3 ECOSS Projects have been shortlisted!! The Empowerment Centre, The Commercial Kitchen at ECOSS and RELAB. We need you to vote! Follow this link, and where it asks to Browse Projects Near You- type in Wesburn. Our projects will show up. Every vote counts. These projects will make a massive difference in services access in the local community. Please encourage everyone to vote.
Follow this link:
https://pickmyproject.vic.gov.au/rounds/pick-my-project/ideas
Empowerment Centre
Empowerment Centre for the Community to use for special purposes.
This Empowerment Centre will be available for community use at Yarra Valley ECOSS. This is a safe space for birth circles, death circles, womens circles, mens circles, counselling space, yoga space, multicultural/ multi faith activities, meditation, wedding ceremonies/ blessings, baby blessings and various healing modalities.
There are no other facilities available to the community such as this.
It is important for the community to have spaces for honouring life changing events such as those mentioned above. It is also evident that disclosures can happen in safe spaces and we want to create spaces whereby referrals can be made to services.
In our wonderful supportive community, we lack spaces whereby we can offer support in beautiful and sacred environments. Together we deal with life, death and everything in between. Many of these events require deep sensitivity, and privacy- within public access. The Empowerment Centre will be available for the whole community to use at Yarra Valley ECOSS.
The Upper Yarra Valley hosts high unemployment, extremely high rates of mental health issues, and unacceptably high levels of Family Violence. We want to offer an alternative space in which to support Trauma therapy, Counselling services, Healing Modalities, and more.
Commercial Kitchen and Community Cafe
Repurposed shipping container kitchen and cafe at ECOSS community centre.
– Community family friendly cafe, serving simple, traditional ‘street food’, using produce that is grown from the ECOSS biodynamic farm.
– Inviting marginalised cultural groups in the Yarra Valley area to prepare traditional food for Events at ECOSS.
– Joining chefs to mentor and create workshops with members of the local indigenous community, and the wider community to use bush foods in different culinary ways, which are locally harvested and grown at ECOSS.
– To provide jobs for the local community, and generate income that can go back into the running costs of the projects coming out of the cafe/kitchen.
The Yarra Valley is in desperate need of a warm sheltered community area to go, especially in the colder months, that is welcoming for all.
There has been a need expressed by Yarra Valley Bee Group, situated at ECOSS for a Commercial Kitchen, and an opportunity would be there for other members of the community to use the facility for workshops and events.
A cafe has been part of the plan to bring more visitors to the Ecological community centre, to provide simple healthy an open and comfortable destination for locals in one of the lowest income areas of Victoria.
RELAB
RELAB Utilises wastestreams, producing up-cycled products and training.
RELAB is a space where people will come together to find creative ways to utilise what is currently seen as waste to transform it into something that is useful, valuable, innovative and even beautiful. It will serve as a training space that teaches people of all ages and skill levels to develop a keen eye for seeing opportunity for utilising waste streams. It will be based at ECOSS and some key focus areas include: up-cycling clothing/textiles, tool maintenance, bicycles, tiny homes, musical instruments and green tech. It will be a playground for developing imagination and giving it a go!
RELAB will serve the community as a creative hub and training centre where people of different ages can share and develop skills, resources and ideas and generate income streams where makers can sell what they make in local markets and at ECOSS community events such as the spring and autumn festivals. As a training centre, it will also raise awareness of environmental issues such as waste production and management through practical application.