Sandbags and handbags – Fife projects build community connections
Mairi Damer at Word Up!
Gloom, despair and relentless bad news. Sometimes it can feel that there’s precious little to celebrate in Scotland. But two Corra supported projects in Fife are countering the prevailing narrative with shining examples of community connection.
A trip to the seaside offers a chance to see the first of these in action. As the late summer sun beams down on Kinghorn beach, Jamie – a 5-year-old boy bedecked in baseball cap, mirror shades and a rather natty dinosaur t-shirt – is excitedly pulling some bent and twisted scrap metal from the sand and carefully giving it to his mum Kasia to put in the recycling bag.
Kasia is a one-woman powerhouse who’s dedicated to building community connections to help keep her corner of Fife free from rubbish. Kasia and Jamie are the leading lights of the Rubbish Rangers, an environmental project Kasia set up for local families which began when she noticed unsightly rubbish scattered in and around Kirkcaldy. Originally from Poland, Kasia’s strong sense of civic pride plus her passion for her adopted country, drove her to do more to help keep Fife clean.
It all began by buying Jamie a litter picker but gradually Kasia began to “recruit” other young children (and their parents), operating on the basis that building environmental awareness is more likely to be successful when kids are young and enthusiastic. Kasia’s Rubbish Rangers project only started in the summer of 2025, but already she’s running regular family litter picking events, supported by Greener Kirkcaldy. Seeing how her events help tackle social isolation is a big driver for this most committed of community champions, and she excitedly talks about her plans to make the project bigger and better. Kasia hopes her own skills will develop – she was selected to join Corra’s Community Leadership programme in September 2026.
As for Jamie? He runs off to join a couple of grown-ups to dig out a fraying plastic sandbag buried deep in the wet sand, lending his boundless energy to the tricky task.
Bags of a different kind are in evidence a few short miles up the road in Kirkcaldy at the Every One Every Day creative space. Situated in an old shop unit in the town’s Mercat Shopping Centre, the large, colourful space is crowded with people of all ages doing creative and crafty things.
Eat your heart out Tom Daley, there are two men sitting on sofas knitting; novice seamstress Audrey is altering a summer holiday blouse on one of the space’s sewing machines; a large table is surrounded by people doing paper crafts and enjoying lively chat; several sewing newbies are proudly showing off fabric handbags and totes they’ve made during one of the space’s regular afternoon sessions; and a young man called Michael is using a knitting machine to make a scarf, at the same time as talking enthusiastically about recipes he’s been able to have a go at cooking there.
Not only are local people enjoying making, creating and learning, but the positive buzz in the space is also palpable. What’s even more impressive is watching how project decisions are made with input from the regulars, it’s clearly a truly democratic process. It’s also obvious that friendships are flourishing and the mutual support being offered freely between the people there is a joy to behold.
According to Gail, EOED’s Community Project Designer, everyone really is welcome.
“Some people just wander in for a nosey or a cuppa, whole others sign up for a sewing class and end up doing something else and then keep coming back.
“We work hard to encourage a feeling of welcome – this place belongs to the people who come here. It’s just fantastic watching how folks learn from each other, have a go at things they’ve never tried before and build friendships. It’s community in action – this place is heaven on earth; it really is the best place EVER.”
EOED regular Ali agrees,
“I originally came because I wanted to make a dress for my baby niece and I saw an advert for Every One Every Day sewing classes. I thought it would be easy, but it took me ages! At first, I wasn’t that bothered about sewing but now I’m right into it.
“I found the space a bit chaotic when I started coming, but together we’ve made this in to a real community – not only do we help each other, but we’ve established systems and rules and things work much better now. I’m a wheelchair user and everyone accommodates me – I’m even able to get access to the sewing machine that is best for getting my chair up to. I really feel that I’m part of something special here, it’s a wonderful community.”
And Ali’s right, this remarkable joyous space is living proof that when projects involve local people in proper decision-making, community connection takes root and flourishes.