Cork City Council is spearheading a new year-long EU-funded project focused at better supporting social entrepreneurship, particularly in a post-Covid world.

Social enterprises are businesses that trade to intentionally tackle social problems, improve communities, provide people access to employment and training or help the environment. Examples of social enterprises in Cork include Cork Deaf Enterprise and Churchfield Community Trust (see Notes to Editor for case study.)

As part of the FOSO POCO project, Cork City Council will be working with relevant support services and stakeholders to create a better understanding of the current local environment and potential of social enterprise, to identify and address existing gaps in supports and to highlight best practice. The project also seeks to assist promising social enterprises to pilot, pitch and internationalise their product or services through the networks of the EU project partners and to establish local supports to assist social enterprises in a post-Covid economy.  Particular attention will be given to those social enterprises providing a service or product aimed at supporting those in greater need because of the pandemic.

Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Joe Kavanagh said:

There is phenomenal work being done by social enterprises in this city who are providing employment and training to people while  addressing social, community and environmental challenges. It is a wonderful sector to engage with as there is such a sense of purpose in what they do: that real sense of making a difference.

Cork City Council’s partners in this project are Tartu City Government and Malta Enterprise, who will act as lead partner.

The project runs from February 2021 until February 2022 and is co-funded by the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) under the COSME programme.

Case study:

Churchfield Community Trust (CCT) is a community-based organisation which works with vulnerable young people who need intensive support, therapeutic interventions and stability to achieve sustainable change at a crucial time in their lives.

CCT believes people require a supportive environment to overcome challenges around  alcohol, substance misuse and offending behaviour.

It runs a number of social enterprise initiatives that facilitate hands-on training and mentoring.

Compass Crafts.
At the CCT workshop in Knockfree Avenue in Cork City, its carpentry team design, develop and manufacture bespoke outdoor garden and indoor early years furniture.

Garden Café

The Garden Café is open to the public Monday to Friday. Certified training and mentoring in food and beverage, barista coffee, food hygiene HACCP and customer service is provided to young people in a bustling café environment.

Garrai an Aonaigh

As part of this ‘Farm to Fork’ initiative, vegetables and herbs from our gardens are supplied to local restaurants. Our horticulture team mentor participants in the growing and sale of seasonal vegetables and herbs – using organic principles – at our sites at Hydro Farm Tower and Cork Foyer.

Continuing Development

Churchfield Community Trust has received social enterprise support from the Probation Service, Cork City Council, ESB Energy for Generations Fund, the Dept of Rural and Community Development and the EU-Interreg Atlantic Area Programme. The team are engaging with the HSE about the planning of a long-term horticulture site at St. Mary’s Primary Care Campus and are engaging in refrigerated distribution of meals to people living on the north side of the city as part of a multi-agency initiative.

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