First Portland Cross-Pollination Gathering!

As a warm up to the Portland Cross-Pollination Project, brush and I facilitated an experimental evening of cross-pollination. Together with a dozen other interesting changemakers, we brainstormed, shared and linked ideas.

Clearly, there is an emerging group of people who are aware of their roles as links between communities, and it feels great to find a "peer group" with whom to explore some of the challenges and opportunities with still-unrecognized role in social change organizing.

After introductions, we began by brainstorming what kinds of things we would want to know about another community or group, in the context of looking for meaningful ways to link. The group quickly formed an initial list (see left), bringing out some sometimes subtle aspects of a group, like a group's flexibility and interest in reaching out to other groups, who a group already connects with or explicitly doesn't , their stage in the typical organizational life cycle flow, their intra or inter organizational challenges, and how much they value supporting people's personal maturity and growth process as a part of the larger fabric of social change.


Then, in groups of three, we each shared about a community that we are connected to in terms of these brainstormed areas. People then reported back to the full group about their experiences, and brought out some interesting questions, like the balance of what to hear about first, or mostly: a person's individual role and interest in the organization versus the organization's mission, structure, strategies, etc.

Then, we brainstormed "ways to link communities" (right), and then went back to the groups of three to play with the possible links between each other's groups. This session also brought out some intriguing challenges (opportunities!) of linking, such as the desire to simply exchange emails and start sending each other information versus a feeling of information overload and desire to find other meaningful connections.

It was an energetic evening, and as we reflected on the process and discussed next steps, it was clear that there are a lot of very juicy areas to be explored with this idea of cross-pollination. It seems like a lot of people have common experiences and desire for deepening the art and science of this role, and I am excited to see the Portland Cross-Pollination Project develop!!

Click here for the notes!!!


Agenda: first cross-pollination gathering!
intros: why are you here? why are yousmal interested in CP? What does CP mean to you?
intro to CP
brainstorm: what would you want to know about another community?
small groups: share about a community you are part of in the context of the brainstorm.
full group: report back
brainstorm: ways of linking communities
small groups: link 2 communities
full group: report back
wrap up: check outs, next steps, homework!

Why are you here? what is CP to you?

* independant activist for justice/peace--different areas
* responsible citizen w/small groups
* grps interchange ideas from different angles
* public awareness of communities, where are, what can do
* GMO, OG farming, vegan/veg, env. convservation--but many are fragmented. how can we not be fragmented?
* part of many groups--see those connections
* social/economic justice at center of many mvmts.
* living in intentional community showed how to get past fragmentation
* build community person-to-person
* tried to get involved (gardening, sus. community, FNB, city repair, artists) but nothing has gelled
* social reclamation/reconstructon--human ecology
* so many ideas for learning about each other!
* cp is not networking...its different somehow
* my friend things of me as a CP! wow!
* curiosity is my motto
* maybe i don't need to do it all but can connect them all
* i see how one group knows what another needs
* i'm an activist in alot of ways...i see the fragmentation. no-one knows how to work together
* been part of large convergences where many communities had many styles/strategies--saw ways to move through blocks. ecosystem of change--not centralized
* involved in many community projects--see how many follow the same patterns. value is in linking



In terms of looking to link or cross-pollinate, what do you want to know about another community?

* decision-making structure
* values
* vision
* personal involvement
* reputation
* personal maturing (done their own work)
* anything new, novel, interesting, different?
* what are they doing well with and what struggling with
* do they hold trainings/teachings/ways to share what they do/know
* how people plugi n
* what grps they work with--cooperate/compete with different groups, connections and who NOT work with (enemies)
* their resources and needs
* funding sources
* skeletons...?
* how important is integrity...financial based decisions or ethics/values
* flexability to reach out/openness to connections/attitude
* demographics
* how connected to larger movement or not
* see in historical context (institutional oppressions, power analysis over time)
* how measure and monitor success and adherence to mission
* history of group...where in organizational cycle
* learning strategy
* relationship to leadership/power/privelage
* ideology


