Local social energy: Made in Inox

The excursion stop at the company Made In Inox was a real added value to this excursion. First, the proudness of the company owners about their smisse is great to see and totally justified. Above you see a photo of their smisse. I do appreciate that it was there since it is an amazing piece of history. Also the photos, old objects and sources from their ancestors and the smisse are an amazing tool in giving us a look into the history of their family and life’s work. I especially appreciate it since the brother of my grandad had an old farm full of old tools and a workshop. It makes you truly relieved that life is easier now.

 

Another thing they are justly proud of is their social engagement -which they call “Duaal Leren”- of inviting children to learn about spatial insight and small technical skills and letting older youth work in their workshop and acquaintance the work floor. It reminds me of Henk’s talk on “local social energy”. Socially engaged people make initiatives like “Dorpspunt” work and let others benefit from that work. The people from Made In Inox are also socially engaged and let young people benefit of it. The best thing is that they have such a unique and interesting place and that they just make it available for others, to make other people better. They realize that their workshop can be of other use than just the obvious ones. 

 

To end, I want to say that it is nice to see some local family businesses in a world of gigantism. The fact that their workers all live in the region, that their products are also regionally asked for (for example the sign for the Sint-Bernardus brewery of Watou), is the kind of business that I do appreciate and that makes you believe in the local social energy and economy Henk Vandaele of Heuvelland Vrijstaat talked about.

Vincent Deketelaere

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Landscape as a Social Connector

Image
  The hills of the Westhoek give depth to the landscape. I remember very fondly how my dad and me would drive to Kemmel with my grandma, to buy bread and to enjoy the view on the Kemmelberg. Conversations were always connected with the landscape. My dad would tell stories about his childhood, those would come alive by driving through the different places. I remember being grateful whenever I would be there with my grandma. I remember the tour my uncle gave me around the Westhoek, we would have endless conversations. When walking from Oostduinkerke to Nieuwpoort, my grandpa would explain how he placed the white sheets for the airplane that would take photos when he worked for the Flemish Land Company (Vlaamse Landmaatschappij). All my family members are passionate about at least one of the many landscapes in this diverse region. Kris and Luc from ‘Tuinsappen Lombarts Calville’ (http://www.tuinsappen.be/) share their passion for the fauna and flora in the valley of the Wijtschatebeek, wh
Read more

Community Spirit

It's not everyday you come across individuals talking so excitedly about their neighbours. Let’s face it, in today's society we don't talk to people; let alone our neighbours who are so close yet so distantly far in our social realm. Perhaps that's what attracts the residents of Westhoek to stay here despite the lack of food related facilities and long distances to the nearest grocery store. A friendly atmosphere is created by the community as a whole; thus allowing an informal network working interconnectedly to help one another. We talked to three residents today, who said that people in their villages rely on each other; they are dependent on their neighbours in case of emergencies, to do the groceries, or other essentials that are otherwise difficult to do on their own. It's sometimes really a big step for people to accept help. While they want to do it on their own and rely on themselves, it’s not easy to do so especially when there are physical and other healt
Read more

De Panne

Image
 De Panne is a municipality in the Western corner of Belgium, close to the Belgian border. Although not the biggest of coastal cities it is worth mentioning that it has it's own place in history. At the coast we can find the statue of Leopold 1, the first king of Belgium. This is not a coincidence as De Panne was the first place where Leopold 1 set foot on Belgian soil. Since then the small fisher village has evolved into a tourist hub, where it takes advantage of its position at the border. The village evolved in the latter stages of the 19th century into the tourist hub we know today. As it lays on the largest tramtrack in the world it is well connected with all the other Belgian holiday destinations at the coast. The economy especially booms in the summer where we see an increase in population from 11 000 to 60 000, with the mayor describing this as his own Werchter, as the tourists treat their stay in De Panne as a festival.  The city his proximity to the border can be seen as
Read more