About Us

In Dunbar and the surrounding villages it can be especially hard to find jobs, and to access support and training. We are 30 miles away from Edinburgh and the cost of public transport makes working and training in Edinburgh and its outskirts prohibitively expensive.

The problems faced by the more vulnerable members of our community whether it be substance abuse, mental health issues, or issues arising from poverty are all exacerbated by Dunbar’s poor public transport system. The Ridge aims to provide local, effective, personalised and holistic support for local people to help them move beyond dependency towards contribution and fulfilment.

Across the Ridge, we aim:

  • to create jobs and training opportunities, primarily in Dunbar. We value our local heritage, in terms of both the natural and the built environment, and want to make sure that the current and future generations are able to appreciate and care for it.

We want to:

  • provide training and support to help people find gainful employment locally
    develop a range of practical supports to allow more vulnerable members of our community to overcome barriers in accessing training and necessary interventions, to facilitate the fulfilment of their potential.
  • provide training and support to give individuals the knowledge and skills to cook healthy food from scratch for themselves and their families, with a limited budget
  • protect our local environmental heritage by creating a training garden within the historic Backlands site, respecting its historic significance, whilst also developing local skills and knowledge around gardening
    protect our local built heritage by creating a base of skills and knowledge to carry out restoration and
  • maintenance of historic buildings.
    develop business uses for restored buildings, to create jobs and to provide income to make our projects sustainable
  • promote and make available the personal health and well-being benefits of gardening stimulate our local economy by improving Dunbar town centre as a tourist attraction, as well as an attractive place for local people to live, work and shop