On Saturday 25 October a rather different pub-crawl took place in the villages of Dyffryn Aeron – a roadshow to gather interest in the venture to buy the Vale of Aeron as a co-op. 
The group that has come together as ‘Menter Tafarn y Vale’ went from hall to hall sharing information about the enterprise. 
The pop-up bar (serving tea and coffee only, to the dismay of some!) appeared in Cilcennin, Ciliau Aeron, Cribyn, Dihewyd and Trefilan, and ending the day outside Felinfach Hall. 
Having gathered ideas through a session for representatives of local organizations a month ago, and gathered views through a questionnaire, this was the first opportunity for people to come and discuss the details of how the offer to buy a share in the pub would work. 
The response was fantastic. There was a genuine sense that people did not want to see the local area without a pub in the future. 
Menter Tafarn y Vale intends to open the share offer by the end of October, and reach the target of raising £330,000 by Christmas, so that the Vale can be bought and run as a community enterprise. 
Individuals, organizations and businesses will be able to buy shares. The minimum investment will be £200 and the maximum £30,000. And because this is a co-operative, it doesn’t matter how much money anyone invests, everyone will have the same democratic right – one vote for all. 
Investing in a co-operative has many tax benefits and will create benefits for the wider community, and grants are also available. 
But for now, we are busy finalizing the paperwork – keep an eye on tafarn.cymru for more details regarding launching the share offer. 
It is a great opportunity for the community to get together to secure the future of the pub as a resource that helps us move forward from Covid in the local area.