Scottish community wins international resilience award after population nearly doubles

The rural community of Knoydart on Scotland’s west coast has been honoured with the Michael Dower Award for rural resilience. The population has nearly doubled since the community bought the 17,000-acre estate in 1999. Locals now run the village pub, tourism ventures and a venison business. Knoydart was chosen from finalists across Europe. The award highlights Knoydart’s success in regenerating infrastructure, planting over 600,000 trees and establishing off-grid hydro power as part of the community-owned model.