PICTURE SPECIAL: Thurso celebration for Oksana after three years of eco initiative
Thurso’s British Legion was buzzing with all things eco and sustainable as Oksana Iatsiuta said farewell after a three-year tenure with Highland Community Waste Partnership (HCWP).
The Partnership threw a special leaving party, called ‘Say Bye to Waste Sustainability Fair’, that continued throughout the afternoon and evening and invited special guests along to celebrate the achievements of HCWP project officer Oksana who worked under the auspices of Thurso Community Development Trust (TCDT).
“Today is a very busy day, which is great,” said Oksana.
“We have a lot of people who are interested in our fashion swap which we have run religiously for several months. This is our final swap before the end of the project. Alongside, is our sustainability fair with all our great partners and people who worked with us towards the same cause within our community. We just want to join our forces and celebrate the different projects together.”
She said that the position for a new TCDT development manager is now open and that “should be interesting to see where they will lead us”.
Oksana has a particular interest in the local wool industry and was involved in work to rescue sheep wool from waste and reigniting interest in the cottage wool industry through the events of the Cycle of Wool.
“I hope, now that the project is completed, that our community will take over all the work we’ve done around the Cycle of Wool. There’s huge potential in sheep fleece in crafting, home improvements, gardening and other areas. There is no other material out there that ticks all the boxes that wool ticks.
“It’s heartbreaking that the farmers find it more economical to throw it away than use it. We want to change that. With all the work we’ve done, maybe we will be able to build up to greater projects and attract more funding.
“We should move things forward to decentralise the wool industry and take it into our own hands.”
She went on to explain how secondhand clothing is environmentally important as domestic textiles are some of the most “wasteful” products with a carbon footprint that make up 32 per cent of all the domestic waste in Scotland.
“The objective of this event is to remind us that, when heritage craft is being lost, we lose much more than just a skill.
Helen Allan is chair of TCDT along with the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub and said: “Today is a celebration for the ending of Oksana’s three-year project which has been really interesting as it’s allowed us to trial a lot of things across the whole of the Highlands.
“The people here today are all partners with Oksana over the last few years and she’s highlighting the tremendous work she’s done over the last few months with sheep fleeces and what can be done locally.”
The hall was buzzing with activities that highlighted local crafting with wool, the importance of coastal beach cleaning, clothing swaps, foraging and many other local groups that had been involved with the HCWP.
Oksana described it as an “ashram of sustainability, climate action and zero waste living” and the Say Bye To Waste Sustainability Fair included HCWP collaborators, community and climate action organisations, fellow projects of TCDT along with facilitators and instructors who ran multiple workshops and training courses that the Partnership delivered to hundreds of members of the local community.
Oksana says that fashion swaps are “by far the most loved and popular zero waste events with the people of Caithness” and the hall was filled with rails of secondhand clothing for the public to peruse. “The objective of this event is to remind us that, when heritage craft is being lost, we lose much more than just a skill.”
In the evening was a Lyth Arts Centre sponsored event with songs by Kate Young blended with traditional wool crafting.
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