IT'S YOUR ISLAY. IT'S OURS. IT'S EVERYONE'S.
The Islay Development Initiative (IDI) is here to ensure the island remains a great place to live, work and visit, whatever your point of view.
Discover what we do, who we are, and why you should be part of it.
IT'S YOUR ISLAY. IT'S OURS. IT'S EVERYONE'S.
The Islay Development Initiative (IDI) is here to ensure the island remains a great place to live, work and visit, whatever your point of view.
Discover what we do, who we are, and why you should be part of it.
IT'S YOUR ISLAY. IT'S OURS. IT'S EVERYONE'S.
The Islay Development Initiative (IDI) is here to ensure the island remains a great place to live, work and visit, whatever your point of view.
Discover what we do, who we are, and why you should be part of it.
IT'S YOUR ISLAY. IT'S OURS. IT'S EVERYONE'S.
WHY IDI
Our role is to protect the ‘essence’ of Islay…
… but ensure the island is able to take advantage of future opportunities.
To raise money from local, regional, national and international sources, both to achieve our longer-term aims and solve immediate problems.
To create understanding of what we can’t tackle directly – such as roads and broadband – but where we can bring pressure to bear.
To involve you, as well as new and potential residents and investors.
To cost you nothing as an islander.
​
In fact, the strategy goes further:
HELP VISITORS GET MORE FROM ISLAY.
No-one wants Islay to be over-run, we value our way of life and if our visitors appreciate the true nature of the island, the right people will come for the right reasons.
Equally, if we understand what visitors value, we can even out seasonal peaks & troughs and keep local business active for longer during the year.
Tourism can certainly play its part; this is why there’s a ‘Friends’ gifting scheme, with tiers of membership for individuals, families and businesses that will help us continue to protect Islay.
​
​
PROMOTE LIFE BEYOND WHISKY.
​
We all know there’s more to Islay. The challenge is to ensure visitors and potential investors appreciate this and understand the challenges we face in preserving this island. That’s why believe in encouraging a clear, consistent expression of Islay’s personality, what it stands for and what it offers.
This will help set expectations that Islay is an interesting, lively and satisfying place to visit or set up a business or home.
And we’ll work with partners like IslayInfo to spread the word that we believe in protecting our biggest asset - our beautiful home - Islay!
​
​
IDI IS NOT ANOTHER NAME FOR RE-JIG.
​
Our Re-JIG outlets were hugely successful in making recycling and re-use the norm on Islay.
RE-JIG was certainly ahead of its time, and its legacy continues in the BeachWatch project. Now, because technology helps people to sell anything of value online, over 60% of what’s brought in to our re-use centre cannot be reused and mainly goes to landfill.
This is not what we are about and it is why we need to continue to diversify while keeping within our environmental ethos.
​
IDI is a not-for-profit, third-sector organisation that carries out its activities without costing anyone on the island a penny. It does much more, as you’ll see.
​