The Scottish Women's Institutes (SWI), informally called ''"the Rural"'', is a
registered charity which promotes the preservation of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
's traditions and rural heritage, particularly in the sphere of household activities. It does so by means of local groups of women which meet regularly throughout the country.
It was formed on 26 June 1917 as the Scottish Women's Rural Institutes,
part of the movement of
rural women's institutes started in
Stoney Creek, Ontario in 1897. The first meeting in Scotland look place at
Longniddry
Longniddry ( sco, Langniddry, gd, Nuadh-Treabh Fada)
in
East Lothian.
Catherine Hogg Blair had identified the need for a Scottish example of the emerging
Women's Institutes
The Women's Institute (WI) is a community-based organisation for women in the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. The movement was founded in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada, by Erland and Janet Lee with Adelaide Hoodless being t ...
movement and she organised the meeting at Longniddry to avoid a measles outbreak in her own village. 37 women became members
[ and campaigner Nannie Brown was the area organiser. The SWRI created the chance for rural women to network and share their skills with one another.]
References
External links
*
1917 establishments in Scotland
Charities based in Scotland
Women's organisations based in Scotland
Organizations established in 1917
Scottish traditions
Rural Scotland
Family economics
{{Scotland-org-stub