Friendship is still the bedrock of the SWI

Jessica Munro Helped To Breathe Life Into Kinross

“Lots of new houses have been built in the Kinross area, which of course means that we have many new families moving into the area. So, when I was asked if I would help to start a new SWI group in Kinross, I had absolutely no hesitation in saying yes as it took me back to the time in my own life when I moved into the area.

I had no links with Kinross, I did not come from a farming background, and had never lived in the country. I was desperately looking for things to get involved in, and ways of meeting new friends. Then a woman I met suggested I went along with her to the ‘Rural’ and, as they say, the rest is history.

That, however, was more than twenty years ago, and many things have changed in that time. Now women are very busy, and the world we live in means the demands on their time is very different. If we want our organisation to survive and grow (and of course we do) then we must make it worth while for today’s women to invest their time.

That means we must support them to do the things they want to do, when they want to do it, and how they want to do it. The approach and language used must also be much more informal, and terms like ‘Institutes’ and ‘Committees’ should be avoided. The women I talked to said that was old fashioned and reinforced the view that the SWI was boring, was for older women, and had nothing to offer women of today.

What these women want is a relaxed, stress-free and enjoyable ‘get together’, not to be going to a formal business-like meeting. They are looking for ‘me time’. So, how do we reach out to women we don’t know yet, and how do we find out what their interests are? We ask them.

When I agreed to help start the new Kinross Group, the first thing I did was to post the idea on the Kinross-shire Community Group Facebook page, and within a day I had more than thirty positive responses.

Social media is the way most people communicate these days, so was the best way to start getting the information out there. To make sure I reached as many women as I could, I also made contact with local mother and baby groups, and put notices in the community centre.

The team at SWI central office then set up a Kinross Women’s Group Facebook group and that made it possible for me to communicate directly with the women who had expressed interest. I was able to post the dates, times, venues and info for the first four events once they were organised. I cannot overstress the importance of communication, and for the new group it is absolutely crucial. We must keep them engaged, and to do that we must keep the information and chats going, otherwise they will lose interest and we lose them.

The launch event at Kinross’ Green Hotel in February was a major success. I had booked the venue for 60 but 74 women attended so we had to set up extra tables!

I’m really pleased to say that we now have 94 members in our Facebook group. While I don’t expect all of them to turn up for every event, we have a direct line to them and will nurture the friendships.

There have been suggestions for activities which offer mental health benefits. Book groups, yoga and running groups, classes in art dance, yoga and drama, and various crafts are in the mix, so there will be something to appeal to the majority in the months ahead.

When I asked the question ‘what do you hope to get from joining the group?’, more than ninety per cent said ‘friendship’. We may all want to develop and interact with friends in different ways, and at different times, but friendship still seems to be the bedrock of being part of the SWI. With help and encouragement from our existing Institutes and support from central office, I’m confident the new group will go from strength to strength. We have a treasurer, a secretary and two more members in supporting roles, and they are calling themselves The Organising Team. As Debbie, the new secretary, said: “It should be a melting pot of ages and cultures’’. Our history goes back well over 100 years, when women worked the land and their role became increasingly important. History tells us the Board of Agriculture was recommended to support the establishment of women’s institutes in Scotland to help with food production and conservation, and ‘If you know a good thing, pass it on’ was adopted as the S.W.R.I. slogan.

Now, in this constantly changing world, I liken the changes to the SWI to that of buying an old building. We put in new windows to let the light in, we re-decorate, re-furnish, and install central heating to make it warm and welcoming, and we do all of that sound in the knowledge that we are building on firm foundations."

If you have been inspired to set up a new group in your area email Ashmita, SWI’s Membership Development Officer, at hello@theswi.org.uk.