During an activity-packed week, thousands of people flocked to the Menter a Busnes stand at the Ceredigion National Eisteddfod, where the company showcased projects designed to boost the economy and rural enterprise.

Based in Aberystwyth, the not-for-profit company employs 145 staff, plus 50 freelancers. Menter a Busnes has a successful record as a driver for rural enterprise. As such, the company manages several programmes on behalf of the Welsh Government, including elements of Farming Connect and Cywain.

Therefore, the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron was the perfect place to show the Welsh public what 30 years of contributing to the rural economy looks like.

With representatives and demonstrations from several of the company’s projects, including Cywain, Farming Connect and Arwain DGC, the Menter a Busnes stand hosted a long list of activities and competitions - from naming Wales’ top voted cheese to sticker treasure hunts, glitter tattoos, and a live beehive containing over 9,000 honey bees!

Each day at the Menter a Busnes stand, there were themed events featuring food and drink businesses from Ceredigion.

Fun activities saw visitors asked to weigh in on two important matters - voting for their favourite Welsh cheese to win the Coroni’r Caws (The Cheese Crowning) and settling the debate on the most widely used Welsh word for milk.

Ultimately, Fine Food Cluster member Snowdonia Cheese took the crown, and ‘Llaeth’ proved to be a more widely used word for milk than ‘Llefrith’.

People were encouraged to support the environment by growing wild flowers to help pollinators, and packets of seeds were handed out to stand visitors.

Also, Menter a Busnes’ fundraising efforts for The DPJ Foundation and Tir Dewi were boosted by the sale of glitter tattoos and raffle tickets, with £570 raised for the charities.

Menter a Busnes also hosted a reception in conjunction with the National Centre for Learning Welsh following the collaboration to work on a 10-week online course for Welsh learners, tailored to the agricultural sector.

The reception culminated in the presentation of the first Certificate of Achievement to Danielle Carroll.

The course was developed in response to a report by Farming Connect into how the Welsh-speaking agri-community could contribute to the goal of one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

Alun Jones, Menter a Busnes chief executive, said: “As a company with its roots in Ceredigion, it was essential for us to have a stand at the Eisteddfod.

“It was a fantastic week and a wonderful opportunity to promote some of our clients and let people know about our services.

“There is a very close relationship between language, culture and economy, and it was a pleasure to experience the buzz and welcome in Tregaron.”