National Lottery Community funding for Edinburgh Open Workshop

Edinburgh Open Workshop has received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, to support a new Community Outreach Officer.

The new officer will create a community outreach programme to encourages social connection while equipping community members with the skills to mend, make and create.

Natahsa Lee-Walsh, Director of EOW, said: “The funding allows us the space, time and resources to fully engage with the community and find out how the people of Leith believe EOW can best serve them. 

“We hope the project will encourage social connection and community resilience, supporting people of all ages to develop confidence and feel more self-sufficient. By helping people to  develop environmentally sustainable skills we aim to create long lasting positive effects that will reach far beyond our workshop walls.”

Edinburgh Open Workshop (EOW) is a creative co-working space, offering membership-based, Pay-As-You-Go access to workshop facilities, specialist tools and machinery, fabrication and textile bays, and long-term resident maker studios and office space. 

A not-for-profit social enterprise, EOW is Edinburgh’s only open-access workshop of its size, supporting a community of over 300 hobbyist and professional makers, designers and creatives. The organisation also provides a range of courses in woodworking, metal work and DIY for all levels, and recently took on a 9m x 12m event space that can be hired out for exhibitions, rehearsals, launches and workshops. 

Building on EOW’s current success, the Community Outreach Officer will work with local community groups, charities and clubs to create and enable a series of innovative education programmes, a schedule of community events, such as Family Days, Makers Markets and Leith Creative Trail, and manage the new event space, encouraging more uptake from community groups and charities. 

The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “Every day National Lottery funding is changing the lives of thousands of people in communities across Scotland. This project, delivered by Edinburgh Open Workshop Ltd is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others. National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work which is making a real difference to so many.”