From Small Beginnings to a Thriving Community

Small Beginnings

Tribe Porty was bootstrapped into existence with just £10,000 from an Awards for All grant. That tiny seed allowed us to create rooms, hallways, secure entries, windows, and fireproofing, just enough to begin.

I was still working full-time, quietly piecing it together in every spare moment: applying for social enterprise grants, writing business plans, pitching, painting walls, and reaching out to local people and groups who might share the vision.

We launched Tribe alongside TEDxPortobello: Seeing Things Differently. After eleven months of hard work, pitching, borrowing, and asking for every kind of help imaginable, we sold out in under three minutes and streamed to 139 countries. It was epic, a genuine community effort in every sense.

“Not all things grow loud. Some grow steady, wide, deep, and full of meaning.”

Finding Our Ground

When Earthy tried to sell their business, and our lease with it, without telling us, we knew we needed more security. Thankfully, our landlord, a local who believes in good things happening in Portobello, gave us the chance to take over the whole building in 2018.

It needed everything: new doors, windows, central heating, kitchen, toilets. We took out a loan with Social Investment Scotland to make it possible. We’re proud to say we’ve finally paid it all off. We were also 3 years in and had a healthy and growing community so expanding was very welcome.

A Decade in the Making

Eleven years ago, Tribe was just an idea, born while setting up Trade School Edinburgh with Johanna Holtan and working with SENSCOT, the Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland.  Ten years ago, it was an empty, chaotic building needing skips and imagination. By 2018, we were still recovering from the aftermath of Earthy’s collapse.

With no funds to begin, we built Tribe piece by piece from donated and reclaimed materials. Every table, wall, and floorboard tells a story. Every inch of Tribe has been shaped, and reshaped by hand.

Built by Many Hands and Big Hearts

For a decade, I’ve had the joy of working with the same team of joiners, painters, electricians, plasterers, and plumbers. They’ve poured so much care into Tribe that it feels like theirs too, and I love that.

Every inch of Tribe has been shaped by community. Just as the building has been built by its people, so too has its spirit. Tribe has always been about belonging, a place where you can walk through the door and feel at home, whether it’s for a day, a week, or a decade.

This milestone marks ten years of something that’s never been flashy or headline-grabbing, but deeply meaningful. It also marks a personal one for me: I’ve now lived exactly half my life in America and half here in Scotland. Being an immigrant is complicated, but it’s also a gift.

I arrived in Scotland on a work permit to help establish a company delivering applied behaviour analysis, something new here but well known at UCLA. Later, I gained an HSMP visa and eventually indefinite leave to remain. Half my life has been lived here, and Tribe Porty has been a big part of why it feels like home.

Finding Home & Community

Growing up, I was quiet, one or two close friends, shy until my twenties. When I moved to Edinburgh, someone introduced me to her circle and suddenly I was surrounded by people. For the first time, I felt adopted into a community and it changed me.
That feeling of connection has been at the heart of Tribe since day one. When we launched TEDxPortobello in 2015, I was again surrounded by extraordinary volunteers and speakers. Tribe and TEDx have brought countless generous, kind, and creative people into my life.

“To know you matter to others, and that they matter to you, that’s everything.”

 

Standing on Its Own And Doing Small Things With Love

Today, Tribe is fully self-sustaining. We receive no government funding, we proudly pay corporation tax, and we employ a small, brilliant team. Tribe stands as proof of what can happen when people show up with purpose and care.

Members may come and go, but once you’ve been part of Tribe, you’re always part of its story. Old faces and new ones together weave the fabric of who we are. We often underestimate how powerful it is to feel part of something positive; to know you belong and that your presence matters.

Tribe has always been more than the sum of its parts. Every person adds something essential, and in doing so, becomes essential.
My very first Tribe business cards read: Do small things with love. I still believe in that. Tribe Porty isn’t a multimillion-pound enterprise, but it’s rich in meaning.

Tribe was never about me, it’s about everyone. Every person who has passed through our doors has left a mark. The one who recommended Tribe to a friend. The one who organised a dinner. The one who quietly invited others in. Together, we’ve built something lasting.

Looking Ahead

As we enter winter and the close of our tenth year, Tribe begins a new chapter. It’s an uncertain time for small businesses, and yet, the need for community and genuine, in-person connection has never been greater.

For ten years, Tribe has been a place to pull up a chair, share ideas, break bread, and build connections that last far beyond these walls. Around our tables, friendships have formed, collaborations have taken root, and a community has flourished.

Beyond One Person

It feels good, and deeply right, to know Tribe is strong without me. That’s always been the point: to create something that could stand, grow, and evolve on its own.

Tribe is now its own living thing. Each new person changes it, strengthens it, and carries it forward.

So, thank you. To everyone who has helped build Tribe into what it is today, and what it is still becoming. Not all things grow loud. Some grow steady, wide, deep, and full of meaning.

With love and gratitude,
Dani

As always we’d love to connect and hear your thoughts. As we look ahead to the next 10 years, we’d love to know: What would you love to see more of in the future of Tribe Porty?

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