A COMMUNITY group has built six off-grid cabins in the Highlands in a bid to boost funding for other local projects.
The Glengarry Community Development Trust, formerly the Glengarry Community Woodlands, announced the new cabins will be open for tourists “wanting to get away from it all”.
The cabins, located in Glengarry woods beside the River Garry, have no electricity, wifi or running water, but do have wood burners and a communal shower block.
The trust said the income from the new cabins is “vital” in keeping their community projects alive.
Glengarry Community Development Trust’s development manager, Tom Cooper, said it is about “making the most of your assets” and hopes the Highland cabins will be a hit with tourists who want a more secluded experience of the Scottish landscape.
He said: “We are a community charity and we need an income that will enable us to keep various community projects going. We looked hard at the figures for different businesses – including a shop and café - but cabin accommodation gave us the best income.
“It’s about making the most of your assets and we are really lucky that we have great potential tourist developments. In a place like this, tourist development was always on the cards even before the community took over.”
The community group took control of the woodland in 2016 and has prioritised sustainable development of the area along with education projects, a profitable firewood business, and it intends to develop affordable housing on other sites that the organisation has now acquired.
The group said it is aware that prioritising accommodation for the tourist market might be controversial for some people.
However, Cooper insisted everything the trust does is “ultimately for the community”.
He said: “With the cabins we aren’t taking anything away from the local tourist businesses. As well as tourists, we intend to use the cabins for local events, they will be available for away-days or away-weekends, or for organisations that want a weekend retreat in the forest.
“Everything we do is ultimately for the community. If getting an income from the cabins enables us to keep our other projects going and allows us to develop new projects, the overall benefit for the community is clear to see.”
Cooper added that all the cabins were built using local materials including timber and labour sourced from the Highlands.
“It isn’t like what we see a lot, where cabins are brought into the Highlands, pre-built and craned off a lorry. We use all our own wood, we use local labour, and our green footprint is very healthy,” he said.
The group has often struggled to get a secure income, but they have looked to benefit from the increase in wind farm construction in the local area.
Glengarry is surrounded by five different wind farm projects at different stages of planning or development.
One windfarm currently donates £550,000 a year to be split between communities in Glengarry and Fort Augustus, with a further £50,000 a year from a second wind farm project.
“We get a decent income from firewood and timber,” Cooper said, “but what really helps us at the moment is money the whole community gets from wind farms.
“Some people think community buyouts are awash with public money. But the share of public money we get is tiny – less than one percent from the Council for example and less than five percent each from Highland and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish Government.
“The vast majority of our money comes from the wind farms Community Benefit Funds. I can’t stress how important these funds are in terms of allowing us to get things done. These funds at the moment are piecemeal and there is a need to standardise these Benefit Funds in order to benefit communities.
“When that is sorted, local communities should get a lot of benefit. But projects like the cabins will help keep us going independently into the future.”
