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Some recent Community Enterprise initiatives in The South West Region

Community Enterprise and IT on Sherkin Island

The South West Regional Authority (SWRA) has been promoting IT-based community enterprises within the region. It has supported a number of pilot projects including the creation of community enterprises and cultural heritage activities in the areas of textiles, traditional boat building and music.

Cork Textiles Network
The SWRA's work with the Cork Textiles Network is a good example of how increasing IT awareness and capacity can support local enterprises. The SWRA sponsored the Cork Textiles Network conference which was aimed largely at women working from home or in very small premises, with little opportunity or financial ability to experiment with new technology. The conference attracted over 130 people from across the region. It proved successful in increasing peoples' understanding of the technologies and how IT can be used to develop their businesses.

As a result of the conference, the Cork Textiles Network expanded its membership and was able to set up a small conservation and heritage centre in Cork City and to develop a website. Important historical and cultural content relating to textiles is being conserved and the website also operates as a useful educational tool for teachers. Some of the women are using the network to sell their work online.

Sliabh Luachra multimedia cultural heritage project
The aim here was to create a digital database of material relating to the cultural heritage of the Sliabh Luachra area of County Kerry aimed at the tourist and education markets. As a first step, an interactive CD-ROM profiling key aspects of the local music, history and folklore was produced.

The content of the CD-ROM focused on the music of Padraig O'Keeffe, a local musician who had developed his own style of musical notation. The CD-ROM included old recordings of the music, information about the locality and its history and culture, examples of O'Keeffe's notation and its translation for the first time into conventional musical formats. The CD-ROM was well received and could act as a model for other areas of tourist interest in the region.

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Many of the Irish islands had been completely depopulated in the late 1950s and 1960s. The South West Islands - Cape Clear, Sherkin, Bere, Whiddy and Hare - however had managed to retain a local population.

The Sherkin Island Development Society (SIDS) commissioned an Islands IT Strategy in 1999. The overriding issue was seen to be the 'people factor'.
"Without their participation and appreciation of the potential, the island communities will gain little from the technology. "

Aims and recommendations
Two key aims of the strategy were the provision of access to IT (information technology) and the development of sustainable economic applications.

Key recommendations included:

• the creation of community access points along with adequate technical support
• a network of internet 'clubs' to promote participation and usage
• the development of e-commerce solutions for island businesses
• accredited training for islanders
• promotion of applications supporting flexible, part-time work opportunities
• support for cultural and heritage activities

• planned upgrades to the communications infrastructure
• a positive attitude to innovation and change
• networks for sharing skills and resources

At the same time there were clear weaknesses:

• uneven skill levels and resources
• under-utilised and inadequately maintained technical resources
• the seasonal nature of most island commercial
• shortage of affordable residential property to attract newcomers to the islands

Opportunities from IT
The study suggested that more use of IT on the islands could bring a number of opportunities:

• IT-related job enterprise initiatives could reduce the islanders' dependency on state support during the winter months
• Part-time IT work could be fitted around seasonal activities
• Online marketing and IT-related activities in areas of training and culture could expand the scope for tourism industries.

Making it happen
A number of strategies were used to progress the feasibility study for the Sherkin business and access centre. An Islands Committee was established to shape and develop the project.

There has been substantial progress on the centre to date. A suitable site close to the pier and the existing community centre has been approved for development. Over a third of the 125 Sherkin Islanders had received basic IT training by the end of 2001. Eight Sherkin microenterprises now have a 'virtual shop' on the locally developed emara.com site and more are underway.

Proposals for smaller pilots or 'feasibility in action' projects were agreed. These included the development of a multimedia e-business initiative (Sherkin TEFL). All were the ideas of the islanders themselves who were described as being "extremely committed and 'sold' on the idea of the access centre," especially in relation to the potential to generate new and sustainable economic and tourism activities.

Sherkin Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) multimedia business
The Sherkin Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) multimedia e-business was the idea of a group of women entrepreneurs living on the island. They were looking for a market niche that would fit into the lifestyle and environment in the island, encourage women entrepreneurs, help increase employment opportunities and benefit the island as a whole by attracting visitors with spending capacity.

The women set up a cooperative and took TEFL training courses online in order to be able to deliver english language courses on Sherkin Island itself. They are using the Web to market their courses and accommodation. The courses were developed with the help of funding under the EU-funded NOW programme. A new interactive website has been developed with an online assessment test.

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