R4GM COMMUNITY FUND PROJECT UPDATE: NO TIME TO WASTE

IntraQuest were granted £10k from the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (2021 – 2022) to develop their No Time to Waste project.

IntraQuest aims to reduce social isolation, improve wellbeing and teach new skills in gardening, recycling and producing compost.

This project will be using their one-acre site to demonstrate how to create composting areas, including large amounts of recycled cardboard (as well as using vegetable waste and grass clippings) for food growing. Each participant will then be issued with their own small compost container, plus everything they need to use it within their own settings.

What have you achieved with the project so far?

We have now worked with 60 individual women, helping them to engage with the environment as well as each other throughout the workshops provided. They now know how to compost and use cardboard as a base for the ‘no dig’ method of gardening.  It’s been wonderful to see their confidence develop!

How has it benefited your community?

It has been great to witness how the workshops have transformed how our community thinks about waste, and even more thrilling to see each participant using the skills within their own environment.

What has been your biggest success so far?

Passing on the passion for gardening and recycling.

Connecting community members to each other, some have even offered support in helping with other projects we have lined up.

What has been your biggest challenge so far?

The organisation of the project has taken longer than we anticipated, and our systems needed fine tuning so that the process ran smoothly. We know more about what’s needed for the next four workshops!

What advice would you offer to anybody looking to apply next year?

Think through the project management side of things in detail – this can be tricky to do once the project begins!

Follow IntraQuest Community CIC on Facebook for the latest on their project!