During 2024 Lodestone continued to offer low cost rent to new business start ups in our office spaces in Dumbarton. At the end of 2024 we had 6 permanent users of our studio space. The main bulk of our work in 2024 was continuing to develop the Made Guid Shop in Dumbarton - an eco refill shop selling household cleaning refills, food refills and environmentally friendly products. We also supported local makers by having a section in the shop for local craft goods. In 2024 we completed a funded project running food and health workshops. One of the aims of this project was for people to become more familiar and comfortable with the range of wholefoods and options we sold and to relate this back to health improvements and better choices for the planet, Participants have feedback a range of positive comments focused on the relaxed nature of the workshops and the ability to replicate recipes at home. The menopause foods workshops were very popular due their informal nature and range of food information that could help with a number of peri and menopause symptoms. The Friday night dine ins always have a relaxed social feel about them with participants sitting round the table at the end of the cooking and sharing stories. We worked with a range of local residents who had not engaged with any of our activities before and we have been able to first introduce them to new ways of thinking about food and preparing recipes but also a different approach to how they shop and what to look for when trying to shop for the planet and source locally. What worked well - Having a great community chef to work with who had the correct experience for working with a range of participants and how had the nutritional background to link food options with health benefits in a fun and engaging way - Moving venue to have our own cooking space. Originally we worked from a table within our shop premises. We moved the shop to new premises in January 2024 with added workshop space in the upper floors that enabled us to set up for regular workshops and have space to have shared meals together. - Word of mouth sharing about the benefit of the workshop - Once the workshops were in full swing we did begin to notice repeat participants. - Being able to add in a some alternative food concepts such as ayurvedic practice and herbalism into the range of workshops we could offer over and above straightforward cooking classes. Our arts programme has been on hold since 2020 as we develop the eco refill shop and food programmes.

The shop regulary asks customers about the focus of our work, our products and to shape our workshop programme. This is done through informal methods and chatting to customers who use the shop regularly. We also make use of social media regulary for sharing information and gathering feedback. The food workshops gathered information from participants after each workshop through conversation and an email after the workshop. The feedback from these has helped shape future funding applications for workshops.

£4872 was the total amount fo salary paid to Directors

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