The changing landscape and employment situation in Wales during the last fifty years has been shaped by the decline in industry, such as coalmining , the steel industry, and the quarrying of slate and granite. A lack of sustainable employment led to depopulation in some areas, particularly in the rural North West Wales setting. This in turn led to rural deprivation and had a lasting negative impact on community health and wellbeing, including high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and depression amongst the local population, as well as overall community resilience and feelings of agency. In response to these growing health inequalities, local initiatives emerged in North West Wales, with an aim to tackle the root causes. These initiatives included the first community cooperative in the UK, in the village of Llanaelhearn on the Llŷn peninsula, established in the early 1970s. Associated community cooperatives followed, including the establishment of the national Welsh language centre ‘Nant Gwrtheyrn’ at the old granite quarry near Llithfaen. The establishment of the Nant Gwrtheyrn and the local eisteddfod combined important developments for the local community and also for the Welsh language nationally. Other initiatives include ‘Tafarn y Fic’ – a Welsh community pub in Pwllheli, ‘Siop Pen-y-Groes’ – a cooperative shop in Llithfaen, and the reopening of a petrol garage in Clynnog Fawr. These initiatives continue to thrive and have begun the process of being passed over to, and taken on by, a new generation of social entrepreneurs.
The purpose of this project is to conduct ethnographic research into these community cooperative initiatives in the rural North Wales context, with a particular focus on evaluating their public health impact through empowerment, revitalization, and an ability to address the wider determinants of health. Given the context, particular attention will be paid to issues such as rural deprivation, historical impact of the decline of industry, unemployment, depopulation, inequalities in health, and culturally and linguistically appropriate community activities. The project will also consider the current activities of local initiatives and their forecasts and visions for the future. A full range of ethnographic data will be collected, including participant observations, interviews, local government outputs, historical documents and existing quantitative data. The research is currently ongoing and contains an element of co-production between academic researchers and key informants from the community cooperatives themselves – with some participants spanning both of these definitions. It is hoped that the information collected, as well as being a useful documentation of the community cooperatives, may serve as a basis upon which to begin modelling this kind of intervention in other locations which have similar issues. The findings of the research will be of interest to those involved in community engagement, the third sector and those involved in writing associated public health policies.