‘Kemeneth’ began in response to the Covid-19 outbreak and became a lockdown project. Inspired by stories of communities pulling together, Kemeneth corresponded with people by post, phone and online to gather and share personal stories that explored and celebrated community.
Due to Covid-19 we were unable to work as we normally do. So in place on lengthy oral history interviews, intimate workshops and heart-warming community events, we launched Kemeneth. With thanks to funding from FEAST and the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, distributed by The National Lottery Community Fund, ‘Kemeneth’ celebrated community through stories of kindness, cooperation, tradition and belonging.
Story-Sharing Packs- Lockdown Project
Over autumn/winter 2020, ‘Kemeneth’ focused on gathering stories from two communities in Cornwall. Sennen near Lands End and the Clay Country. This lockdown project saw us deliver 100 free story-sharing packs in reach area. These were to help people share their memories, experiences and reflections of their community. We wanted to help people celebrate and remember the positive ways that communities pull together, past and present. It also helped people reflect on the pandemic as it unfolded and explore what we want for our communities in the future. Drawing upon our experience of supporting people to share their stories, the packs provided a range of activities, prompts and resources. These offered different ways for people to contribute. For some this meant quick responses to questions and prompts, for others it was a longer piece of writing, a creative response or a good old reminiscence by phone.
Clay Country Community Book
To honour and preserve people’s memories and experiences of their community and bring together some of the responses to the story-sharing lockdown project, we created a community book. A free copy of this was gifted to those who contributed through the story-sharing packs. Copies are now available to buy at Wheal Martyn Museum.
PK Porthcurno and Sennen School
Storylines were delighted to collaborate with PK Porthcurno to provide packs to children from year 2, 3 and 4 at Sennen School.
Using some of the fascinating archival objects and documents from PK Porthcurno as a starting point, Storylines created 35 colourful packs. Inspired by the uniformed Messenger Boys, who delivered telegrams by bicycle or foot, children became ‘Messengers.’ They sharing their own stories as well as collecting stories from their families and friends. Children explored themes such as belonging, Covid-19, kindness, community, communication and connection. They also learnt about the local history of the cables that travelled around the world from Porthcurno and Sennen.
Storylines would like to thank PK Porthcurno for supporting this project and Sennen School for their enthusiasm and willingness.
Videos
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Testimonials
- “It was lovely to have an excuse to look back through old photos and discus them with my daughter and grandson. It made me appreciate the time I spent growing up in Nanpean. What community we had and wonderful singing and music in chapel.”
- “The children loved being part of this project. They really enjoyed thinking about their community and people who have helped them in their community. They were full of ideas and enthusiasm. They loved the local history element too. Thank you for including us in your project.”
- We must not forget the past. We must look forward to the future. I most enjoyed the variation and re-visiting memories. I found it a very interesting thing to do. Thank you.”
Funders & Links
