Ynysfach Primary School – Siop y Ddraig Goch
JANUARY 16th 2023
Awarded: £5,000 from Pen y Cymoedd for decking, patio area, fareshare annual subscription, signage and greenhouse
“We have linked to the Under the Sky project and we also had GroundWorks in to help with the planting of herbs, fruit and vegetables. The pupils learned a lot about sustainability and understood the importance of reducing food waste. Anything that was grown, was then then shared in the shop with customers from the community.
The pupils in each year group have also been running the shop on a fortnightly basis and have made cakes and biscuits to sell in the shop and we have had one coffee morning to raise funds for McMillan – parents really love the fact that pupils have made the produce and our coffee mornings are always well attended.
We have used questionnaires to ask the community about our shop. The feedback was extremely positive and under the circumstances with the living crisis they felt it was of really benefit to them, pupils were extremely helpful, and the shop was well stocked.
We have also got links with the local crèche in which we now offer ‘uniform recycling’ and also donate to the local food bank. We also have 12 volunteers and 3 of them have managed to gain qualifications in level 2 food hygiene and they all express how much they enjoy helping and supporting the community.
We have been able to continue to offer produce to the community as a pay as you feel shop, this has helped so many families with the ‘cost of living crisis’ at the moment. We have been able to teach the pupils more about sustainability and they have had an active role in running our shop.
Without funding this project would not be able to run and would not have been able to support so many in the community.”
The Fund was established by energy company Vattenfall to benefit the communities hosting the Pen y Cymoedd wind farm across the upper Neath, Afan, Rhondda and Cynon Valleys. It exists to support local people, groups and organisations to invest in themselves, their ideas and their communities.
The Community Fund has a substantial annual budget that is index-linked, meaning it increases in line with inflation. As an example, this equated to around £2.5 million in 2025. The Fund will continue to support communities until 2043, creating long-term opportunities for growth, resilience and positive change.
The Fund is managed by an independent, locally based not-for-profit Community Interest Company. It is overseen by a Board of Directors with strong local connections and delivered by a small but dedicated staff team with extensive community engagement experience. We are here to help ensure the Fund delivers on the vision and priorities of local communities.
Over the next 10 years, the Fund is focusing on investment in people, places and businesses — helping the Valleys to thrive, driving bold ideas, supporting transformation and creating lasting impact for current and future generations.