Companies in the Welsh speaking heartlands of Wales will be urged to make more use of the language to revitalise the rural economy.
The call will come at a special summit to celebrate the achievements of the Bwrlwm ARFOR project that’s reaching out to businesses, from village shops to multi-million pound operations.
The aim is to create opportunities for young people and families to help them stay in or return to their home communities.
The project part of the £11 million Welsh Government ARFOR Two scheme that’s targeting the Welsh strongholds of Ynys Môn, Gwynedd, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire to create opportunities for young people and families to help them stay in or return to their home communities.
The keynote speaker at the ARFOR24 event at Llanelli’s Parc y Scarlets on Thursday, November 28, will be Nigel Williams, Finance Director of the Cross Hands-based independent food wholesaler, Castell Howell, which employs 800 people in the ARFOR area.
There will also be exhibitions by jeweller Elen Bowen, of Gemwaith Elen Bowen in Newcastle Emlyn, who has benefited from ARFOR’s Llwyddo’n Lleol project, and brewery Bragdy Cybi, from Holyhead, who have been supported by ARFOR’s Cymunedau Mentrus – Enterprising Communities scheme.
In addition to the summit there is the Ffair Fasnach – Trade Fair exhibition sponsored by law firm Darwin Gray which has offices in Cardiff and at Parc Menai, Bangor.
The event is being organised by fast-growing Ynys Môn-based consultancy Lafan as part of the Welsh Government’s Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050, which aims to ensure there are a million Welsh speakers by 2050, and runs until the end of March.
It will be compered by TV personality Angharad Mair, and there will be short presentations by four businesses from across the ARFOR area explaining how they embrace the Welsh language and benefit economically from its use.
Zoe Pritchard, who’s been leading the project for Lafan, said: “The Welsh language is a business advantage in Wales and our aim has been to create a buzz around the use of Welsh in the commercial environment.
“Our aim is to showcase the economic benefits that speaking Welsh and promoting the language in businesses can have and boost your bottom line.
“Conversely, the fact is that not using Welsh or at least having the language on show can cost money by losing out on that Welsh audience.
“The language is a key part of life in our communities and can help businesses thrive and provide careers for our young people so they don’t feel they have to move away.
“We have been delighted to identify so many businesses across the four counties which make good use of the language to offer great service, employ Welsh-speaking staff and provide a unique selling point for visitors.
“Visitors like history and heritage and to learn about different cultures and in Wales we have a living, breathing language and culture so using Welsh is a massive benefit.
“If we don’t use Welsh or have the language actively seen or heard in shops and businesses across the ARFOR area, then we will be losing out as an economy.”
She said that businesses across the ARFOR region are actively engaging with the project and earlier this year their Gwobrau Mwyaf Cymraeg (Most Welsh in the World) competition attracted hundreds of entries from the four counties.
Among those who picked up an award for promoting the Welsh language was carpenter Geraint Edwards, from Llandeilo, who won the prize as the most Welsh Individual..
The Welsh language is very dear to Geraint, who moved from Dolgellau to Llandeilo to be close to his girlfriend, Carys – the couple have two daughters – and he has built himself a workshop at her parents’ farm near Ffairfach.
The 37-year-old said: ““I think customers really appreciate it and like to use a Welsh speaker particularly those who are first language Welsh themselves and who can talk to me in the language they are most comfortable in.
“The Welsh language is part of who I am – just like my red hair. It’s a constant in my life. I was born and bred speaking Welsh, I did my work in school in Welsh, my degree in Welsh and now I’m a carpenter and cabinet maker.
“Welsh has always been there on every step of my journey – it’s what anchors me.”
The trailblazers also included Tetrim Teas, of Trimsaran in Carmarthenshire, whose wellbeing teas include exotic flavours like lion’s mane mushroom where the mushrooms are encouraged to grow by being shouted at in Welsh.
