I'm sorry it has been so long in posting but there has been a lot going on in my life, some 
fairly drastic changes, some courses and lots of development work.
I have just been putting some flesh to the bones of a new adventure activity website for a group that I am a member of. I believe that the initiative is unique in its approach and will have lasting benefit for the client, the members, the environment and the wider outdoors community.
The Outdoor Professionals Co-operative is a name that we have recently given to our professional peer group. For a year and a half now we have been meeting formally, many of us having known and worked alongside each other for very many years. This formalising of meetings and discussions has already led to some innovative projects and methods of working supported by both the BBNP and AALA.
Following the demise of the Brecon Beacons National Park Environmental Charter Group there has not been a forum for activity providers working in the private sector to meet and discuss working practices, training, changes in legislation etc. Furthermore, it can be an isolating experience being self employed or the Director of a small business in any industry, adventure activities not withstanding.
So, the co-operative meets for several meetings a year to consolidate best practice and to promote innovation as well as running peer group training where all relevent members take part, such as site specific water rescue, child protection training, casualty simulation make-up training etc.
Through working together we have seen the coming together of risk assessments and through training together we feel absolutely confident in recommending each other.
The Outdoor Professionals Co-operative is just that. We work in the outdoors, we are professional in our approach to all areas of our work and we work co-operatively. In fact we go further than that. Our group is based on trust. Without trust it would simply not exist. And this is not the norm in the industry as I have bitterly complained about in previous blogs. We are a group of multi activity providers, sessional staff and group accommodation owners who all overlap slightly into each others business areas, some of us directly competing for similar clients. But, because we are all nice guys, it works!
We see that being part of a co-operative will benefit us all, perhaps not immediately, but in a year or two years, we will see that our commitment to quality provision, to the environment, to working with the statutory bodies, to staff training and welfare, to being able to collectively offer the broadest range of services and to developing lasting relationships with other similarly committed business will see genuine rewards.
Personally I am looking for the security that working with other like minded operators brings, to knowing that my staff are trained to work to the co-operatives constantly developing high benchmarks and to know that my business is attracting further premium clients because of the standards of provision.
Please visit the new site by clicking on the link www.multi-activity.co.uk to find out more about the work of the co-operative - please bear with it as I still have much to add......
Of course, as usual, your comments gratefully received....
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