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New Civilization News: Going LOCAL on sustainability

Going LOCAL on sustainability

21 Dec 2004 @ 14:25, by Lucas Gonzalez

If we want to make "sustainability efforts" sustainable, then maybe we need to look at people in three situations:
- full-time sustainability warriors (who work on sustainability as a pay job, or who are rich and can work full time for free)
- part-time sustainability champions (who can give, say, an afternoon each week)
- marginal-time sustainability ants (who can give 1% of their time)

Cultural Creatives say there are some 80+50 million CCs in Europe and USA. Most would be "marginal-time sustainability ants", I'd guess.

So the trick is how to provide an infrastructure for us/them to self-organise effectively. That infrastructure has to work locally, and can of course be designed globally. It may need internet elements, but also non-internet elements, and "conceptual" elements (how-tos).

Most of the conversations will be local, so there could be a way to signal that one is an "ant". Maybe a badge with an ant on it? Something even simpler?

If that works, then the infrastructure could be used for ideas and conversation. "Cake of the week" issues could be suggested for "ants" to pursue on their marginal time.

With infrastructure, content and ants, quite a few things might become possible. Add up some champions to take care of the infrastructure, and a few warriors too, and there you have it.

Connected ant colonies? Yes, sure, but each colony actually lives on its territory. It's not all about the internet!

The trick is to go LOCAL. That's what the badges would be for.

So what do ants do? They could:
- collect information and opinions
- privide ideas
- make questions
- do small physical tasks
- give information to others
- many other ant-like tasks

This may have something to do with "parallelizable tasks" in grid computing - I don't know.

Ideas?

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Category: Communities

16 comments

21 Dec 2004 @ 16:02 by astrid : Hey, Lugon,
what a cool idea! Maybe the very first thing would be to open a werb-site where people, let's say maybe for 3 months could only tell what they have that they could offer a Sustainable Community (SC).
Of course SC:s looking for people would do the same: tell what they have to offer new members and then a match would be made in Heaven ..Haahhh! Perfect!
Why not!.... I think this would be a GOOD "extention" of the "Dating Game"/Match-making agencies out there.
The one who supposedly is a little aligned along these thoughts is www.ic.org ,but they never really cared being the Match Makers.( take a look at their site. They still have a lot of good things to offer! )
OK, guys, your turn. We need some "serious :( " Brainstorming here!...

21 Dec 2004 @ 19:41 by hgoodgame : I like your idea Astrid
of online connection hubs for people interested in creating sustainable communities. We could input, as you suggested, our talents, abilities, contributions, ideologies, location, etc. and see who we'd match with.
Some people may be willing to change location depending on how attractive a community seemed.

21 Dec 2004 @ 20:47 by craiglang : The next step
Hi Astrid and Lugon,
Some great ideas. What is the next thing we can do to help them become a reality?
Thanx,
-Craig

21 Dec 2004 @ 21:17 by lugon @80.58.19.44 : next step
I think the match-making should be done locally - or at least as locally as needed. I mean, information can travel fast, but bodies and other physical stuff are not so easy to move around. So there could be "things wanted" and "things offered".

Astrid suggests focusing on the "give" first, which is just right IMO. That's what Andrius has done with his http://www.openpeople.info : people who are ready to give can join in and offer whatever they want to offer. btw Ming is over there I think ... checking ... yes, here: http://www.openpeople.info/index.php/OpenPeople/Registry

Thing is, what THINGS are we talking about that would be "given"? Are we talking about expertise, time, care, information, guidance, contacts, all this and more?

Now, for the LOCAL part ... yes, expertise in drawing plans for a solar cooker can be offered from anywhere, but skills to build some machine may not be so easy to transfer.

Hmm, you have me ruminating :-)

I think a very first step would be to offer a meeting point for people to gather around, yes. Maybe there could be some wiki-pages so that people write what they feel is important in that particular place - sorted by subjects or whatever. Maybe some other wiki-pages could be used so that people would write what they know how to do, or what they would want done, etc.

Just a big conversation, really. Maybe something as simple as an email list? How do people join in? By invitation? Andrius of http://www.ms.lt fame has offered people membership IF they answer a questionaire and then allow their responses to be in the public domain. That's really an extremely good criterium for membership: they have ideas and want to share them and want to join in.

Ok, now, all of this is written with pencil, not ink.

Please offer more thoughts, guidance, links ... A big THANKS!

[All of this goes very well with my very own public little "investigation" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalvillages/message/278]

Please tell me if I've missed something from your messages!

22 Dec 2004 @ 00:03 by astrid : Hurumph.....
.... I HATE feeling DUM!!!.... hehehh.... I have now spent some time ( like a few hours ) reading these links....trying to understand SOMETHING! All I understand is that I don't understand a shit of what they are saying! Sigh... I even read the Swedish ones. It din't help! Now, THAT is bad!... considering that it is my Mothertongue after all....
I decided that I let you boys(an' girls) who are fluent in Techno/Web- lingo read all that "crapp" and I do what I understand to do... what- ever that would be. Right now... Idonnnow

Could this whole thing be done on a web with mainly TWO pages: Pink ones for TALENTS (anything intangible) and Blue ones for TOOLS/Items (anything tangible) and then with Categories like Building Material / Farming Materials. This -of course would be on a blue page, while for instance a Category like Counselling/ Sowing/Knitting/ Cooking would go on a pink page.
This is how much fool I'am willing to make of myself today and I let the Boy-Brains respond to this before I go any further. Lugon, Ming, Craig, Vaxen, Ray and the rest of the Crew; our WONDERFUL DARLIN' Guys: RESPOND; is this a viable way of keeping track of "things"???

