Member Spotlight: The Big Skill

This month our Member Spotlight shines on The Big Skill.

Rural Skills, Creative Crafts, Community Projects & Crafts Festivals

The Big Skill developed from a project providing placements on farms for disadvantaged individuals. It was set up in 2010 and constituted as a CIC in January 2012, with the aim of providing Rural Skills, Creative Crafts, Community Projects, and Crafts Festivals.

The organisation combines practical skills, creativity and community activity to provide opportunities for people to learn, develop confidence and connect with others.

Learning, Creating & Sharing Skills

Our team of Crafters deliver a wide range of friendly, donation-only workshops, accredited courses and work-experience opportunities.

Activities span multiple skill areas, including:

Upcycling & Recycling

• Clothing
• Bottles
• Bike parts
• Paper made from plants

Walks & Wellbeing

• Historical walks
• Foraging
• Forest bathing

Creative & Craft Skills

• Sculpting
• Sewing
• Willow work
• Painting
• Photography
• Felting

Rural Skills

• Dry Stone Walling (DSW)
• Hedgelaying
• Fencing
• Charcoal making

Workshops Across the Valleys and Beyond

Our main base is at the Potting Shed, Craig-y-Nos SA9 1GL, but we regularly run workshops at Brecon Volunteer Bureau, Aberdare and, starting soon, at Treorchy.

The Big Skill CIC was set up as a social enterprise and created to preserve rural skills in Mid Wales and its borders, while supporting the development of locally produced crafts, demonstrations and hands-on rural craft activities at festivals and events.

Alongside this, The Big Skill provides training and courses, educational and signposting resources, and opportunities for sustainable work.

16 Years of Free Craft Workshops

For 16 years, The Big Skill has provided free, or donation-only, craft workshops. The organisation has created community-designed clay statues, including the 'Remember and Rebuild' statue at Saxon Hall, Hereford, and 'Blodeuwedd', part of the Three Ladies, at Craig-y-Nos Country Park.

Making an Impact

The Big Skill has featured on television, including Countryfile, for its foraging work at Craig-y-Nos Country Park, and as one of five National Lottery Environmental Celebrations projects.

They have also run Craft Festivals at a range of iconic venues, including:

• Hay Castle
• Penpont Estate
• Brecon Cathedral
• Bleddfa Centre
• Libanus Mountain Centre

Events & Community Activities

The Big Skill also delivers workshops at major events such as Green Spaces, Dark Skies, the Geopark Festival at Craig-y-Nos, and Refugee Days across multiple centres.

Following Covid, The Big Skill was selected as one of only five organisations by the National Lottery to showcase recycling.

WE ARE PROUD OF...

We held three Big Skill Exhibitions at Craig-y-Nos Country Park, Brecon Volunteer Bureau, and Cynon Valley Museum in Aberdare, showcasing Student Skills, Crafter Creativity, and Community Support.

Share & Sell Days

We also launched free Share & Sell Days at the Potting Shed, Craig-y-Nos, giving upcoming and potential craft enterprises a supportive space to test ideas, share work and build confidence.

Would You Like to Be Our Next Member Spotlight?

If you would like us to Spotlight your organisation, email our Membership and Communication Officer:

jamiehorton@socialfirmswales.co.uk