Case Studies

Woodside Arran CIC

Set up by Jenny Macdonald in 2017, Woodside Arran was born out of Jenny’s belief that every person should have access to locally grown, healthy, and affordable food.

Realising that there was no locally grown produce available on the island and that imported fresh produce was expensive, Jenny and her partner Andrew set out to change that by creating a community-supported, organic farm business selling fruit and vegetable boxes to the local community and businesses.

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a partnership between farmers and consumers in which the responsibilities, risks and rewards of farming are shared. It helps to address increasing concerns about the lack of transparency, sustainability, and resilience of food systems.

Their approach has helped create a more coherent system, taking locally grown food direct to all regions of the island, increasing food security and creating jobs for residents. Since it was established five years ago, the enterprise has evolved to include sustainable timber production, education, and community wealth-building activities.

In January 2022, Woodside Arran secured a £50,000 investment from the Catalyst Fund, which is being used to create a bespoke shed that will allow Woodside Arran to increase production by 50%, as well as host some of their educational activities. In addition, part of the investment has been used to complete their eco-accommodation buildings.

Their current goal is to become the first carbon sequestering, green energy self-sufficient community farm in the UK by 2024.