Sharing about our communities (reflections after small group discussions)

* re: values and vision...we had common threads
* commonality of how to maintain "radical" politics when being pulled in different directions--radical vs. pragmatists
* w/short time to share, we tried to go through each of our brainstorm list--can we have a prioritized list??
* ...or, list is complete and each is important!
* hard to not start w/my own story/role--what is more valuable?
* development phases/growth of orgs...
* the factual nitty gritty frame could hold the other nuances, gives a context
* organize list into categories/template--niches for group
* didn't hear personal skills..relationship of person to group
* --not list of your groups but what you bring to them
* are we linking with a person or a community/group?
* orgs morph over time...people move on

Brainstorm: ways of linking communities, as individuals

* representatives/official liasons
* cnrg--online info clearinghouse
* live vicariously through other people
* google calendar--schedule what's happening and see who went to what
* community event--many groups share
* events that appeal to specific aspects of groups
* events--multi-mode/stack functions
* one community train/mentor/skillshare another, help other community grow
* be members of many communities--unofficial liasons
* orientations/workshops
* go help each other--clean office, paint house
* retreats--address core challenges--deeper work
* parties-social-friends w/consciousness of CP relationship
* asset mapping...online google doc
* link groups through health or other activity-food, childcare
* direct resources--barter, alternative economy or purchasing
* specific short term projects
* get groups together for rally and recruitment event
* common website--vision exchange?


Reflections about linking (after small group discussions)

* idea: using sunday walk to bring recy. groups and kids and bike shops together
* exchanging emails...uh oh...one more email of a group i don't really know vs. concrete link--visit each other
* meeting needs with capabilities/resources
* discovered how much legwork to organized/hold events. cost benefit analysis
* geographic distance but spreading word through sympathetic people. resources within IC's to help groups w/consciousness
* what will be a challenge w/potential culture clash
* time!!! will cp save us time? help refine info and connections...
* what is cp and what can it do for me?
* why do i want to put the energy into this?
* shifting to a bigger picture
* people who have ideas w/o attachment=cp
* "i know someone in my org who would want to be on mailing list of your org, but i don't."


Ideas for Next Steps

* potluck-informal
* reading list
* info table at events--farmers markets
* survey of orgs: would this be useful?
* vision exchange domain
* blog the process
* cross-city cross-pollination
* website/discussion forum
* identifying culture as cp within community


Questions:
email overload
information management

Pond of future conversations

* why CP?
* more aspects of linking
* linking w/communities you are not directly part of vs. not
* personal experience of cp
* challenges with linking
* "permanent" structures for CP
* more on gifts/limitations of our own work/group
* other forms of cp
* how orgs morph over time
* personal link-grp
* what i can get out of cp

Eugene slideshows

I shared two slideshows in Eugene... the first at a U of O "History of Global Civilization" class in the Department of Planning and Policy. The professor just happened to be my college thesis adviser and Green Cities professor (in '99-'00 out east), Rob Young. It was a great full circle experience to share how my path has evolved since Green Cities!

The second show was at Maitraya Ecovillage in their strawbale meeting space -- a great spot for an intimate and thoughtful conversation.

"That's the question..."

Yup, that's the question: how and when does "the community" get involved in guiding policy and directing basic services of our society?

A friend recently attended a City sponsored event about support for immigrants and refugees. It was held at the King Elementary School in hopes that "the community" in the area would show up. Few did. It was attended by the usual suspects of grassroots or non-profit organizations, where many times a few "community members" basically get tokenized as the representatives.

My friend told me this story while we were at a more on-the-ground community center... where people actually hang out together, and where a City sponsored round table to talk about budgets is an "out there" idea that sounds pretty intimidating and boring. So my friend is a link... but he cannot do this work alone. So that's the question: how do we mobilize and get mobilized?

Yup, that's the question.....

