This summer we were hugely grateful to all our funders, Dunbar Community Council, East Lothian Council, The Paristamen, Active Schools and Dunbar Rotary, who made the Boat Building trip on the Isle of Mull a reality. During a wonderful week in August, our wonderful team of apprentice and trainee stonemasons hung up their chisels and straight edges, left the comforts of home in Dunbar and set out on the road to the Isle of Mull to learn the craft of boat building.
This was a unique opportunity for a small cohort of our trainees to broaden their horizons in terms of experiencing time on Mull, camping on a croft and being self-sufficient but also developing the design and build skills to construct a rowing boat. The course which was facilitated by Archipelago Folk School and the team developed skills that encouraged participation in the community and connection with the environment.
It can safely be said that this proved to be a wonderful experience for the individuals involved, allowing them to see different parts of the country and how communities, very different from their own, survive and thrive. There are even rumours going around that some of these young men ate vegetables – a taste for which they are not normally known. Not completely forgoing their stonemasonry work ethic they managed to squeeze in time on beautiful Iona, visiting the inspirational and awe-inspiring Iona Abbey. For those who want to know, the boat is called, “Go Home”, but we can’t possibly tell you why.
The experiential learning and transferable skills acquired throughout the week enabled the individuals and the team to grow as human beings, develop confidence, empathy, a new skill set and realise how their behaviour as individuals effects the whole.
You must be logged in to post a comment.