Cheers to a green future - Harborough's Eco Village celebrates third birthday

Harborough’s Eco Village is looking to a green future as it celebrates its third birthday.

Beth Awdry and Beth Lambert set up the Eco Village – soon to be rebranded as The Village – in February 2020, based on their vision of creating an outlet for local producers and businesses.

The not-for-profit Community Interest Company in St Mary’s Road provides a sustainable alternative to supermarket shopping, removing the need for single-use plastics.

The two Beths said, despite the challenges of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns, it has been a ‘fantastic’ three years – which included recently winning a national Muddy Stilettos award for best sustainable business – and they’re hugely excited about the future and responding to the needs of the community.

Beth Lambert said: “It has been great seeing how the Village has evolved and grown, even in such a short amount of time. Behind it all has been the community. We’ve adapted to what they need and we couldn’t have done it without them, so thank you. We’ve loved developing the Village into what it is today and working on how it can serve the community.”

Along with supportive friends and volunteers, Beth and Beth have turned an empty shell into a hub of independent businesses with sustainability and ethics at its heart, as well as a community cafe and a host of events – from artisan makers with pop-up stalls to local musicians, yoga sessions and book launches.

The duo has also set up a community fridge which allows customers to donate food which would otherwise go to waste. It is free for fellow Eco Village shoppers to take home.

Beth Awdry explained: “We’re really focussed on reducing food waste. It’s such an important issue, both environmentally and from a humanitarian point of view. We have set up a community fridge and we have plans in the pipeline for how we can do more to encourage food to be used, not to be wasted, and to help those who need it.”