Case Studies
Hannah Sutherland
With a passion for drama and theatre, Hannah Sutherland has been inspired to start her own business, after attending not one but two Rural Youth Project Hacks, which she feels gave her the push she needed. Hannah is hoping to launch a new arts based childcare initiative, incorporating her theatre background into a business, providing structured childcare in island/rural communities with a strong focus on learning the local history.
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Francesca Pritchard
Francesca Pritchard recently graduated from the University of Exeter with an undergraduate degree in liberal arts and is currently taking part in a Management Development Services (MDS) graduate scheme. Her first placement is with Coregeo, who manage the licensing of fruit and vegetable products such as Pink Lady apples and Tenderstem broccoli.
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Jack Scott
Jack attended the Kent & Medway Ideas Hack as a youth delegate with a passion for fresh produce. At just 18 years old, Jack runs his own business on the Isle of Thanet, where he also grew up and now lives. Currently about to start his second year of university, Jack owns half an acre of land where he grows around 20 different vegetables and sells them to local people and businesses.
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Esther Edwards
Esther attended our Kent & Medway Ideas Hack as a youth delegate. From an early age, Esther has always been interested in agriculture. However, partly due to her parents fear of the unknown decided to stick in at school and get her A levels before going on to graduate from the University of Bath in 2020 with a degree in International Development & Economics.
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Martin Rawlings
Martin attended the Kent & Medway ideas hack. A qualified languages teacher, Martin Rawlings chose a different path from his life in Manchester when he joined the team at Bore Place, Kent in February 2022. He is currently undertaking an internship with the aim to get more people into outdoor education. Bore Place aims to get young people to connect with nature and how food is produced, and gives disadvantaged children access to nature, healthier paths and careers. Martin’s goal is to help people of all ages reconnect with nature and where food comes from.
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Zoe Collins
Having grown up in zone 6 of London and moved to Kent, Zoe Collins sees the lack of young people in rural areas. Her community comprises of mainly retired people or families with young children. Passionate about the UK’s food security and sustainability, she is currently undertaking a PhD focusing on labour rights and shortages in the UK food system.
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Laura Taylor
After being made redundant at the end of 2019, Laura Taylor set up Wild Box, initially with the aim of creating a mobile bar company available for weddings and local events. At the start of 2020 the diary was full, and Laura was ready for a busy year ahead but in March 2020 when the UK was placed into lockdown her business disappeared overnight.
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Claire Wilson
Claire's roots go back to a small village called Broughton in Peeblesshire, where her family still live. Growing up in the Scottish farming industry developed Claire’s love for livestock and other animals, resulting in her graduating from SRUC with a Higher National Diploma in Agriculture in 2014. She now lives at Castle Crawford Farm, in Crawford, just outside Biggar with her partner James, who is a shepherd.
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Daniella Damptey
Originally from Ghana, Daniella Damptey moved to Scotland when she was 12 years-old and has since developed a burning passion to support young people in rural areas. Currently the Member of Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP) for Angus, Daniella is using her seat voice in parliament to help combat challenges that she faced when living in rural Angus.
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Mary McIntosh
With creative start-ups booming during lockdown, Mary McIntosh is a flourishing example of how young people living in rural areas can successfully set up innovative businesses. Growing up in a rural area her whole life, Mary has found that having the time to focus on her ideas and passion for baking, has helped get ‘Mary’s Mini Bakes’ off the ground.
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Wallace Currie
Wallace was brought up on beef and sheep farm in Arran. When he was younger, Wallace had an interest in the farm but lost his enthusiasm during his teenage years. However, Wallace decided to study agriculture at SRUC’s Ayr campus, realising a love for farming again after school. During university he had a particular interest in diversification and food security and focused his honours dissertation on these two topics, going onto complete a Master’s degree in food security.
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Annabel Baker
Annabelle is an English lass that has lived in Scotland since the age of four. She studied Geography with Psychology at the University of Dundee and then went on to study Catchment Hydrology and Management. She was lucky enough to then get an internship at Perth College UHI as Project Coordinator on a renewables business network before moving to LANTRA Scotland.
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Ella McLeister
Ella, originally from the Scottish Borders has returned home to live and work in Selkirk, after studying for two years in Sydney, Australia. She is now currently working as a freelance photographer and stylist.
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Megan Rowland
Megan is a professional deer stalker and land manager based in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. A driven and passionate young woman, Megan has shown fantastic leadership in a sector that has historically been dominated by men.
