Mrs Jessie Donaldson and Louise Lankston reminisce about a Carbost Primary School project that began in 1998, when the former was head teacher and the latter one of her pupils.
In 1998, the European Comenius Project brought together schools from different countries to work in partnership and share learning. Now, 28 years later, the project – a view pointer showing the Cuillin ridge – has been completed.
Under the leadership of Mrs Donaldson, the school joined partner schools in Ribera, Sicily, and Kongsvika, a small island community on Hinnøya in Norway. As part of this collaboration, the senior class undertook an imaginative geography project that connected the identities of all three locations.
The pupils created an entirely new fictional island by combining elements from Carbost, Ribera, and Kongsvika. They named this island Carikon, blending the three place names. To bring their creation to life, the class designed a new flag, a unique currency, and a series of postage stamps featuring flowers, plants, and wildlife from all three regions.
Through this creative project, pupils explored geography, culture, economics, and design while strengthening international links with their partner schools.
The Carikon Project was later extended to include an environmental study of the shoreline at Loch Harport. Pupils researched and documented the seashore’s wildlife, including animals, birds, shells, plants, and flowers. To create a lasting legacy of their work, the idea emerged to build a permanent public space in the village where the children’s artwork and findings could be displayed.
Plans were developed for a dry-stone seating area with an interpretive display panel showcasing the children’s artwork and information about the local coastal environment. The design also included a panoramic view pointer to help visitors identify the peaks of the Cuillin ridge.
Funding was secured, land was granted by the owners of Talisker Distillery, and a local stonemason constructed the seating area. The original structure was completed in 1998 on the site where The Three Chimneys at Talisker restaurant now stands.
However, the panoramic view pointer was not installed at that time, leaving the project unfinished.
When Diageo later developed the area and built their restaurant, the stone seating area needed to be relocated. They offered to move it to a new site on the pier, where the structure was carefully reconstructed to replicate the original design.
Following the relocation, the community decided to revive the project’s unfinished elements. With support from the community council and funding provided in partnership with Diageo, the long-planned panoramic view pointer – showing the Cuillin Ridge and naming its individual peaks – was finally produced and installed at the pier in 2026, completing the pupils’ original vision nearly three decades later.
