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About Us
Introduction
Jura Development Trust - The Antlers
Big lottery Award
The Skye Bridge Story
Sgeulachd No Dhà às an Lios/A Tale or Two from Lismore
CADISPA is an applied research and community development project based in the Community Education Division, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. CADISPA stands for ‘Conservation & Development in Sparsely Populated Areas’. The CADISPA Project is primarily concerned with developing a definition of sustainability which will be relevant to people living in sparsely populated areas and to the academic community, and Local Agenda 21. The results of the research carried out by CADISPA are interpreted both by the direct community action that follows and through the dissemination of the research via more formal academic pathways.
Objectives
The CADISPA Project has two primary objectives. Firstly, we work to enable local people, living and working rural communities, to become powerful and informed about the future development options of their community. Thus development can proceed on the basis of a sound community mandate for change, to which each member of the local community has an opportunity to contribute. Secondly, we seek to ensure that this development is located within the ‘triangle of sustainability’, and takes into consideration environmental, economic and social issues – we work towards this by helping local people develop a definition of sustainable development that is relevant and meaningful to them. We achieve this by working closely with local community groups, by providing support and advice on strategic issues, and we host an annual CADISPA Gathering, an opportunity for community development groups across rural Scotland to meet informally with each other and specialists in the fields of funding and project management.
At present there are over fifty CADISPA project groups located around the sparsely-populated areas of Scotland. They range from community centre and village hall re-developments to new heritage centres, from social and healthcare facilities to youth cafes. CADISPA community groups have successfully rebuilt crofthouses, constructed village halls and community centres, opened drop-in centres – and all through their own hard work, with advice and support where needed from CADISPA and various development and funding agencies. In a variety of ways, and for a range of purposes, they have come together as communities to decide the best way to take their own objectives forward in a sustainable manner. The lessons learned by the CADISPA project groups are important as they will allow future groups to avoid certain pitfalls and to benefit from their positive experiences.