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Owen Foster
Young entrepreneur, Owen, has been keeping busy during lockdown setting up his new hit farm shop. Owen began his entrepreneurial journey at age 12, selling free-range eggs in his village. He has since founded his successful jam company, ‘Owen’s Angus Jam’ and is now expanding into new territory with his shop, ‘Foster’s Farm Shop’.
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Eilidh Carr
Photographer and business owner Eilidh, moved home at the age of 23 to the small and remote island of Berneray, where she grew up. Here, she launched her business Coralbox Gift Shop – a small independent craft shop where she sells her own photography products, as well as other local makers’ creations.
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Gini Dickinson
Gini is a vivacious, creative, and environmentally conscious young woman spreading her message of female empowerment through her feminist jewellery and embroidery business, GiniBeanifairy.
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Josse Haarhuis
In just two years, Netherlands based Josse, has built his unique and successful business, PigMe. He produces high quality, high welfare meat; reared locally and fed on local restaurant waste by teams of volunteers.
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Austen Morley
Austen has recently returned to rural Aberdeenshire after living in London. After months of grafting, Austen is set to launch the family business Slainte Mhath – a mobile pop up coffee and cocktail bar, providing high-quality barista-style coffee by day and locally crafted alcoholic beverages by night.
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Treasa Cadogan
Treasa comes from Cape Clear, the southernmost inhabited island at the bottom of Ireland. Just 3 miles long and one-mile wide, it’s 8 miles off the coast of West Cork with a population of 120 to 130 people depending on the time of year.
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Miriam Hamilton
Miriam Hamilton is a woman of many talents and skills; she is a weaver of Harris tweed, a seamstress designing beautiful clothing, a jewellery maker and watercolour artist. She sells her many creations online, and through her shop, The Weaving Shed, which she built at her home on the Isle of Lewis.
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Food Punks
Food Punks is an innovative social enterprise in the Scottish Borders empowering young people through food. Food Punks is one of Tweeddale Youth Action’s (TYA) income generating social enterprises that started as an initiative to teach simple cookery skills that would help young people learn how to cook local fresh food from scratch and lead to lower carbon lifestyles.
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Donald MacKinnon
After studying Politics and Geography at Glasgow University, Donald MacKinnon returned home to the Isle of Lewis with a determination to build a life for himself working the land, and a commitment to building a strong future for the island.
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ENGINE Exchange Programme
The ENGINE Exchange is a European LEADER funded project between Smaland in Sweden and a partnership between Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife LEADER programmes.
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Phil Anderson
After growing up on an organic sheep and beef farm in the Scottish Borders, Philip moved to Edinburgh to study. First BSc Agriculture, then a postgraduate in Outdoor and Environmental.
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Luke Taylor
Luke Taylor has lived and worked in West Lothian for most of his life. Passionate about rangering and land-based industries, Luke wants to promote the industry and has created a new podcast titled The Rambling Ranger.
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Melissa Reilly
Having grown up in Lanark herself, Melissa Reilly is now in an ideal position to be supporting her community through her role as Development Manager for the Lanark Community Development Trust. Challenges faced include affordable house and digital connectivity.
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Anna Lamotte
Growing up in the Perthshire countryside, Anna Lamotte had little idea she would later return to become a pioneering young businesswoman, just a stone’s throw away from the family farm of her childhood. Challenges include: poor digital connectivity and affordable long-term housing.
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Jakob Eunson
Jakob lives in Uradale, Shetland Isles approximately three minutes outside Scalloway, the ancient Island capital. He farms an organic enterprise with his father and predominantly runs native Shetland breeds. Not only is Jakob a farmer, but he’s also a trained butcher who supplies the farm’s lamb and beef direct to wholesalers and retailers.
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Flexstead
Taking on the affordable housing crisis with a fresh set of eyes, architect Andrew Mcmullan and his team have created the future way of living for rural youth. The main challenges the Mcmullan studio aim to address are: long-term & affordable housing, sustainable building materials, creating a flexible living and working space.
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Amy Dunnachie
Amy Dunnachie grew-up on the Isle of Jura before moving to the mainland to study silversmithing at the Glasgow School of Art. After graduating, Amy decided to move back to the mountains and coastline she calls home. Her challenges include: infrastructure, employment and long-term and affordable housing.
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