#10: Rob Ainsworth

Rob Ainsworth is Founder and Director of Yahala Mataam CIC, York’s refugee led event caterer, pop-up restaurant and cookery school. Yahala Mataam means welcome restaurant in Arabic, and it’s their mission to give opportunity, build confidence and restore dignity in the lives of refugees and asylum seekers through food projects.Rob is a social entrepreneur who loves to think up new ideas that will make a difference in society, and an encourager that is passionate about justice, giving and fairness.In this episode we talk about the value of allowing people to contribute to society, and the change it makes in people when they feel useful and able to give. We discuss the reality of running a social enterprise when all the staff are part time, business support doesn’t quite seem to fit your model, and even finding a bank that would take on a social enterprise seems to prove tricky.We talk a lot about relationships, assets, challenges and social infrastructure, as well as the importance of festivals in bringing together diverse groups of people to celebrate what residents can offer to others around them.This is the York Community Wealth Building Podcast, hosted by Ben Porter, brought to you by Fieldwork. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wearefieldwork.substack.com