This autumn the Pots of Possibility ‘Your Pots’ fund is again offering grants of between £5–10K for great ideas that help improve the health and wellbeing of our planet – and the people and other beings on it. The fund is looking for projects and enterprise ideas that can help to create a regenerative economy in North Lancashire. The phrase ‘regenerative economy’ might be new to many people but the concept of regeneration is not a new idea. It’s an approach that has informed many indigenous societies and cultures across the world for thousands of years, and it continues to inform them today.
The idea of regeneration has become popular in the West in recent years as an alternative to sustainability. That’s because, while sustainability is based on maintaining what we have, regeneration is about doing better. It’s about restoring, repairing and rehabilitating the health and wellbeing of society – and the ecosystems that we are a part of. Regenerative economies are ones that meet real community needs whilst bringing life back to damaged lands and oceans. The Pots of Possibility fund is an invitation for us all to reimagine the role of business, institutions, and community organisations in creating a more regenerative economy in North Lancashire.
What is meant by community needs?
This is about enabling everyone in society to live well and healthily. It’s about people being able to meet their essential needs (for instance food, clothing, energy, housing, transport) whilst having access to sustainable and fulfilling livelihoods. It’s also about social, creative and cultural connection – and about everyone having the opportunity to benefit from the health and wellbeing that comes from being connected to a healthy living world.
How can the ‘Pots of Possibility’ fund support a regenerative economy?
A transition to a regenerative economy requires people, organisations, enterprises and funders from many sectors (food, energy, housing etc) to be involved in creating it. One aspect of a regenerative economy is the need to totally rethink how materials, resources and skills are used. It is about shifting from an economy that relies on making lots of new things to one that involves more sharing, reusing and repairing. Where food is grown or new things are produced, this should happen in a way that protects the health of the planet and all its beings.
To support this shift here in North Lancashire, the Pots of Possibility fund is looking for projects that fit into any of the following broad categories:
- Reusing, repurposing and repairing materials currently going to waste (e.g. textiles, electronics, packaging, surplus food, etc)
- Sharing resources (e.g. tools, materials, skills, etc) or repurposing unused space for community benefit
- Inspiring people to use and buy things more sustainably and to produce less waste
- Growing, cooking and eating food that’s local, seasonal and sustainably produced
This can include projects that use arts and culture to inspire communities around the idea of creating a regenerative economy locally.
Two-thirds of projects funded so far have been food related, so project ideas related to repair (to extend the life of consumer goods), sharing of resources, and setting up of affordable community spaces (for startups, community groups, regenerative enterprises, etc) would be particularly welcomed. Projects should have discrete measurable benefits from Your Pots funding but could include feasibility work for larger scale projects.
What regenerative project ideas would you love to see in North Lancashire?
Communities are often best placed to identify the challenges they are facing in achieving community wellbeing. Through Closing Loops community conversations, people have been sharing ideas for what they would love to see happen through the Pots of Possibility funding. Many of these previous events have been linked to food, so lots of the ideas generated so far have been food related. To bring in ideas from other areas of the regenerative economy, the Closing Loops project will be hosting more community conversations this winter.
Here’s a taste of some of the ideas shared by local residents so far:
- distribution networks that match surplus with need in the community, e.g. food, compost, seeds, empty buildings, growing space, unwanted items, skills
- a network of community-based repair cafes across the district
- ‘share sheds’ in neighbourhoods for sharing tools, surplus food and more
- community collectives that can process seasonal food gluts
- a business food waste composting enterprise
- sharing of skills between generations – particularly around repair, food and textiles
- a reuse centre at the rubbish tip – to provide more options than just disposal and recycling
An important reminder that has come up through these conversations is that initiatives need to consider both social and environmental regeneration. In one discussion, people felt that community regeneration required initiatives that create space for people to tell their own stories in ways that drew on their cultural experiences and backgrounds.
What Next?
- If any of this has inspired you then visit the Pots of Possibility webpage to find out more about how to apply.
- If you have a project idea but you’re not sure if it fits, you can get support with your application at one of the September drop-in sessions or by booking an online 1:1 mentoring call. See further details of this support on the CVS website.
- Your Pots grants are awarded following a public voting day where everyone who comes to the event has a chance to learn about the projects and vote for who should get funding. This year’s voting day is on 16th November 2024 in Lancaster, so put the date in your diary for your chance to have your say.
- Look out for community conversations hosted by Closing Loops and Deliberate happening this winter. This will be a chance to share more ideas around what you’d love to see happen in North Lancashire as part of creating a regenerative economy. Sign up to the FoodFutures newsletter for updates on these and lots of other great events happening locally.
