Organisations already signed up to attend the festival range from the Women’s Institute, Suffolk Wildlife Group, MAP and the Red Cross, through to Aspall’s Cider, Bellycise (a local belly-dancing group) and the Sampler Guild as well as a selection of local allotment and gardening groups. The list is getting longer all the time!

Groups such as these can add enormously to a community. At MEAL we strongly believe that we can help increase the happiness and well-being of both our local and wider community through the events that we run, the partnerships that we create and the opportunities that we can offer. As a result, we will also be showcasing the different volunteering opportunities available at MEAL with displays from our Reproduction Costume Sewing Group, Print Workshop Team, Work Based Learning Project, Social Enterprise and our growing team of demonstration volunteers who talk about the animals, run the watermill and enjoy sharing their museum-based experiences with the public.

We hope that in times when money is short we can inspire people to take up a hobby or give a little of their time to an organisation that will ultimately give them far more back than they put in.

At MEAL, both the exhibition and Good Life Festival are opportunities for us to promote our take on sustainability to the public, our volunteers and the many organisations that we work with.  They are also ways to improve community cohesion, happiness and well-being.

This exhibition is part of a wider sustainability project delivered through the Rural Museums East Partnership. It is funded by Renaissance East of England.

Site designed and built by Ugly Studios