Business manager Kelly Stockwell said: “We have discovered that the mushrooms respond to shocks such as shouting at them or playing loud music by growing more quickly so of course we shout at them in Welsh.
“Sustainability is at the heart of our business and we would like to source all our ingredients in Wales as much as we can to lower our food miles and our three mushroom units funded by ARFOR grow Lion’s Mane, Shiitake and Wood Oyster varieties.”
Among those who picked up an award was young mum who started a Welsh language support group after suffering post-natal depression.
Ffion Wyn Evans, a mental health nurse from Caernarfon, decided to use her experience after the birth of son Gruff, now 20 months old, in setting up her new business, Blocs.
She launched Blocs as therapy, channelling her negative thoughts into arts and crafts for young children and has expanded that into a book, Enfys o Emosiynau (Rainbow of Emotions), a mental health resource for children aged three to 10.
The book has now been taken up by 30 schools across Wales and a delighted Ffion said: “It was hard at first opening up about my PND but I was helped by Llwyddo’n Lleol 2050 which offers help to young people who want to live and work in the Welsh-speaking heartlands of Wales.
“I really wanted to give something back and Llwyddo’n Lleol helped me to create a mental health resource in Welsh for children.”
Also leading the way is Lloft, a bistro in an old sailing loft on the pretty seafront at Felinheli in Gwynedd, launched by ex-TV company boss Dylan Huws and his opera-singing wife Elen ap Robert and where the menus and marketing are bilingual with Welsh first while signage is solely in Welsh.
Dylan said: “Felinheli remains a bastion of the Welsh language so we’re continuing the tradition of the natural use of Welsh within these four walls
“It is part of our business plan as much as anything else because we want to see the Welsh language being used and it’s integral to all that we do.
“We hope that it’s a place where the local community can come and feel that there’s a Welsh welcome but also anyone else who’d want to hear the Welsh language being used or who want to try out their Welsh or maybe read a menu that’s bilingual.”
Elen added: “We’ve tried to get all our IT through the medium of Welsh and the dockets come up from the front of house to the kitchen all in Welsh, so the chef and kitchen staff see the meals required all in Welsh.
“But it’s important to us that we do all of this in a non-preachy way that is fun and inclusive. The staff are friendly, chatty and cheerful.”
Sglods, a fish and chip shop in the village of Llanon, between Aberaeron and Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, scooped the Most Welsh in the World Award for the Best Welsh Brand for Aled and Nia Roberts.
They serve up as much locally-sourced food as they can source along with healthy helpings of the language and local history and culture.
Aled said: “Welsh is an important part of our business because Welsh is very much in use in this area. From the signs outside and the menu boards inside to our social media pages we make extensive use of the language and are proud to do so.”
Nia added: “We wanted to name the business in Welsh and it’s an easy name that anyone can understand and say.
“Our success has been that we get people coming in and they may be learning Welsh and they look at the board which is bilingual and so they can order in Welsh because they want to try.”
Siôn Fôn, Senior Associate with Darwin Gray who’s based in Bangor which is in the ARFOR area, said: “We’re delighted to support the ARFOR business fair at Parc y Scarlets. Darwin Gray has a reach across Wales with offices in Cardiff and Bangor and are fully committed to offering excellent commercial legal service in both English and Welsh.
“We believe the Bwrlwm ARFOR project can play a vital role in strengthening the Welsh language in its heartlands and help ensure there are good careers for young people within the communities they have grown up in.
“It makes good business sense too, because more and more businesses know that using the Welsh language with confidence and pride helps their business thrive. This event gives an excellent opportunity for businesses across the four counties to showcase their work and gives a great platform for organisations which use the language as an integral part of their business.”
ARFOR Two was part of the Welsh Government Co-operation Agreement with Plaid Cymru and followed an earlier ARFOR programme launched in 2019.
It is intended to provide economic support to communities that are strongholds of the Welsh language, increase opportunities to see and use the Welsh language on a daily basis and help young people under the age of 35 to stay in or return to their communities.
