Issue 36 2023 - Journal - Page 65
Following lockdown,
Connect-Conserve
Cyswllt-Cadwraeth
Cymru is launched putting conservation
back into the community
There probably isn’t a wrong time to start a social business, working for a cause is a noble task,
however it had never been a business approach I had previously considered. Lockdown has
altered a great many people’s perspectives on work and home life, including my own.
I then made the proposal that we come together to work
as a community company, finding work for conservators
working in Wales, using our broad conservation backgrounds, our skills and expertise to win contracts, and
reinvesting any profit back into the community through
training, mentoring and offering free remedial conservation. We realised that working collaboratively and supporting each other would be more sustainable than
returning to pre-pandemic ways. Within 4 months Connect-Conserve|Cyswllt-Cadwraeth Cymru, Community
Interest Company was registered and trading.
As a freelance conservator, experiencing a complete halt
to your income, which is often a little tentative at best,
has made many of us re-evaluate the way we work and
live. Many of us have acknowledged that business owners
need to become more resilient and adaptable. Lockdown
and the painfully slow emergence from it, triggered something in my mindset that there must be a more sustainable
way of working.
Having taken voluntary redundancy from Amgueddfa
Cymru-National Museum Wales in 2014, I became my
own boss running my company ‘Pure Conservation’, a
natural history conservation business. After the second
lockdown in 2021 my perception of future success had
changed, I did not see how I, my colleagues or competitors
could remain sustainable in such an altered climate.
A particular concern of Connect is that c.40% of work
raised in Wales travels over the border. This was a figure
relating to documentary heritage in particular (Peach &
Ryan, 2014). There are numerous reasons for this, but
Connect wanted to highlight the expertise and skills already in Wales. It is more sustainable to use local conservators, and as Connect comprises of only accredited
conservators working in Wales, therefore there is a vast
pool of expertise and varied specialisms within a growing
membership of currently 24 conservators.
During lockdown, heritage organisations were hit hard
and many were closed. Only key workers were retained
and most employees were placed on furlough. This meant
that freelance conservators were not considered for new
contracts. Projects were cancelled and no new work was
forthcoming. A sizeable chunk of our income disappeared
almost overnight.
Following lockdown, Connect also identified that without
staff, collections will suffer and it was apparent that collections and their repositories had become damp and collections had begun to moulder, a direct response to
increased condensation and reduced access and care.
Connect has since been able to provide expert consultancy on identifying the sources and rectifying these issues. Not always immediately apparent.
Combining financial strain with enforced isolation from
friends and family and restricted outside freedom, this all
contributed to a serious impact on the general welfare of
individuals, many of whom were already feeling isolated
through lone working and a more rural lifestyle.
Having moved to Carmarthen in 2019, and then being
locked down, I hadn’t had the opportunity to acquaint
myself with my professional local network. Following
lockdown, it became a priority and I was heartened to find
so many accredited conservators living out west. I
connected through email with the aim of offering companionship and support, which developed into coffee
meetings, then visiting workspaces and homes and becoming more involved in each others’ lives. We shared
our lockdown experiences which were all pretty grim and
If larger historic houses and museums were noticing these
issues, then smaller community groups and charities
would also share the same challenges but not have the
resources or the networks to get help. As Connect is a
business with primarily social objectives, any surpluses
made are principally reinvested for that purpose in the
business or the community. Connect is a company that is
funded by enterprise and not solely donations and grants.
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Conservation & Heritage Journal
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