End of an era as ‘The Rural’ targets townies
ITS name is woven into country life, conjuring images of village halls where ladies in twin- sets meet to share jam recipes.
But after nearly a century – the first branch being set up in Longniddry, East Lothian, in 1917 – the Scottish Women’s Rural Institute has been forced to move with the times to survive.
Faced with a dwindling membership, it has dropped ‘rural’ from the name, hoping to recruit more women from urban areas.
New, more flexible times for branch meetings are also being piloted, to attract working women to the organisation set up as a social network for country housewives who rarely ventured beyond the kitchen.
With members dropping from 30,000 in the 1980s to just over 18,000 today, its existence is under threat.
National chairman Christine Hutton said: ‘The word ‘rural’ has been carefully considered and dropped from our logo and our brand name to help communicate that the SWI is active across the country, in cities, towns, villages and indeed rural locations. We are Scotland-wide.
‘We are not changing anything but evolving and adding to our appeal.
‘I am excited we are pioneering new ways of reaching out to different generations of women.’ The changes have, however, generated mixed feelings among members and while many cautiously welcome them, some believe dropping ‘rural’ was not necessary and done without consultation.
In Aberdeenshire, Carol Proudlock of the Collieston and Stains branch said: ‘I think there are mixed feelings but we empower the national executive, who are aware of the big picture, to come up with the way forward.’
But at the other end of the country, in the Borders, Margaret Sanderson, chairman of the Eskdale branch, is less happy.
She said: ‘I feel this was done without consultation and I’m not the only one. Many members to whom I’ve spoken feel we should have been consulted.
‘It has always been The Rural and people will continue to call it The Rural, so to remove the word in the hope of attracting more people from towns and making it purely a women’s group is wrong.’
Mrs Sanderson offers an even more radical solution to raising member numbers. She added: ‘If they want to be inclusive, they should be attracting men.
‘Look at the programmes on television now about baking and sewing, things which were traditionally a woman’s preserve. They’re being done by men.’