A little bit of support goes a long way in Bournemouth

Zebra Collective has completed a programme of workshops for the dynamic West Howe Community Enterprises in Bournemouth, as part of the Empowering Communities Empowering Good Practice Programme. These were put together to meet the needs of this emerging social enterprise. They included training in the core topics below and work with the group to develop their own ground rules, customer service charter, guidelines for confidentiality, boundaries and lone working – and an action plan.

Training topics

• communication and listening skills
• group dynamics
• dealing with disagreements and conflict
• meeting skills
• equality and diversity

WHCE were great to work with, because they were so focused on and committed to the future of their project. The shop was a pretty chilly place to work, during some of the coldest days of last year, but no-one complained. They just got on with it. We also got to have chips for lunch, which is always good.

The priority for WHCE now is to build on the success of the shop, which was refitted by a team of volunteers over Christmas, and make that a sustainable project in its own right. The plan is to then use it as the base for a whole range of community enterprise ideas. There's plenty to do, and plenty of support still needed to transform the energy and commitment of this group of people into much-needed community-led services and employment opportunities. But, if anyone can do it, they can...

View the report from this project at: www.zebra.coop. (221KB Word doc)