Scaling up local action in the Dyfi Valley
Share on social
For 26 years, Andy Rowland, based in Machynlleth, has run Ecodyfi, a not-for-profit development trust supporting and connecting sustainability-based community groups in the local area. Catriona Toms looks at some of the many achievements of this inspiring project and shares lessons for other areas with similar ambitions.
At the heart of every community making change happen are people who get things done.
In Machynlleth, for almost three decades, one such person has been Andy Rowland. In 1998, Andy helped to found Ecodyfi, a social enterprise with a vision of a thriving, healthy, caring, cohesive, bilingual and outward-looking community, widely recognised for living sustainably. Since then, the initiative has brought a diverse mix of people and organisations together to sustain the natural environment while increasing the resilience of the local economy and improving people’s wellbeing.
An energetic start
Initially, Ecodyfi was a partnership between CAT, renewable energy company Dulas, Powys County Council and others who saw the potential it had to transform the local area. Setting out to make the local economy more sustainable, the original partners decided to start with the energy sector. Andy was employed as the project officer for the Community Renewable Energy Project, largely funded by the European Union, helping to develop community-based wind, solar and hydroelectric power projects.
He says, “From the start, the environment and the economy have been key areas to work with and mesh – where have you got the win-win situations that avoid them conflicting with each other?
Community-based renewable energy is one of those, because obviously you’ve got the global benefits regarding climate change and clean energy, and local benefits of growing sustainable jobs in those businesses. And where local consumers can use the electricity or heat that’s generated from green sources, that avoids their expenditure leaking straight out of the local economy to the big corporates and instead keeps it circulating within the local area.”
Sustainable funding and governance
It was important to Andy and the original founders that Ecodyfi was developed in a grassroots community-led way. In 2002, a community consultation was held, asking what the organisation’s remit should be and how people would like to contribute.
It was decided that Ecodyfi would take on a broader community regeneration remit, covering areas including transport, waste and resource management, woodlands and tourism. The group became a community organisation whereby the membership elected the board of directors at an annual general meeting, a system of governance that’s been in place since.
While to begin with the project was funded through grants, as time went on this changed to more of a mixed economy, with Ecodyfi bidding for commercial contracts as well as applying for grants, often working alongside bigger NGOs to deliver broader Wales-wide projects at a local scale.
Andy describes the group as facilitators rather than builders, buying in expertise as and when it is needed. He says that his background at CAT helped provide useful knowledge and skills though, “I had experience in the field of community energy because I was previously employed at CAT. Although I wasn’t an engineer, I nevertheless picked up a lot of information and then learned more on the job.”
Supporting and delivering community projects
In the decades since, Ecodyfi has played an important role in providing advice, infrastructure, fundraising support and facilitation for a wide range of projects. It has helped sow the seeds and nurture the growth of initiatives that would have struggled to get started because they didn’t have bank accounts, official company or charity status, or offices.
Often, Andy and the team have helped kick-start projects by bringing potential partners together and facilitating conversations and building consensus for a project to go forward. Many have gone on to be successful, self-sustaining standalone local ventures.
Larger projects where Ecodyfi has a delivery or management role are often done in collaboration with other not-forprofits.
These have been as diverse as the Machynlleth Repair Café, helping the local community to save broken items from landfill; Tyfu Dyfi, growing the local agroecological food economy; Dolau Dyfi Meadows, supporting smallholders with grazing regimes that benefit wildflowers; and Trywydd Iach, an outdoor health project running activities in the natural environment and monitoring participants’ wellbeing.
A current focus is on the local food economy. While Machynlleth is home to very knowledgeable and skilled horticulturalists, many struggle to make a living or operate at scale. Ecodyfi is supporting them and growing their connections, not only with each other but also with cafes and retailers, including the bespoke weekly on-line shop called Bwyd Dyfi Hub.
An inspiring impact
Andy says it’s difficult to judge the impact Ecodyfi has made, because the whole of society has changed so much in the last 26 years. But there are some things he’s particularly proud of – the Dyfi Biosphere initiative, the renewable energy projects that started it all and continue generating benefits today, the dedicated staff and volunteers who’ve been part of the journey, and the wellbeing programmes.
He credits all those working hard on sustainability throughout the community for the positive changes in the area, saying, “There are many other social entrepreneurs around, doing their own thing. We ought to be even more joined up about it than we are – it’s not easy. It’s doing it in ways that keep the individual spirit of the different projects going.”
Ecodyfi sees its mission as an ongoing process. Andy adds, “From the beginning, we’ve wanted to involve everybody we could in moving this place in a more sustainable direction. It’s a journey and it’s long, but how can we get there as quickly as possible while taking as many people with us as possible?”
Lessons to share
Despite learning many lessons along the way, Andy believes it’s difficult to advise other communities looking to follow in Ecodyfi’s footsteps, as every area’s situation is unique. But he does have valuable advice to share:
“The scale of the problems we face demands we quickly scale up our impact. The important thing is not to lose local ownership or relevance. Volunteer effort is invaluable but inevitably limited, so getting financial resources for professional roles is important. Think about the benefits to potential funders of what you’re doing and try to manage tensions between different players with overlapping aspirations.”
“It’s a cliché but we all have our part to play, don’t we? It’s important to offer people ways in which they can participate in the search for more sustainable ways of living, instead of telling them what to do, or even worse, lecturing them. Being a professional optimist helps.”
At the end of April this year, after an incredible three decades, Andy stepped down from the role of Ecodyfi Managing Director. He leaves the organisation in the capable hands of the elected board and a small core team. But he’s not walking away entirely – describing himself as ‘semi-retired’, he plans to stay on for a while longer to help put funding and structures in place that will see Ecodyfi, the Biosphere, and the incredible wealth of community-led initiatives in this special valley continue to flourish well into the future. Meanwhile, he’s looking forward to having more time to spend enjoying the nature, people and places that he has served so well for so many years.
The Dyfi Biosphere
Ecodyfi was a founding partner of the Dyfi Biosphere. A Biosphere is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation) designated area where people pilot new ways of benefitting nature and climate as well as their own futures through collaboration and more sustainable uses of resources.
These sites are nominated by national governments and must fulfil three aims:
- Conservation – protecting wildlife, habitats and the environment.
- Development – encouraging a sustainable economy and community.
- Education – supporting research, monitoring, and building global networks to share and learn.
While these aims are set by UNESCO, there is scope for local interpretation. The Dyfi Biosphere puts a big emphasis on cultural, especially Welsh language, heritage as well as natural heritage, encouraging local people to value and celebrate the place where they live.
About the author
Catriona headed up CAT’s communications and marketing team and was the editor of Clean Slate until earlier this year. She has a Masters in Food Policy and is currently completing CAT’s Sustainability and Adaptation MSc.
EMAIL SIGN UP
Keep up to date with all the latest activities, events and online resources by signing up to our emails and following us on social media. And if you'd like to get involved and support our work, we'd love to welcome you as a CAT member.