Olin study group - finding similar stories as activists

Tonight I met a group of people who were asking very similar questions as I have been:

* What does it mean to be an activist driven by direct suffering vs. driven by ideas?
* Activists are fragmented; everyone has their own agenda. What do we do about this?
* Many activists jump from issue to issue, depending what's hot. The benefit: deal with current crisis. Cost: don't always get deeper into roots and longer term solutions. Is this shortsighted? Would it be a radical act to plant roots and stay focused on one place? (Note: Brad Lancaster in Tucson is my hero because he did just that)
* Do we need place-based communities as well as issue-based communities?
* The Zapatistas said that you have to take risks to make deep change. They planned for ten years before they came out of the woods and declared their path towards an autonomous state. What does it mean to us in Portland or the U.S. to take a risk? What does it look like to get out of our comfort zone?
* We discussed "lifestylists", folks who work for social change through gardening, biking, eating vegan, etc. And we discussed the "intellectual activists", who sit around and study and debate all the time. And then there are the non-intellectual activists, who just want to go go go. And the burnt out activists, who "just want to live their life" and not go to meetings all the time. What's the balance?
* How do we find the time or interest in studying history? Other cultures have passed down history through songs, stories, lessons, etc. Today, we have Hollywood or CNN as the story tellers...
* If movement building tends to happen during times of crisis, and in those times we are not necessarily thinking the most clearly or long-termly, how do we motivate people to organize otherwise?

The group I attended was the monthly social movement study group called Olin. Their homework for this session was to read "Beyond Resistance: EVERYTHING! An Interview with Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos", of the Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico. Many interesting lessons can be drawn from the Zapatistas:
* Listening tour: show up and ask groups/people what they are doing. Learn and apply lessons from there. (see my blog entry from when I attended a Listening Tour event).
* "Encounters" or gatherings as a tool... create the space for interactions!
* Observation: an event with free food and music brings one type of crowd; an event with explicit political agenda brings another... both are hosted by the same group. How do we create events where multiple crowds are all attracted? Is one event more "activisty" than another? Many activist groups/social movements organize around community activities like food and other basic needs... the Black Panthers and the Zapatistas... are we "too busy having meetings" to build a foundation of community?
* Building "counter institutions" is essential: create the locally-powered alternative foundations for society.

I really enjoyed meeting another group of people who were not only experiencing similar things as me, but who were also articulating the experiences by asking questions and admitting that we don't know the answers. It seems like that's a good start.

And on that note, next month's homework reading may be: "Learning How To Ask" by Charles Briggs -- a recommended reading about the ins and outs of a good interview.

A meeting of pollinators

I was invited to an intriguing meeting about the idea of creating a "civil society summit" in Portland, inspired by the over 500 Portland listings in Wiser Earth.

It turned out that the meeting was attended by a handful of network- systems thinker type folks, and we ended up spending the evening discussing some of the layers of working to link groups and draw out the wisdom from each person... from a personal, individual point of view to Oregon's plans for reaching its sustainability benchmarks to global youth empowerment organizing.

The conversation was so fun that it continued downstairs over a beer...

