‘Muddy Friends’ is where we recognise the relationships we have with other companies and individuals. We wanted to recognise them for their outstanding contributions.
Surfability CIC UK
It is funny how we bump into people in life. Claire bumped into Surfability CIC UK in the Spring of 2018, on a sunny but windy Spring day on Caswell Beach in the Gower Peninsula, South Wales. She was there with her friend and her spaniel extraordinaire, Pebble, all of which were enjoying the sand, sun and water.
Claire was inspired by what she saw, a young lad with cerebral palsy, surfing with the specialist surfing organisation Surfability CIC UK, and a very proud mum watching her son with a smile from ear to ear. The young gentleman was Ethan Jolosa and what an inspiration he was and is to watch. His story is one of those that will both give you that warm fussy feeling of goodness in the world and at the same time feel you with admiration because of the challenges that he has overcome to do what he has done and continues to do.
It was from that day that Claire made contact with Ben Clifford, the founder of Surfability CIC UK and what a positive and motivating experience it has been to form a sound working relationship with Ben and the Community Interest Company Surfability UK. Their aim is to combine best practice from special education, health care, surfing and lifeguarding to make surfing as inclusive as possible while having a safe and really enjoyable experience.
The impact of surf therapy is growing in recognition with the UK medical and health bodies but Surfability CIC UK doesn’t get the impressive impact results it does just from the qualifications and water experience of the coaches alone.
Ben and his team are both compassionate and ambitious for everyone that arrives to the beach. They embrace dignity of risk, are caring, work to the individual needs of the person and can calm the most anxious of people. They are passionate about what they are doing. That is what makes Surfability CIC UK such a successful form of blue care and so good for holistic health and wellness; it’s ethos and the people that are Surfability CIC UK. Claire herself volunteers now with the organisation and surf therapy has been built into the Muddy Care rehabilitation programme and Muddy events as part of it’s core delivery.
If you have a chronic condition(s) and want to have a go at surfing to improve your health and wellbeing, follow this link.
Keela
Keela are an outdoor technical clothing manufacturer based in the north of the UK. Now anyone who lives in Scotland or who visits regularly, knows that this beautiful land gets proper weather and what I mean by that is snow, ice, rain, wind and sunshine, but quite often serious snow, ice, rain, wind and of course sunshine.
Over the years, I have spent much time in Scotland, in the hills, on the sea, lochs and rivers, which includes one New Years in Scotland pulling a loaded open boat over a frozen river and lake and camping in -15 to -18°C …it seemed like a good idea at the time😊. Any successful outdoor clothing brand that has originated in Scotland and has stood the test of time, has been built to withstand challenging weather and Keela does exactly this very, very well.
I have worked in the outdoor industry since I was 19 years of age, 26 years ago and I was introduced to Keela through outdoor centre work. The gear is robust and in real weather, works consistency. The reason Muddy Care CIC approached Keela was around the themes of sustainability, not just in reference to the longevity of the kit but its ethos as well.
Keela clothing is all produced at their own factory facilities which means each Keela garment is 100% traceable. Retaining ownership of their manufacturing allows them to be innovative as are Muddy Care CIC. We liked this about Keela. They are a kindred spirit.
Muddy Care CIC uses the outdoors as their classroom. A key part of our long term rehabilitation programme are participants building and improving their knowledge and understanding and ultimately their responsibility towards the natural environment. Thus, we always knew we had to approach brands that showed active responsibility towards the environment too.
ü Keela are ethical, following the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code.
ü They have a Keela Clothing Hospital where gear can be repaired, not thrown away.
ü They were the first Scottish clothing manufacturer to sign up to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP). They also work hard to incorporate environmental processes into their daily activities, boycotting harmful substances such as PVCd and PTFE laminates, sourcing raw materials from sustainable sources and donating unneeded fabric to charities.
