The Born & Bred Project: Strengthening Rural Identity and Heritage Through Community Media
Project: Born & Bred Community Art and Film Project
Charity and Partner name: Windrose Rural Media Trust, is a registered charity set up in 1984 under its previous name Trilith. It supports educational, archival and creative work in rural communities.
Location: Broadwindsor, Dorset
Amount secured: The SWPA Community Benefit Fund provided a grant for this project, allocated by Magna Housing with the support of charity partner, Locality.
About the Project:
This oral history and art project focused on talking to over-55s who were born and/or bred in the village of Broadwindsor. Participants were interviewed for a local history book, and to appear in a film about the making of the project, by a writer and former local newspaper editor who has lived in the village for 23 years.
The Born & Bred project began with a coffee morning in the community pub which was saved from closure by villagers in 2022. Magna’s’ communal rooms further facilitated sessions where local participants of all ages were interviewed by the project leader.
Their memories, including photographs, were compiled into a book which is available to buy. A film was also made about the project which will be added to Windrose’s film archive about rural life in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.
Creating Social Value:
The project provided a community of solace, support and organised social time for people living in a rural area, who could otherwise feel isolated. Since its inception, Windrose has been involved in leading varied creative projects in rural communities in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, including support for farming families, in an industry which can often feature loneliness and seasonally long hours.
Social Value Impact:
All Windrose’s work is based on outreach into dispersed communities and close involvement of local people from a very wide range of ages and backgrounds. Windrose receives no core funding. Its projects are delivered in partnership with funders and communities, with funding carried out on a project-by-project basis.
The project culminated in a celebratory event and flower festival with around 50 attendees which will be repeated again next year.
The face-to-face interviews and associated memory sessions have been very well received and reduced social isolation.
Money raised from book sales will be ploughed back into other community projects locally.
Legacy and Future plans:
The Born & Bred book launch was held in October, with books provided free to the cohort of older people whose memories form such a big part of the project. Half of the profits of the book will go to Windrose Rural Media Trust for future community projects and the other half will be split between Broadwindsor Community Stores and the White Lion Community Pub.
One constant has been the saving of archive films of rural life through collaboration with local people, as well as creating new film to add to the archive. More than 200 film shows have been given in village halls, theatres and cinemas.
Benefits Delivered:
- The Born & Bred project included approximately 70 participants with 20 interviewed for the book.
- The project also initiated a community event which involved approximately 50 people.
- There was a sense of pride in the village and a respect for long-established residents and their impact on the community.
- The process provided comfortable, warm spaces for people to meet and share their memories.
- It stimulated memories – sometimes long forgotten – and a sense of camaraderie and community
- The tangible and lasting outcomes for local residents include permanent artwork in the community pub, a book, a film, a film show and a village festival, which is set to become an annual event.
Testimonials:
"I enjoyed every minute of this! It brought back many happy memories, conversations with family. Nice to remember the village as it was and how it is now - still lovely with friendly people. I am very glad to have participated in this project"
"Hopefully because of this project, it will show the villagers of Broadwindsor to come what it was like growing up in rural Dorset in the 1950s/1960s when life was much slower and more fun without the aid of all the electrical devices of the 21st century"
"The front page made me feel quite emotional. My cousins and several old village residents are no longer with us. I will spend much time reading the book and it will be an asset for the village to keep many memories alive"
"Thank you Margery for all your time and effort in the writing of Born & Bred. The meetings you organised where I met up with old friends of the village were very enjoyable. I very much appreciated it all"
"What a brilliant idea! A lovely book which will bring back many memories. I also enjoyed meeting people who lived in the village years ago.Such a shame my sister died before it was released"
"What a wonderful idea. It is so interesting to hear what happened years ago in the lovely village of Broadwindsor. A real keepsake to pass on to my family. Broadwindsor is a lovely village to live in and enjoy all the activities"
"It was a privilege to pass on mine and my parents' memories of living here for 13-odd years and being born in the White Lion. So glad our old photos and memories of our parents' life and my childhood can be passed on. Thank you Margery for her hard work organising all the contacts near and far for making my experience and meeting old friends, having not met up for nearly a lifetime"
Contact Windrose Rural Media Trust and find out more.