...details soon!

~~~~Portland Cross-Pollination Project~~~~

Weaving a web of changemaking

Request for Cross-Pollinators

Are you…

…involved in social change?

…committed to increasing coordination and cooperation across difference?

Would you...

…exchange wisdoms and practices without pressure to agree?

…participate in a support structure to build skills with others?

…help the work of “weaving” be recognized and encouraged?

Cross-pollinators…

…create space for open collaboration without pressure for unity;

…translate specific tools, ideas, resources, and strategies;

…frame perspectives within an emerging social-ecosystem;

…discover solutions & engage conflicts through mutual understanding and leveraging personal trust;

This is a call out for cross-pollinators who see themselves in an active role of overlap between multiple issues, identities, or ideologies. In a year-long experience we will facilitate a dynamic, focused exploration into the art and science of cross-pollination.

We will discover points of linkage and practice effective communication across diverse communities and approaches, first within the group and then expanding citywide. Together, we will enact the connections that we desperately need for successful, broad scale social justice and ecological restoration.

This cross-pollination project has been developed through a weave of conversations among some of Portland's most experienced grassroots organizers. The project is built to complement our existing work, stoke our passions, and invigorate our practices.

Want to try this out? Or, can you help advise the group?
We are meeting with interested applicants now!

Contact us!

Jenny Leis: 503-548-8459; jennyleis@riseup.net

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Summer cross-pollination events

The year’s pilot program will begin in September. We will be building up into the year by offering a summertime series of public practice sessions, events and educational opportunities about cross-pollination.

** Cross-Pollination Sessions **

* May 22 (7-9 pm @ Red and Black Café), June 19, July 17, August 14*

In these sessions we will experiment with cross-pollination activities. You may participate by coming prepared to share a 2-minute explanation of one or more social change groups or activities that you are part of, and be ready to practice finding points of linkage with others. These activities will be playful and creative, each session building upon the previous.

** Cross-Pollination Slideshows **

* Wednesday, May 21^st, 7:30pm, Maitreya Eco-Village, 1647 W. Broadway, EUGENE *

* Friday, May 23^rd, 7pm, Village Building Convergence opening night, 722 E Burnside, PORTLAND *

* more slideshows will be announced continuously on http://journeydejenny.blogspot.com *

Join Jenny Leis in an evening of celebrating grassroots activism around the world. Be inspired with stories from her year’s journey as a traveling cross-pollinator!

************************************************************

More info on the Portland Cross-Pollination Project!

What is cross-pollination?

Simply, it is the skill and practice of helping communities work together and learn from each other, especially when they differ importantly over values, vision, identity, ideology, strategy, language, experience, position, etc. It's a grassroots attitude, focused on building many local connections between groups rather than relying on large, distant "coalitions" in which only overworked leaders participate meaningfully. Cross-pollinators build personal relationships with people within the communities involved, often participating in their lives and work, at least for a time. They help communities recognize the benefits of collaborating, work through the misunderstandings of culture clash, and support the emergence of new liaisons. They are skilled at the tools of diplomacy, active listening, and affirming what it is that makes each (sub)culture unique.

Why is cross-pollination important?

We live in a world of niche markets, hybrid identities, and organizational silos, rather than a uniform "mainstream". This means that people power today does not lie in "mass organizations" or getting everyone to agree on a single platform, leader, or organization. Instead, people power lies in the capacity of many different, small, local communities to be linked together in ways that allow positive changes to grow exponentially -- without undermining the fundamental autonomy of each group. Cross-pollinating is the experimental, practical work of facilitating those linkages.

How will this year-long project be useful?

Many of us are de facto cross-pollinators, at least to some extent. Some of us have recognized this role, given it a name (or, many names!), and work to get better at it. Two of us have chosen to convene a sifted circle of self-described cross-pollinators in order to explore the emerging theory and practice of cross-pollinating. Over a year’s time, we will learn new models and skills from each other, supplemented by written works and possible workshops, and continuously reflect on the results with a group of advisers. We will extend the cross-pollination to the broader Portland community through specific projects, clear communications and documentation. The result will be new understanding, experience and respect for the work of cultivating critical linkages among many kinds of communities, enabling the diverse people powered networks of Portland to emerge.

Sound exciting? Apply now to be part of the pilot project! Email or call Jenny at jennyleis@riseup.net or 503-548-8459 for more information.

Earth Day 2008

