Ish Ash Osh Happy New Year For The Woodcraft Folk

New Year is a time for the young and this year could be a particularly good one for that most important of our youth organisations, the Woodcraft Folk. Founded back in the 1920’s as an alternative to the growing militarization of Scouting the aim was to develop a new social order to support world peace, partly by introducing poorer children from urban slums to the joys of exercise, fresh air and the countryside.

Writing as The Headman ("Little Otter") the Woodcraft Folk's founder, Leslie Paul, in the 1926 book Who's For the Folk, said:

'The Woodcraft Folk seek to establish a new social order. They believe that when the worker achieves freedom from wage slavery and the fruits of the soil are garnered by the toilers, then will a new stage of development open out to man. A new epoch, rich in promise of a finer social life and a greater awakening of intellect. We are rebels ... and to this decadent civilization, we bring a new fire and a new energy. We go out of the town and away to the hills and woods with our little light-weight tents packed in our rucksacks ... after the ugliness and monotony of the smoky city we find new life among the green growing things and new health from the sun and the four winds. And this health, together with our understanding, enables us to fight tenaciously for social betterment.''

Not exactly New Labour language.

Well that was the thought back in 2005 when Margaret Hodge, then children's minister told the Folk, that it would not get its annual grant of £52,000 putting the volunteer led organization under considerable strain. The Department of Education and Skills said their claim for funding lacked detail and did not have "sufficiently robust outcome indicators". Which they said meant it did not represent "good value for money''.

So freedom from wage slavery is not a “robust outcome indicator”.

Some Folk felt that the cut was more to do with their strong opposition to the Iraq War. Having always had strong peace movement links they had affiliated to the Stop the War Coalition. A newspaper advertisement calling its members to attend the great anti-war march led to a letter from the Charity Commission about overstepping the mark. Another suggestion for the failure of their application was that Woodcraft was too “middle class”. Something the Folk strenuously rejected.

The cut caused a huge outcry from its friends including a parliamentary revolt with 113 MPs signing a Commons motion deploring the move, tabled by Morning Star columnist and Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn. Nevertheless the cut lead to local Woodcraft Groups around the country having their annual grant suspended and the crisis was compounded when Woodcraft Folk General Secretary Andy Piercy was hospitalised after suffering a suspected stroke during the campaign.

Eventually after a meeting with an embattled Margaret Hodge she offered a member of her own staff to work for the Folk for 12 months on secondment to help support them to look for ways to diversify their funding.

In 2006 the Folk acquired the skills and energy of a new and at twenty seven, youthful, general secretary Kirsty Palmer. She set to work to put the Folk on a sound footing which resulted in a new constitution agreed at the 2007 annual conference. It began, “The Woodcraft Folk is an educational movement for children and young people, designed to develop self confidence and activity in society, with the aim of building a world based on equality, friendship, peace and co-operation.”

The search began too for alternative funding. Their first major success was persuading the government’s Climate Challenge Fund, to support – “C-Change” a project which engages young people who have some knowledge and concern about climate change to raise the awareness of their peers.

Then late last year the Folk hit the jackpot when they where awarded a five-year grant of £1.26 million from the Big Lottery Fund for the TREE (Training, Representation, Equality and Engagement) project. Developed by young Woodcraft Folk members and to be led by them, in partnership with the National Youth Agency, the Co-operative College and the National Deaf Children’s Society it will engage 10-18 year olds in decision-making and the development of services, policy and practice, giving them the skills to campaign and communicate.

Among the aims is welcome plan to increase the number of Woodcraft Folk groups. Debs McMahon, Woodcraft Folk’s Membership Development Manager said “It really is a fantastic opportunity to give young people new experiences and skills, whilst making a real difference to Woodcraft Folk groups and the wider community.”

This is a great boost for the Woodcraft Folk, let’s hope they build on this opportunity, and it brings forward the day the fruits of the soil are garnered by the toilers!

Interested in the Woodcraft Folk See: www.woodcraft.org.uk