People, place, purpose: building stronger communities together
People • Place • Purpose
Building strongercommunities together
Connecting local people, businesses and organisations to create positive change where we live.
Mên-an-Tol, West Cornwall. Image digitally enhanced and creatively composed for illustrative purposes.
- Community
- Nature
- Connection
- Learning
- Wellbeing
- Sustainability
What this is
People, place, purpose. An independent network of local people, businesses and organisations who look out for each other
This platform is here for individuals, family businesses, shops, trades and local organisations alike. It helps you find who is near you, what is happening, which independent businesses you can support, what skills exist locally and where your own time or knowledge could be useful.
Most people arrive tired and a little wary, so nothing here moves faster than you want it to. Local pages, plain language, published standards and no one asking you to commit to anything before you have seen it with your own eyes.
- Community assemblies listed across the British Isles
- 0Community assemblies listed across the British Isles
- Members taking part locally
- 0+Members taking part locally
- Independent local businesses
- 0+Independent local businesses
- Local first
- Every listing belongs to a real place, so you always start from where you actually live.
- Independent businesses
- Local traders, makers and services listed by the people who run them, not by an advertising network.
- Skills and needs
- Offer time, knowledge, equipment or space, and see what your community is asking for.
- Open about sources
- Every page shows who supplied the information, when it was updated and how to report an error.
About this independent network
An independently operated community platform created by individual members, facilitators, businesses and community supporters. It is not operated by, controlled by, or the official website of the Community Assembly of the British Isles (CABI), and it does not speak on behalf of CABI Central.
References to CABI or Community Assemblies appear only where they help members find one another and understand the communities participating people operate within. Individual contributors and businesses remain responsible for their own activities, services and information.
Read how this platform is run- Look before you get involvedTake your time. Read everything, attend an event, ask questions and simply observe. There is never any pressure to participate before you are ready.
- Free to join. Free to leave.Registering is free, your data is never sold, and you remain in control of your account and communication preferences at all times.
- Real people. Open governance.The people who run this platform are named, the standards are published and the complaints route is written down.
- Take part at your own paceSome people simply attend events. Others volunteer, share skills, list a business or start a local project. Every contribution matters.
- Keep value localEvery pound spent with an independent local business helps strengthen the place we call home, and this makes those businesses easier to find.
- Built on opennessHow this platform is run, who operates it, how information is moderated and where our boundaries lie is published in plain English.
A Saturday in Powys
This is what membership usually looks like
No committees, no jargon and no one performing. A dozen neighbours, a few hours, and a patch of ground that feeds four households and a lunch club. Almost everything here starts at roughly this scale, then grows only if local people want it to.
People, place, purpose
A circle works because everyone in it can see everyone else
Communities have gathered in circles on these islands for thousands of years, for the simple reason that it works. No head of the table, no back row, no one speaking on your behalf. That is the shape a community assembly still takes today, in a village hall or a back room of a café, wherever people decide to sit down together.
First, who is arriving today?
CABI is for private individuals, independent businesses and local organisations alike. Choose one and we will show only what is relevant to you. No account, no pressure, and you can change your mind at any point.
Already a member? Sign in to your member area.
Plain English
How this platform actually works, day to day
This is an independent community network built by local people, facilitators and business owners. It helps you see who is near you, what is happening, which independent businesses you can support and where your skills could be useful.
People share practical skills, run projects, organise events, support independent traders and look out for one another. Each area is run by the people who live there, working to shared standards for safety, fairness and openness that anybody can read before taking part.
Registering is free. You can take part as little or as much as you like, and you can leave at any time without explaining yourself to anyone.
How access works
1. Public website
Anyone can browse communities, businesses, events, projects and resources.
2. Free member area
Save your community, bookmark businesses, book events and offer a skill.
3. Verified participant
Businesses, organisations, facilitators and project organisers manage their own listings. Verified by this independent network, never by CABI Central.
Find your local community
Assemblies at every stage are listed honestly, including those still forming or currently paused.
- Active
North Devon Assembly
Barnstaple, Bideford and surrounding parishes
Monthly gatherings, a tool library and a growing skill-share network across North Devon.
Updated 3 July 2026
- Active
Greater Manchester Assembly
Manchester, Salford and Stockport
An urban assembly focused on food projects, repair cafés and support for independent traders.
Updated 21 June 2026
- Forming
Mid Wales Assembly
Powys and Ceredigion
A new group meeting to agree local priorities. Early members are welcome to help shape it.
Updated 12 July 2026
What members actually do together
Nothing here requires confidence, spare money or free evenings every week. Most members pick one thing and stay with it.
Meet locally
Regular gatherings in halls, cafés and community spaces.
Share skills
Repair, grow, build, teach and learn from neighbours.
Support projects
Practical local projects run by the people affected.
Learn together
Guides, workshops and training, free to members.
Support local trade
Directories that help people find independent traders.
Improve wellbeing
Connection, purpose and support close to home.
Community stories from real places
Small, ordinary results, achieved by people with jobs, children and limited time.
Powys, Mid Wales
Challenge: Unused land beside a village hall.
Action: Twelve members cleared and planted raised beds over three weekends.
Result: A shared growing space now feeding four households and a lunch club.
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Challenge: Household items being thrown away for want of small repairs.
Action: A monthly repair café with a rota of volunteer menders.
Result: Over 200 items repaired and a tool library open to all residents.
Barnstaple, North Devon
Challenge: Independent traders struggling to reach nearby customers.
Action: A local directory and a monthly high street market run by members.
Result: Eighteen independent businesses listed and steadier weekday trade.
Upcoming events near you and online
- PublicOnlineFree
Introduction to CABI, an open evening
Thu 6 August 2026 · 19:00 to 20:30 · Online
- PublicIn personFree
Community skill-share afternoon
Fri 14 August 2026 · 14:00 to 17:00 · Barnstaple, Devon
- PublicIn personFree
Repair café and tool library launch
Sun 9 August 2026 · 10:00 to 14:00 · Stockport, Greater Manchester
- MembersOnlineFree
Facilitator training, part one
Sat 22 August 2026 · 10:00 to 15:00 · Online
Support local businesses
Find independent traders and services near you, with clear information about location, accessibility and how each listing was checked.
Browse the business directoryFind a practitioner or wellbeing service
Practitioners are listed by category, with qualifications, regulation status and safety context shown on every profile.
Browse wellbeing listingsTrust and governance, published openly
Everything you need in order to judge whether this platform is trustworthy is public, and never sits behind registration.
Strong communities start where people live.
Join your local community network, free. Whether you are simply curious, looking for people near you, running a business or ready to share a skill, there is a place for you here.