About us

About Us.

Who We Are. 

As a community led organisation, our AMMV Energy Works project is the start of a new future. A community with its own energy source has the resources to counteract socially disadvantaged groups. The community, through initiatives like the EHE, has the ability to demonstrate its values of caring for each-other as it provides the community with a platform to generate, store, release and sell its own energy at a price that addresses fuel poverty.

It allows community associations, businesses and specific resident groups to buy the local energy produced at a substantially lower cost than the current 14p, ideally at 7p. 
Plus maintaining our community energy creates jobs. Generating and selling our own energy creates an income to develop new services. Services that through austerity have been sliced to almost non - existent. Responsibility for those services can be “taken back” and owned by our community. Our community spirit and the sense of pride we felt belonging to the villages of Aberfan and Merthyr Vale is still there. The breadth of this project touches all community demographics.

The common goals allow us to rekindle our community spirit, re-ignite our sense of pride and restores a belief in ourselves and our ability to drive issues forward to make change happen.

 Strategies & Plans.

Our project aim is to showcase our community as an exemplary village, highlighting what can be achieved. A village the world once perceived as so sad to live in can become the place any person would be glad to live. We believe we speak for the local residents, when we say we have always been glad and very proud to live here.

Raising the profile of the AMMV Energy Works villages will raise the profile of MTCBC. The result: Merthyr rises dramatically in the league table of renewable activity.

To make the project a reality we need to form progressive, proactive partnerships in a political arena that breaks down invisible, perceived barriers and replaces them with solutions. An arena that embraces community led initiatives and is prepared to let the community lead a place-based approach to regeneration.
 

Enterprise Opportunities.

Treherbert, Carrau, and ourselves were active communities within the pilot Project Skyline - How to build a valley.
There are more opportunities that spaces to write them in and all addressed climate change.

We visited Kilfaenaen Woodlands and shared their plans for building their own homes from the woodlands surrounding them. The solution was a quality starter home that stopped young people leaving the islands.

Self Sufficient communities was a very strong theme. Training from within. Establishing experts from within. Motivating locals through direct action and exemplary pilots like their forest schools.

We have identified Llandysul (Carmarthenshire) and Cwmtwrch (Powys) as additional areas that fit the Skyline ethos. Both have residential areas (largely off the gas "grid") using oil and LPG that can be replaced by biomass grown in the woodlands that surrounds them.
The Table of counties by Local Authority suggest Powys are doing something different.
The reality is, that it is the individual people in Powys who have taken action to install renewables that sets them at the top of the scale. The zero interest loan offered by Powys County Council (now in operation for at least 10 years) has made it easier. Action was taken by land owners and people who had the money to take advantage of the highest FiT.

The Heads of the Valley Task Force initiatives have run workshops aimed at strengthening communities. The initiatives like closer jobs to home appear to be able to fund some of the community enterprise jobs our climate change projects will bring.

These opportunities to create enterprise include:-

• Assembly of batteries
• 12,000 solar panels fitted
• Flat pack homes, assembly of the homes
• Maintenance of renewables
• Biomass production for centre of excellence
• Shop for sale from community Growing
• Natural burial ground
• Sustainable Land Management
• Fruit planting from the Fruit Factor project, a fruit tree planted for every child
• “ Golf Buggies “ powered by solar from the disused cemetery chapel, provided to help our own elders and visitors with less mobility access the graves and garden of remembrance.
• Developing Tourism and hospitality.

What The Future Can Hold.

For over 53 years now people from all over the world have visited our village. Every year when we mourn our loss we ask the world not to forget us and they don’t. Sadly we are not a very good host. We do not have facilities, basic rest room and catering to welcome visitors. 
We do have a beautiful valley and space to rebalance our position.
• Bike Park Wales.
• The nearness to the Beacons
• Rhydycar West
All bring opportunities for sustainable enterprise.

Example designs exist from Japan of locally produced ECO Tree Houses and a Woodland café maximising their position along the river-bank cater for long and short stay visitors.

A 5 acre small holding is available to purchase for our fruit orchard.
A local farm (now grazing only due to the age of the owner) is a possible community purchase. The land has numerous avenues for ground mounted solar, ground source heat pumps and storage batteries.
3 pubic areas have been offered for food and flower planting.
The once famous Aberfan show is being revitalised through the newly established horticultural group Afon Gwreddiau.
   

Simple action to grow and use our own food has a big impact on climate change and on our health and well-being.
The aquaponics units we have had donated specifically for the young people will speak to this. Deferred gratification is not a skill the young posses, we hope the increase in growing speed and opportunities to grow all year will keep them interested and enthused.

In their holiday project they were actively involved in making solar benches, learning about peddle power, making their own assault course, making fruit look fun and making products that would sell to help get them a building. All products from their own environment.

Sadly the Youth in our AMMV area have no real provision and no building to establish a youth centre. Our request to fund a holiday and time banking service is still being considered.
These children are our future. They want to do something to give them a very positive future that resembles the past of their grandparents.
 
A life that looks after the Well-being of our Future Generations.

Share by: