Donation to Propagate Glasgow

Propagate is a Scottish collective specialising in local, community and sustainable food projects. Their aim is to help create a world where high quality, nutrient rich, sustainable food is available to all. Food that is grown in a resilient food system which is fair to producers and consumers and healthy for both people and the planet. Every month we offer a £500 donation of sustainably produced, healthy food to a charity or CIC which we feel aligns well with our own ethos and Propagate CIC could not fit the criteria more perfectly. We asked Cat from Propagate to tell us a bit more about what goes on there…

1. Tell us how Propagate got started, the people involved and what you do

The seed of Propagate was sown in 2016 when a group of freelance community food workers in Glasgow decided to 'collectivise' - creating an umbrella organisation that could more easily pitch for work and draw in funding for projects we really wanted to do. After becoming a CIC with just 3 Directors in 2017 it's just snowballed from there! There seems to be an ever increasing demand for our skills, knowledge and expertise. We're always open to new folk and often find awesome people to get involved. There's now about 18 of us and we're based in Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, and Stirlingshire (so far!). By accident rather than design we're all women but we kinda like that so might keep it that way. We specialise in local, community and sustainable food projects. All our work is collaborative, place based and rooted in the communities we work in. It looks different depending on where we are... in Glasgow for example we work mainly around food justice, food inequalities and community gardening. In peri-urban areas we're doing work around access to good food, growing networks of food citizens, and community composting. In rural areas we're working on short supply chains, connecting growers and communities, and supporting farmers to transition to more regenerative and nature friendly practices. We're committed to reshaping our food system to one that is fair for producers and consumers, and healthy for people and planet.

2. How will the food donation help the project?

Blether, which is a community shop, is a project of Propagate. We are a blend of community fridge and an organic grocers with a focus on locally produced organic food. The donation will allow us to purchase lots of different items of stock and offer lots of samples to our community to try. It will also allow us to offer vouchers to those in food poverty to have dignity in choice to be able to access the amazing and organic food we stock.

3. You have an interesting structure, tell us a little about that and your decision making processes (sociocracy,etc)

We've evolved very organically, growing from 3 to 18 over just 7 years. We've always had a non-hierarchical organising structure, very similar to a cooperative. We even have the cooperative principles written into our constitution! There's no Manager or CEO and we all get paid the same hourly rate. Sociocracy is a governance framework that enables everyone to participate. We have the Central or General Circle, and other subgroups or Circles such as Development, Finance, People Care, Comms and Justice. Each member participates in at least one Circle which has devolved responsibilities. Decisions are made by 'consent' which is similar to consensus and is underpinned by the phrase 'good enough for now, safe enough to try'.

4. What has the community’s reaction been to setting up on the main st?

Every member of the Blether team lives in Neilston, so we’re all part of the community. The focus of the community fridge is on reducing food waste, so everyone is welcome and no referrals are needed. We have an amazing team of volunteers who help us collect, process and distribute the surplus food to our community. Our community have also been really generous supporting us financially to continue.

5. Is there anything the public can do to help support your organisation?

Sure! You can follow us on facebook or instagram, subscribe to our newsletter which comes out occassionally, get involved in our projects through volunteering, come to our events, workshops and courses (some of them cost money, some are pay-if-you-can, and you can even donate to us via the Paypal donate button in the top corner of our website! www.propagate.org.uk

People can also support Blether directly by donating via www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/blether---community-shop-neilston