Hello friends, it's taken us a few weeks to recover from the news in early March that we did not get our stage 2 award to buy the church, but that we were invited to re-submit with a stronger business plan! We had to re-group and get the Solas Eige membership together to consult them and see if they - like the 4 Solas Eige trustees - were happy to continue and help reframe and strengthen our business plan with the help of our conservation architects. The answer was a resounding YES, and here we are, hoping that you too will continue to support us!
We have now applied for funding to carry out the essential electrical and mechanical engineer survey that will enable us to put more precise figures on the business plan, showing that our approach will make the building truly sustainable.
We have also secured the help of our local builder to bring the price of on-site accommodation to help fund our Ionad Solas EIge centre to a far more reasonable level: our vision is affordable eco-accommodation and we are sticking to it, as we know that for many people who are associated with Eigg, holiday accommodation is becoming priced out of their reach.
In the meantime, the church of Scotland has been really supportive and is giving us more time to get organised, for which we are truly grateful.
We are now also planning this year;'s year exhibition in the church, probably something about the landscape of Eigg and crofting, to coincide with the launch of "Cultivating Change: Crofting on Eigg" a report which explores how crofting has evolved in recent years, highlights the challenges the island's crofting community faces, and explores ideas for strengthening and growing crofting.
We are also hoping to collaborate with Eigg bothy artists to have a special summer event: watch this space!
