Clunes Neighbourhood House has long been interested in the traits that help small towns tip towards a boom. 

 

BOOM Clunes is a social experiment that was designed to demonstrate, even in the midst of a pandemic, that seemingly disadvantaged communities could turn a bust into a boom if they leveraged the capital they possessed (primarily social and human) smartly.  Furthermore, it was designed to do this transparently so that we could bring those within our community (individuals, businesses and other community groups) along for the ride. 

​

Now three years on, we have just signed another three year option on our lease.  We’ve successfully operated a retail and business centre during this time, covering our operational costs (lower because of our high number of volunteers) during a difficult economic period.  We’ve also been able to return more than $75,000 a year to local people who have made or supplied product through our retail store.  This retail income opportunity didn’t exist prior to BOOM Clunes opening, and will ultimately help us return dollars into community programming via Clunes Neighbourhood House. 

​

Knowing that leveraging our broader understanding of capital can create local opportunity, we are seeking to accelerate what we do best with a new Capital Idea - BOOM Clunes project that will:

1. Stimulate additional productisation opportunities 

2. Enhance the commercial acumen 

3. Strengthen – and embed – social and human capital connections to environments beyond our small township

4. Test new distribution markets to increase financial capital opportunities and create pathways for (in particular) social and human capital exchange

 

It’s a Capital Idea – BOOM Clunes (hence the name) and one we can’t do alone, so we are pitching to secure support to get it started!