Sustainable Communities is a community resilience project supporting residents in Lampeter, Ceredigion to build stronger social connections, reduce loneliness and isolation, and support people to remain independent within their community. The current project builds on the learning from the Cardi Care project in Aberporth and the Sustainable Communities pilot, which worked across Lampeter and Llanidloes, developing and testing approaches to community-led resilience in rural Mid Wales. The project is now increasingly resident-led, with Rural Health and Care Wales providing ongoing support, and from September onwards, the approach will be trialled in two further communities in Ceredigion.
The project has evolved considerably since it began. Lottee (Brigitta) Deak and Mari Lewis both worked on the project, with Lottee acting as the Community Coordinator and Mari supporting the project through administration and research. Together, they helped establish the project, engage with residents and community organisations, and develop an understanding of local needs. Following Lottee’s departure from Rural Health and Care Wales, Mari has taken on the role of Community Coordinator, continuing to support the project as it becomes increasingly resident-led.
At the heart of Sustainable Communities are regular informal social sessions, providing a welcoming space for residents to meet, have a coffee, take part in activities and simply enjoy time together. The project has demonstrated the importance of creating opportunities that are accessible, familiar and shaped by local interests. Residents have increasingly helped to shape activities and contribute to the running of sessions, strengthening their sense of ownership within the project. This community-led approach has provided valuable learning about how local initiatives can support wellbeing and reduce isolation.
This learning has also contributed to the development of the Sustainable Communities LiCoSS Toolkit. The toolkit brings together academic research, examples of good practice and practical learning from the Lampeter project to provide a flexible framework for developing similar community resilience initiatives across rural Mid Wales. At its heart are four principles: Listen, Connect, Support and Sustain: understanding local needs, creating opportunities for social connection, providing appropriate support and signposting, and developing partnerships to sustain the work.
Importantly, the toolkit is not designed to replicate the Lampeter project exactly. Instead, it provides a starting point that can be adapted to the needs, assets and capacity of individual communities. The next stage will see the approach trialled in two further communities in Ceredigion that will provide an opportunity to test the toolkit in different rural settings, identify what needs adapting and further strengthen the approach through community feedback.
The project demonstrates that community resilience is strongest when local people are at the centre of shaping and delivering solutions. By listening to residents, building on existing strengths and providing the right support, Sustainable Communities aims to create an approach that can be adapted and sustained across rural Mid Wales.
Sustainable Communities is funded through the Welsh Government’s Health and Social Care Regional Integration Fund, supporting the project’s ongoing work and the development and testing of the Sustainable Communities Toolkit.
