On 14 February 2006, a day more usually associated with red roses and true love, a new and innovative social enterprise was born, the result of much passion and dedication by a local regeneration group in the Donegall Road area of south Belfast.

The TREE project, which stands for the Greater Village Regeneration Trust’s Timber Recycling Eco Enterprise and which recycles waste timber into useful items and building materials, was officially opened on that day by David Hanson MP, Minister for Social Development, celebrating a landmark in this community enterprise initiative’s development.

The minister in his speech highlighted the importance of the local initiative and praised the project’s promoters: “The recycling of waste materials is important to us all. This waste wood recycling project, which is housed on a site made available by Belfast Regeneration Office (BRO), provides sustainable employment opportunities and skills training for the local community.”

He also made reference to the social economy ethos of TREE, whereby any profits made will be reinvested into the community business, and cited the project as an example of what can be achieved through effective partnerships between government departments, other agencies and the community and voluntary sector.

The official launch was the culmination of many months of sheer hard work and dedication by the Greater Village Regeneration Trust (GVRT), a local group established in 1999 in response to public concerns about housing issues in the area, an inner city area of south Belfast that has suffered from serious multiple deprivation and physical decay. Working in partnership with Sandy Row Community Forum and the Roden Street Community Development Group, GVRT aims to ensure that the needs of the community are met through locally owned and controlled projects like the TREE project.

TREE itself is an initiative that seeks to encourage regeneration and stimulate economic activity in the Donegall Road area, while increasing environmental awareness among residents in local neighbourhoods. The mission of TREE is “to produce items of natural beauty, of natural good quality and to ingrain in the mind that to recycle is to regenerate something with value”.

TREE is the brainchild of Bob Stoker, the economic development officer of GVRT. Bob, a former Lord Mayor of Belfast and a lifelong resident of south Belfast, came up with the idea of “giving local residents a voice by looking at ways of encouraging their involvement in and addressing many of the issues affecting their lives”. Working with Paula Bradshaw he identified that one way to tackle some of these issues was the establishment of a social economy business that “would help to bring training opportunities, economic activity, and investment of profits and overall help to establish greater regeneration into a deprived area of South Belfast”.

Tommy Morrow, chairman of Greater Village Regeneration Trust and a key supporter of the project, encouraged the participation of local residents working in co-operation with others. “Making use of a previously vacant site, the TREE project has created employment, volunteering, training, and work experience opportunities, as well as useful wood items for sale that would otherwise have gone to landfill.

“It represents an excellent example of how communities should be working together for the future good of the whole community. The partnership approach has helped the community share resources and avoids duplication.”

From this vision it was generally accepted that a successful social economy business could potentially address a wide range of other issues in the area including environmental regeneration, education and training. After much deliberation it was agreed that one of the most pressing issues that affect this area of south Belfast and indeed Northern Ireland was the growing waste disposal problem.

According to Bob Stoker, who coordinated the project research, their evidence clearly indicated the potential of a successful recycling business providing much needed local employment opportunities as well as generating income and profits: “Our research had confirmed that across Northern Ireland landfill sites are approaching full capacity and the province is running out of new sites to store mounting waste.”

Based on this evidence, the trust identified recycling as an ideal social economy business. They determined that an ideal material to be recycled was waste timber, which has varied uses but is often overlooked by other recycling schemes. Surprisingly, for all the public concern about the environment and recycling, the project promoters discovered that their innovative approach to timber recycling was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland.

Funding to get the project off the ground came from Belfast City Council’s Neighbourhood Economic Development Programme, which is part-funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Investment through the European Union. The business and operational costs for the first year were secured from the Belfast Local Strategy Partnership distributing European Union Programme for Peace and Reconciliation funds in Northern Ireland.

Supporting the initiative, Eddie Jackson, Belfast Local Strategy Partnership’s (BLSP) chief executive, praised the work of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust. Citing the hard work that had gone in to establish the business, he wished them the continued support of the community in the future where European funding is becoming less and less accessible: “As they say, mighty oaks from little acorns grow. While the Belfast Local Strategy Partnership is keen to help establish projects that contribute to the future of our society using a partnership approach and the aim of becoming sustainable, we, as a community, need to encourage individual volunteers and commercial businesses to join this partnership approach so the community business can really branch out – no pun intended!”

