If you know our founder Chris, you have no doubt heard him talk about his love of Wales and his various adventures in the wilds of the Welsh Mountains.
But did you know that our love of Wales goes further than wondering the wilds?
Collectively, as a family, we’ve spent a lifetime in and around every corner of Wales. It’s where we grew up on family holidays and where we still escape to now.
Over the past couple of years, Chris and Julie (our parents and JCM founders!) have made Mid Wales their home away from home and have well and truly become part of the local community there.
Through the friendships that have been forged, Chris has been able to use the power of JCM to give back to this community and help facilitate some really exciting innovations in the area.
To celebrate St Davids Day, we’ve asked to share what he’s been up to down in the valleys of Mid Wales!
“When I’m not working in JCM I can usually be found wandering around the Welsh mountains and valleys. Not the tourist hotspots, but the remote wild areas.
We are very lucky to have friends in the area who rent us a cottage when we need it. We’ve come to know and love the local community and as it’s St David’s day, I thought I would give you an insight into what life is like in these areas.
Mid Wales has one of the lowest per capita incomes in Europe. It relies on agriculture and tourism and most farming is subsistence farming. It often costs more to breed, raise and sell sheep than they get in income. Add to that the influx of second homes and airbnb, is it any wonder that the next generation is struggling to stay in the area?
Despite these challenges these communities are among the most innovative I have worked with. Currently, we are working with a team to try to develop new technologies based on the processing of wool, look into micro hydropower schemes and improve opportunities for school leavers with sustainable long term jobs.
The future actually looks bright!
Farmers and rural businesses take a long term generational view of projects which is, to be honest, a breath of fresh air,
JCM has committed ourselves to helping and supporting these initiatives in an area we love deeply. We recently facilitated a major conference on the future of wool, we are liaising with Bangor University on technology projects and working with the Welsh Government on funding streams. We’ve committed to helping rural businesses move to the cloud, through supporting their adoption of Zoho and providing training and consultancy.
But most of all, Wales is my escape, It’s where I and the rest of the team recharge our batteries.
Happy St Davids Day! “
Chris Moran
Founder
JCM Business Solutions
We’ve loved every second of learning about the various industries that weave their way through the Welsh countryside and learning the intricacies of new industries is one of the things we love the most about the work we do at JCM. We are fascinated, getting to know the ins and outs of any new business we work with!
If you would like to know more about any of our Welsh projects, leave us a comment and we’d love to share more with you!
