Our working principles

Our working principles guide how we work together. They are our commitment to one another.

HOW WE ROLL We keep it real | We get our sleeves rolled up | We give it a go | We carry our own rucksacks

HOW WE LEARN We learn from one another – everyone is a teacher and a learner | We learn from our mistakes | Learning is messy | We are curious about ourselves and about better ways to work together | Through adventures and journeys we learn about new places and parts of ourselves

HOW WE RELATE TO ONE ANOTHER We meet one another where we’re at | What happens to you matters to me | We all have something to give | We look to one another’s strengths and give careful feedback on areas for growth | We know shit happens - it's how you shovel it and turn it into good stuff that matters| We practice unconditional love

HOW WE RELATE TO THE WORLD We stand our ground and with those experiencing injustice | We welcome the stranger | We celebrate culture and difference | We respect the past and those who’ve gone before us | We all struggle to adjust to unhealthy structures and systems – being a bit mad or down is a natural response | Justice is what love looks like in public

Latest

Referring Someone

More information for referral agencies supporting someone to access what GalGael offers.
Making Just Futures

Making Just Futures is a big new piece of work for GalGael. Over two years, Making Just Futures will empower communities to imagine, determine and ultimately make just futures that meet their needs for living well and sustainably in an increasingly uncertain world.
GALGAEL TEMPORARILY CLOSED

WE'LL BE CLOSED FOR THE NEXT WEE WHILE... Glasgow City Council has declared the derelict building next door unsafe and have suspended access to the workshop. We'll let you know as soon as we get an update but for the time being we need to suspend much of our workshop activity - including Practical Woodwork and Thursday evenings 🥲
A new state

Govan Free State: living in the early days of a better nation. So COP26 is coming to town, about the same time as GalGael enter our 25th year. And so we thought what more appropriate way to mark all this than to declare a new free state - returning to our roots in Pollok Free State - an anti motorway camp. A playful, creative exploration of power and legitimacy in the face of climate emergency. An act of solidarity with those communities struggling for recognition of their territories.

Our Vision & Purpose

We stand against scarcity, loneliness and violence. We stand for compassion, justice and humanity.
Values

Our values guide our decision making and how we work together. They shape what we do and how we demonstrate greater humanity.

Boat building

GalGael works together on demanding common tasks that build community and demonstrate ways of living with more humanity. Working together on boats of all shapes and sizes is one of the ways in which we do just this.
Timber and firewood

We produce a number of Scottish hardwoods - often by working with partners within Historic Environment Scotland and Glasgow City Council to bring locally produced timber for sale to the public and for use in our products.
How to participate

There are many ways to get involved in our work. Find out how to become part of what we're doing, visit us or stay connected.
Why we need volunteers

GalGael offers activities that help people reclaim skills, agency and sense of worth. Without our crew of dedicated volunteers, these activities wouldn't happen nor would the many other adventures we have.
Open Workshop Nights

We have a workshop with tools and benches so every Thursday we open that up to the wider community. Thursdays are open format - they very much depend on who shows up and what they bring. But we can promise workshop space, a basic meal and some banter.
About our social enterprise

Our range of products and services - activities that generate meaning and income to help us become self-sustaining.
GalGael Next?

Big changes at GalGael
A new state

Govan Free State: living in the early days of a better nation. So COP26 is coming to town, about the same time as GalGael enter our 25th year. And so we thought what more appropriate way to mark all this than to declare a new free state - returning to our roots in Pollok Free State - an anti motorway camp. A playful, creative exploration of power and legitimacy in the face of climate emergency. An act of solidarity with those communities struggling for recognition of their territories.
Our story

Our story is crafted by many people. It starts in one of the most deprived areas of Glasgow, where the GalGael grew from an environmental campaign. We created GalGael as a vehicle to take forward what we’d learned and to move from being about what we didn’t want to what we did want.
Colin's passion shared in BBC Alba documentary

BBC Alba documentary Birdman of Pollok, Curaidh na Coille tells the story of Colin Macleod our founder - a power story for our times. "An inspiring insight into a quest for justice, equity & sustainability of people and place" Broadcasting on 30 December