The basic nature of the business is that TREE employees collect waste timber from the woodworking and construction industries. This is collected by the TREE TRUCK, a recently purchased new LDV Tipper that has been fully branded with the company’s logo and contact details.

The waste timber is then taken back to the business’s premises on the Donegall Road, where it is sorted according to its quality and appropriate use. The impressive premises, built on a former derelict site provided by BRO, include a joinery workshop where products can be manufactured, including kitchen utensils, wooden toys, and other wood turned or wood carved products.

Many of the wooden items for sale are made from North American and tropical hardwood and Scandinavian softwoods. These include an impressive array of handcarved wooden plaques, including Native American Indian figurines and classic fruit and acorn pieces that are lacquered and waxed.

Some of the materials which are not suitable for manufacturing are sold through an onsite wood store, as well as being used in particleboard manufacture. In addition, the company can supply household products such as garden fencing or wood cut to size to meet customer’s needs. Specially commissioned orders are also welcomed from architects, builders and members of the public.

To the encouragement of TREE, orders have been flowing steadily to their Donegall Road headquarters from as far a field as Larne. Well known companies such as James Brown Funeral Services have availed of the quality products including the purchase of urns, sealed vases in which the ashes of the deceased are kept.

An important aspect of the business is the desire of the board members to provide jobs and training opportunities for volunteers in the Greater Village area, widely recognised as one of the most disadvantaged parts of Belfast. Fulfilling this desire, this exciting social enterprise not only employs four full time staff, but also provides training and work experience for 15 local unemployed people.

These trainees are studying for the City and Guilds Basic Construction and Wood Working Award at Castlereagh College, with TREE providing work experience to boost their future employability at their workshop which is an ideal environment to gain much needed experience. These courses are designed for those aged 16 to 30 years, who are unemployed and wish to work within the construction and woodworking industry wishing to obtain a recognised qualification in their chosen field.

Difficulties

As other social economy companies have discovered to their dismay when attempting to get the business up and running, there were a number of hurdles to overcome before the doors were finally open for business.

Paula Bradshaw, who has played a pivotal role in helping to establish TREE, outlined some of these problems: “We had to convince funders that competition with the private sector wouldn’t lead to displacement or loss of jobs in other localities. Alongside this, the normal legal and bureaucratic processes caused delays in securing the site and led to much frustration within the group.”

Other bumps along the way included high insurance costs that far exceeded their initial financial projections for the workforce and training elements: £14,000 a year, a huge amount for any company to sustain. Staff recruitment proved to be another unforeseen difficulty, as short term funding meant the company could only offer jobs with an 18-month contract.

Yet for all the problems experienced in the early stages of the development, TREE’s directors are quick to point out the invaluable help and support they received from the funders, whose empathy and flexibility helped to boost morale among the group at critical times.

Branching out?

Not resting on its laurels, the company has exciting plans for the future that will help to ensure its role as a leading social economy business in the recycling market and consolidate its position in this field, providing a collection service to companies within the construction industry and ‘upcycling’ the wood into useful items such as quality children’s toys, ornaments and wooden utensils.

In order to keep abreast of the competition and ensure its long term sustainability, the voluntary directors of TREE view innovation as essential to their day-to-day activities. Included in plans for future development are the provision of a wood cutting service, and the production of wooden briquettes for burning – the TREE Logs!

As the supply of timber increases and markets are developed for recycled products, further opportunities for training and work experience will be on offer for local residents. TREE is also on the lookout for a nearby retail outlet giving them the opportunity to market their goods at a location on the Donegall Road – a visible presence on one of the main arterial routes in Belfast.

With all these exciting plans and aspirations, Bob Stoker recognises the tremendous regeneration opportunities the recycling business offers: “We very much hope the community will continue to support our efforts by volunteering at TREE and buying our range of recycled wood products that are now available for sale. By tackling disadvantage together, we aim to improve the quality of life for people who live in this neighbourhood, helping to introduce local people to the labour market and promote and encourage recycling.”

If all goes well, this locally owned and controlled recycling project, the youngest social economy business in Northern Ireland at the time of writing, will continue to grow and bear much fruit. Today’s TREE is just yesterday's seed that held its ground.