I personally believe in the power of SIMPLICITY (well, yes, I do!...)

Lugon, this is for you: "expertise in drawing plans for a solar cooker can be offered from anywhere"
Now, this just HAPPENS to be a "Thing" I've been trying to find Info on the Net -to no avail!!! So, IF you can guide me where to find INSTRUCTIONS how to build a simple Solar Cooker I would appreciate that. ( I was going to give that info to RedStar ( Ray Hajaat in Malawii ) so that he could take it out to Peoples there out in the Country-Side, so that they wouldn't be so dependent on finding fire wood for their daily cooking -deforesting wast areas of struggling forest growth in the process!..
And -of course- it is always the Women and Girl-Children who get to do this HEAVY WORK daily!
Can you imagine how much their lives would change, village by village if/when they can build their SOLAR COOKERS!?!... LET'S HELP THEM!!!

Then, one day, Someone will popp up to help us with something we need help with! "What goes around, comes around."
THIS in itself is exactly what I'm aiming at with my suggestion today. (I take it that we all are willing to continue this process with a new vigor and even greater ENTHUSIASM after the Holidays )But for now: Your turn, guys!

22 Dec 2004 @ 01:13 by spiritseek : Trading versus selling or both
If someone has something to give in place of having someone doing manual labor or trading for something the other needs or wants. I recently saw a site where you can post free items in your area or state for the taking, I really like that idea.Advertising is the best way to find people who want what you have or they have what you need. Find a way to advertise first,such as a website with a catchy name.Have everyone list their area of the world so its easier. How many free hours you can donate,how much money you have to spend or what you have to barter with.

22 Dec 2004 @ 02:38 by astrid : Yeah, there you go!....
Two more pages: Green for "this I can give away" Yellow page for "this I need" and maybe a lavender page for LABOUR TRADING NEEDS. Yupppphhh
More suggestions, comments, eh?

22 Dec 2004 @ 09:32 by lugon @80.58.19.44 : solar cookers etc
Astrid http://solarcooking.org

Sorry about you (Astrid) spending time reading those links :) I guess I must make time to really simplify things a bit. That in itself is a (part-time) job. :(

So in your idea we might have a wiki or a database with a web interface, where people would:
- subscribe so they have a "name" and a profile
- then use that "name" to post haves/needs/etc (the colors you suggest, or whatever)
- then have the database-engine spit out reports, links, suggestions, or maybe send out an email from the "have" to the "need"

There would be some problems with privacy, I guess. Something to work in.

"Together we have everything" is the motto of http://www.uniteddiversity.org (currently unavailable) which leeds to http://www.open.coop (by Josef Davies-Coates in UK).

22 Dec 2004 @ 10:02 by lugon @80.58.19.44 : sustainable sustainability
http://opencoop.org/tiki-index.php?page_ref_id=44

22 Dec 2004 @ 13:39 by spiritseek : Donating items
Our donation centers have gone up in their prices so the low income families find it even harder to get what they need.There are way too many things being dumped in the garbage that could be used for others.Recycling can be used for just about anything.

22 Dec 2004 @ 18:07 by astrid : I love that!....
"Together we have everything". I really like Joseph's site "Open" and lo & behold I understand what I'm reading there! : )..... I even understand the navigation to some extent -and that is just by a quick look!.... In other words a good design, worth following.I also like his Hubs in the Wheel -idea ( that has "always" been my spontaneous way of seeing and also approaching "Things" ) So, yes! IF we need a domain name I have one available that I could let us use: Cosmicconnetcions.info Look forward to hear from you Logon and , hey, what about the rest of you guys, did you all drown in the SNOW,huh?????..... ; )

Yes, Marie, what is it, this CHARGING -like hard earned CASH for "DONATING/ Donated stuff" ????? When people/business lose their integrity....

22 Dec 2004 @ 21:04 by ov : Good Stuff
You have been collecting a lot of good information Lugon. I'm still reviewing the wiki material that you posted a while back. This is more of the same. Thanks for collecting this.

23 Dec 2004 @ 05:34 by spiritseek : I always thought about
opening a donation center where everything was free. I worked at a Goodwill donation center for three years and saw so much things donated by people who just couldnt bring themselves to throw away good items away when there are people who need it. Unknown to the company I gave away items people needed not to the extent of misuse but real need I could see.Strangers would come in donating items that I could tell they didnt have much themselves but would talk about their problems and I would hear what they needed and that item would already be there almost like it was brought there for them. I used discernment but I also used my inner guidance.Once a man came in wondering if I had any work boots because he got a job finally and needed them but couldnt afford to buy any. Those boots his size had come in that day and fit him perfectly. I knew one day I could see my dream come true.

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