Social Enterprise Eco Centre

Supporting Ecological Business to Improve Rural Communities

Care Co-ops is passionate about improving the lives of local people, in particular those who have experienced disadvantage when accessing mainstream services.

The development of the social enterprise eco centre (November 2010), based at the organisations New Road Nurseries’ premises in East Sussex, has provided Care Co-ops with the opportunity to contribute to government priorities to support the establishment, development and sustainability of local micro businesses, whilst ensuring that its activities have a positive impact not only on the economy but also the environment and local community (triple bottom line).

Care Co-ops is committed to working towards securing organic status for the site and aims to increase social, environmental and economic impact for the rural community through the implementation of its key objectives:

• Increase the number and sustainability of ecological businesses operating in rural East Sussex, in particular social enterprise.
• Increase work-focussed skills and opportunities of local people, with a focus on supporting disadvantaged groups.
• Promote the benefits of employing a diverse workforce, including paid work, work placements and volunteering.
• Increase the retail opportunities for local businesses.
• Raise the profile of local ecological businesses.
• Increase the number of people that buy locally produced, ecological products.
• Improve the customer experience at the social enterprise eco centre.

In addition to providing a range of opportunities and initiatives direct to local people, Care Co-ops aims to work in partnership with established and start-up businesses, in particular social enterprises, that will support the organisation to meet its key objectives (see above), sharing the organisation’s values and principles.

There is a range of ways in which collaborative working will take place. Current opportunities are as follows:

• Local ecological businesses to promote and retail products and services at the social enterprise eco centre.
• Micro ecological businesses to operate from the social enterprise eco centre, whilst providing work and learning experiences for local people, in particular disadvantaged groups.
• New Road Nursery products and services to be promoted and/or sold through partner organisations.
• Participation in an advisory group to support the development of the social enterprise eco centre.