate the community itself. People now know and talk to people that have lived less than a mile away from them for years, whom they had not previously met. New associations have been formed as a result of the shop.
At a guess, the business we do is about 75% with the local community, who use our shop because they own it and because the nearest alternative is an extra at least 12 mile round trip. Especially during the summer months, the rest of the business done is with tourists and visitors to the area, who value the concept of a community shop and the goods and services (particularly souvenirs) we provide.
Both of these factors are assets to our business.
We have a busy noticeboard which local people use for buying, selling or exchanging goods and services inside the shop.
The community noticeboard provided by the Community Council is outside the shop, and is used to advertise local events and provide local information.
We will shortly have a range of tourist information leaflets, maps, guide books etc in the new tearoom.
The website will also be a valuable source of such information for locals and visitors.