Raising Horizons at Kingussie's New Bookshop

A second hand bookshop with a difference will be officially opened on Friday 7th October, 2005 at 3.30pm in Kingussie by Peter Peacock, Minister for Education and Young People.

Situated on Kingussie High Street, “The Bookshop”, run by a local charitable company Caberfeidh Horizons Limited, is one of four community wellbeing exemplar projects in Scotland supported by the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health to promote community well being. The Bookshop has been set up to:

 demonstrate that selling second hand books in a pleasant environment can enable people with learning difficulties to integrate into the local and wider community and to demonstrate the contribution people with learning difficulties, make to communities;
 combat the isolation, inactivity and marginalisation of many young people of working age with a learning disability; and
 raise the confidence and self-awareness in people with learning disabilities in order to improve their quality of life and future prospects and to break down any barriers of mistrust, misunderstanding, stigma and prejudice in the community.

Customers at The Bookshop can enjoy a cup of coffee and home baking while they make a decision on their purchases.

From the outset, carers and people with learning difficulties, came up with the initial ideas and have been involved in the developments and decision-making on establishing The Bookshop. The shop is rooted into the community through staffing by local volunteers; providing work experience placements for pupils at Kingussie High School; and it has direct links into the local residential home for the elderly.

Caberfeidh Horizons recognised while the development of The Bookshop is extremely important to the people of Kingussie, it could also be of interest and benefit to other communities. The group is systemically recording all their developments and recording progress on all aspects of the project through a range of methods, including photographs, videos, written work and diaries. A facilitator from the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health is supporting them in this task as the project is one of four community wellbeing exemplar projects which receive funding from the Scottish Executive’s National Programme to Improve Mental Health and Wellbeing. The aim is to produce an ‘off-the-shelf-guide’ for others to set up similar enterprises in their own communities throughout the country.

Margaret MacLaren, Chairman of Caberfeidh Carers’ Group said: “This project is about people with learning disabilities who, all too often, are the “Cinderellas” of the social and education services. It is about them taking their rightful place in the community. As a carer and campaigner I fight for their right to be treated the same as everyone else. Equally I fight for their right to be different and for that difference to be accepted.”

Project supporter and Local Highland Councillor, Sheen Slimon said: “Our community has opened Caberfeidh Bookshop because we believe in raising the confidence and self-awareness in people with learning disabilities in order to improve the quality of life in our community and we believe in breaking down any barriers of mistrust, misunderstanding, stigma and prejudice. We welcome and celebrate the diversity of all who enter The Bookshop.”

Funding for the first three years of the project has been secured from the Scottish Executive, Futurebuilders, The Highland Council, The Robertson Trust, Scottish Co-op Community Scheme, Cairngorms Leader+ Programme, Health & Happiness, Shell UK, National Health Trust Highland, and the Scottish Mental Health Centre.

Caberfeidh Horizons Limited’s intentions are however, that The Bookshop should, in the future, become self sufficient as far as possible.