The Glasgow women's project building a stronger community

Waste to Wishes, run by Gilded Lily in Govan and supported by the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund, runs free sewing, cooking and craft sessions, all built around reducing, reusing and recycling.

As well as tackling environmental issues, however, the initiative has had a fantastic side effect.

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Khadija Silaha, a keen cook who moved to Glasgow from Kenya, explains: “Cooking and sewing bring people together to share food and stories, and from this, grows many more things like friendship and community.

“This is a safe and friendly place for all of us, and it helps to make our community stronger.”

Making Glasgow communities stronger is at the heart of the Glasgow Times Streets Ahead campaign supported by Glasgow City Counci, City Charitable Trust and City Building. Our initiative encourages neighbours and friends to work together to improve their streets, parks, gardens and neighbourhoods for the benefit of all.

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Project manager Mary MacLeod, who is the driving force behind Gilded Lily, explains: “Waste to Wishes is designed to empower women, to raise their confidence and to encourage them to talk about climate change and look at how they can get involved, debating the issues and influencing the decision-makers. The women we support come from a diverse mix of backgrounds and cultures.”

Today, Khadija and fellow cooks and sewers Sindy, Yuen and Yasmeen are making pizzas, potato wedges and pecan caramel sauce (for the vegan meringues to follow). They are also preparing for the group’s forthcoming fashion show, featuring upcycled clothes made and modelled by the group.

Yuen Humble used leftover fabric to make a lovely lilac embroidered jacket for the show, which takes place in Govan and Linthouse Parish Church on March 12.

“It is important to promote recycling,” says Yuen, who came to Glasgow from Hong Kong four years ago. “We can’t do the big things needed to save the planet but if all of us do a little at a time, using our skills and knowledge, together we can have a big impact.”

Sindy, who did not want to give her second name, joined the group to learn more about climate change but says she discovered much more besides.

“I came here to find out who I can recycle and what I can do to help the planet, and I found new friends and new skills too,” she smiles.

Waste to Wishes uses donations of leftover food from local supermarkets in its cooking classes and regular community meals, and there are group discussions about how food production affects the climate and reducing food waste at home.

The shelves and tables of its cheerful Govan Road home are packed with pretty jewellery, fashioned from used plastic bottles, hand-written recipes and knitted goods. It is warm and welcoming, as Yasmeen Chaudhry, who is doing a climate leadership course as part of the project, explains.

“You feel like you are in your own house when you come here,” smiles Yasmeen, who is from Pollokshields. “Society is very divided at the moment, but projects like ours can help to build a stronger community, from the ground up.”