By Keela supporting Muddy Care CIC, they are fundamental cog in ensuring that Muddy Care participants and staff, can have the best possible experience in the Muddy Care outdoor classroom. Many of our participants have body temperature regulation challenges, we often have to have frequent breaks and rest periods, so by having gear that works in the outdoors means we can be assured that even on challenging weather days, the participants are warm, dry and happy. And this makes a huge impact on their health and wellbeing and overall experience on our Sundays together. So thank you Keela. Muddy Care are eternally grateful. You are helping to change lives for the better.
National Lottery Community
We are extremely grateful to the National Lottery community support fund that has supported Muddy Care CIC from the beginning. They have been a fundamental support mechanism in enabling Muddy Care CIC begin their journey and legacy in helping and supporting people of working age who have chronic conditions. The lottery community fund highlights the importance of community projects and their place in enhancing holistic health and wellbeing of people with particular challenges. What Muddy Care CIC demonstrates without doubt, is how effective and important community projects are in meeting the needs of target groups who are not being supported effectively. They allow innovation and creativity to develop and to blossom and they believe in the power of people. So thank you whole heartedly National Lottery for believing in Muddy Care CIC. The testimonials of the people we are helping show what a difference your support has and is making.
Brecon Beacons National Park
Although I have been visiting the Brecon Beacons National park for decades (paddling it’s rivers, climbing it’s hills and mountains, cycling it’s lanes and tracks, carrying out river, geological and biodiversity studies), I am lucky to say I have been blessed to live in this National Park since 2014. Living here has played a fundamental role in my healing journey and coping effectively with repeated medical trauma which resulted in continuous loss, significant physical challenges and emotional pain. These were the dominant experiences in my life for several years as they are for so many with serious chronic conditions.
Muddy Care CIC was born and evolved whilst living in this spectacular landscape. As a professional outdoor and environmental educator, the outdoors has been my place of work for 28 years. I believe and scientific research would reinforce this statement, that for a holistic health and wellbeing educational rehabilitation programme, there is no better place than an outdoor environment of outstanding beauty, diverse flora, fauna and geological features which has a range of contrasting natural environments. The Brecon Beacons National Park has all of these. Why is such an environment so fundamental to a programme such as Muddy Care? For so many reasons but in short, it allows us (the educational Muddy Care team) to deliver educational objectives for all six facets of health and wellbeing, not just partially but with equal importance. And that is our key philosophy to our educational tools and strategies. Approach your chronic condition from a holistic perspective.
I (the CEO of Muddy Care CIC) have also attended and graduated from several of the Ambassador programmes that the Brecon Beacons National Park have run, which have been fantastic. Muddy Care’s strategic development plan includes both working with the National Park from a health and wellbeing strategy but also from a sustainable environmental strategy. Sustainable development is interweaved into everything that we do.
The Brecon Beacon’s Sustainable Development Fund have supported Muddy Care’s mini pilot long term rehabilitation programme (MPLTRP) and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them. Our testimonials illustrate how successful the MPLTRP has been and as Muddy Care continues to grow, it is the support and generosity of organisations such as the Brecon Beacons National Park that enable innovative, community-based projects such as Muddy Care CIC to grow and blossom.
Arwain/Powys LEADER Programme
Research carried out by Muddy Care highlights that rehabilitation services predominantly only support the chronic conditions of brain, spinal and some cardiac conditions. There are services for pain management but these services vary county to county in what they can offer. If your chronic condition falls outside of these categories (which several thousand of people with chronic conditions in Wales do) there is nothing in terms of rehabilitation services for these people. NHS funding has not been commissioned for this section of people and this is where third party organisations such as Muddy Care CIC become vitally important as do funding initiatives such as the Arwain/Powys LEADER Programme.
The Arwain/Powys LEADER Programme have supported our community interest company from the beginning and have provided 80% of our funding for our long-term mini pilot rehabilitation programme (LTMPRP). We will be eternally grateful for their belief, trust and financial support in our vision, ethos, innovation and objective to support a section of people that have been neglected for years. And for those who fall into this category in rural areas, our research would suggest that this neglect is even greater which highlights the importance of rural funding initiatives such as the Arwain/Powys LEADER Programme.