The People
A community composting group’s activities can be pretty diverse. As a group you may well have a whole range of aspirations and fears. It is well worth putting some time into agreeing a clear vision, aims and group structure before you get stuck into the composting work.
The vision
Although initially you will not want to take on too much, it is good to imagine where the project could be in a few years time. It may well transpire that you just want to be, and remain, a small composting group run by volunteers. Or you may well have members of the group who would like to take things further. It is important to allow all potential ideas to be considered. A good approach is to have a ‘brainstorming’ session. At this all ideas are considered, however farfetched and impractical they seem – no holds barred at this stage.
Think of what the compost is going to be used for. Who is going to do the work – is there any ‘free’ labour available. Are there existing local organisations that you could work with? These could include people with learning difficulties, mental health projects, young offenders, long term unemployed and so on.
You may well want to do some research at this stage; your community composting co-ordinator is there either to help directly or to suggest other experts to assist you. All your group’s ideas need to be recorded and then sifted through and prioritised. You don’t want to be overwhelmed by the possibilities, it’s important to work within the capabilities, and the time constraints of the group. Create a time scale – start small within the capacity of the group – but start a dynamic rolling programme that you keep revisiting. Put the bigger developmental ideas further along the time scale and focus on the immediate job in hand.
Group dynamics
‘When your group gets together, take some time to allow everybody to speak. Go around the group first to let everyone introduce themselves and to see how they are feeling. Everybody should be able to see each other, circular seating is the ideal.’
Funding
You will undoubtedly want to apply for funding, before you start, put yourself in the funders shoes. Why would anyone want to give you money? Do you have a well organised group and well thought out proposal? Will the project eventually be self sustaining? Who will benefit from its existence? You need to be able to get down your proposal in a simple form – no more than a side of A4. You can get more help on this try your local CSV office, your local council, the DCCN coordinator.
Checklist of things to cover with the group
- Site -suitability: risk assessment, legality, size etc.
- Labour force: own group, social services etc
- Administration of group: constitution, secretary, chair, treasurer
- Insurance
- Visits to other project sites
- Start-up funding for: site construction (timber, wire, nails), machinery hire, consultation, planning costs, publicity materials, printing, labour, signage, tools (rotary sieve, shovels, forks), tea space.
- Budget (ongoing income and expenses) including: machinery hire if appropriate, salaries, volunteer expenses, refreshments, publicity.