East Cork Area Development Ltd.

Welcome to www.eastcork.com, a collaboration between the Communities of East Cork and East Cork Area Development (ECAD).  ECAD is a community owned Rural Development Company which invests in a range of projects and initiatives based on our Sustainable Development Plan.

Resources and investment capital comes from a number of sources including contracts and programmes which have been awarded by the Irish Government or European Union.  These are added-to by investments made by individuals, collective bodies, the private sector, the public sector, local government and by the community sector itself.

This website is divided into four main sections outlined in brief on this page.

We hope that you get an opportunity to look through each section, become better informed about the people and places of this part of the emerald isle and that you enjoy the experience.  We would also welcome any input, queries, comments or suggestions.  Please forward these to info@ecad.ie

Community & Youth

Investing with the community sector is a core element of ECAD's work. 

In particular the aim is to support the development of each community's capacity to develop itself, and to be a valuable and respected partner within the planning, development and delivery of community based services. The strategy employed to achieve this is a combined project development/training approach with an emphasis on collective action and inclusion.  In this context a number of initiatives are focused at those who are most disadvantaged, and in danger of being excluded, to ensure that a balanced approach to community development is maintained. Projects areas which have proven successful include amenity development, community arts, environmental protection and development etc.  Click here to see more…

Enterprise & Employment

Over-reliance on employment based upon large scale industry or multi-national corporations is of concern.  Thus ECAD's focus in encouraging enterprise development is to support and invest in micro-enterprise nurtured and based in East Cork. Specifically the emphasis has been to build upon East Cork's tradition and potential in the crafts, tourism and food sectors. Click here to see more…

The aim is to create a sustainable small enterprise sector. The strategy adopted is to develop relationships with individual enterprises and to facilitate these to work closely or develop collectives with others working in the same sector.  These collectives are further supported through a combination of product development, marketing and training.  Click here to see more…

Particular opportunities and support services have also been developed for people who are unemployed, returning to work after a long absence and people working in traditional sectors such as agriculture or fishing.  In the first instance these projects have been established to provide a point of contact, information and advice for these target groups. Again the strategy is to bring individuals together through group training and initiatives and to further connect these with community services to increase their opportunities to develop, gain employment or supplement incomes.  Click here to see more…

Outreach

In development terms it is important to 'gain' from the experiences gained by other areas.  Also, in many instances it is better to work in partnership with other regions both to gain the critical mass needed to undertake an action and to add value to the experience by learning how others approach the same opportunity or challenge.

East Cork has been involved in a number of collaborative projects involving partner regions in Ireland and other Countries.  Of particular significance in this regard is the awarding of contracts to East Cork Area Development (ECAD) which have an integral trans-national element.  Click here to see more…

Information

In this section you will find general information about East Cork, a 'News Page', and information about East Cork Area Development (Structures, The Current Sustainable Development Plan, Company Reports and Newsletters, The Board of Directors, Supports offered, Staff).  Click here to see more…