Last year on Earth Day I was in the largest slum in Africa (see here)... this year it was great to be back in Portland and see how Portland's magnificently creative sustainability culture has evolved... and it has! It was amazing to see the new ideas for getting people to sustainablize their transportation, food, health, education, etc. One neat thing was seeing so many friends who had created new organizations, or had taken pet projects to whole new levels. We certainly have critical mass of changemakers in this town!

Darryl Hannah at TLC Farm?

Last week TLC Farm met a long-distance community member (and, well, Hollywood star): Darryl Hannah. Turns out she had read about our outdoor kindergarten in the Wall Street Journal and happened to be in Portland that day...


...the fun part was realizing that she is already knows all about permaculture, natural building, and many other aspects of the Farm (but not chicken tractors, which Brenna is explaining in the photo on the right). She was psyched to learn about TLC Farm's approach to integrated sustainability, and said that she wanted to return this summer with her camera crew.

She is a cross-pollinator! Check out the "show" on her website: dhlovelife.com. So, it looks like we might be a new segment! How fun!

(1) I am living the integrated socio-ecosystem

I am on both the ‘dance floor’ and the ‘balcony’ of living my life as a component of the movement to “sustainability” (embodying as well as analyzing it). Most of my writing tends to be about my work in projects or observations of changemaking systems. This section is personal – it’s a reflection on what it means that I myself am trying to live in my daily and larger picture life as an example and experiment of the integrated socio-ecosystem.

There are six posts in this thread of personal reflections.

I am living the integrated socio-ecosystem, and if more people do this, it gets easier.

[soon, link to overview of socio-ecosystem]

(2) Baby Steps

Part of this experiment I call my life is to step as fully as I can into the web so that others may as well. That’s the whole point: if we each took these steps than the infrastructure would grow to match our needs, and we would actually have the systems that we want to be embodying. All we have to do is choose that we are ready and then step into it.

Click here for more!!!

We may not be able to step directly into the socio-economic-ecosystem of our visions (and we may not even know what that looks like!), but if we take the baby steps that we know are “right”, than we begin to create the path. “We make the road by walking”, right?

These baby steps may seem small, but they really do add up. In Portland, we witness what happens when critical masses of people each choose these baby steps: the infrastructure and societal norms develop to match these needs/pieces. We have special lanes, bridges and signals for bicyclists. We have organic and bioregional food at many restaurants. We have task forces to approach peak oil and sustainable city systems, etc.

(3) My step: exchange

I am taking another type of step into the interdependence of our socio-economo-ecosystem: the gift economy. The best part about this alternate economy is that it is not necessarily about direct exchange. It’s about one thing leading to another and playing with the integration of many aspects of our daily and larger picture lives.

For example, when I sent out my Community Supported Activist (CSA) announcement, one of the responses that came back was from a friend offering his cabin as a retreat space. (This is where I now sit to write these thoughts.) But, it’s not as straightforward as going to a cabin for a writing getaway—it’s a chance to live in his rural permacultural setup, to experience what he has learned about creating sustainable infrastructure, to gain insight into the real life details of his neighbor’s logging expeditions and to cross-pollinate ideas with another changemaker in a variety of settings. I still get my peace and quiet to write, but instead of paying for a cabin somewhere, I get to integrate this aspect of my life (the need to get away) with the whole picture of my life (weaving tighter the interdependence of people). And, he gets my stories and ideas, yummy meals, and the things I can do around his property to help. There are a lot of levels of exchange.

(4) One way to break out of isolation

Since announcing my CSA (Community Supported Activism), I have received a few comments in the realm of “wow, it’s great that you feel comfortable asking for what you need.” These comments suggest to me that we are generally taught to be as independent as possible, and that asking for things from others is a often understood as a sign of weakness, laziness or unaccomplishability. Yet if the goal is to integrate and operate more in community and as a living collaborative culture, than we have to create more ways to exchange. To ask for things (whether it be for help, an idea or material) is one way to consciously step out of the culture of separation and into the culture of sharing, integrating. Yes, it can be awkward, but if we make it ok to ask, and to respond with ANY answer without “baggage”, then we are well on our way to sustainability.

(5) Cells of an organism

Sometimes, people suggest that I ask too often for help from other people. And in these moments I feel embarrassed or out of line, and try to reflect on how I can keep the balance of putting myself out there just enough to help spark the deepening experience of interconnection. I apologize if any of my requests feel distasteful.

But I’d like to explain how I see my requests of people. Every time I invite someone to help me in some way, I see it as an opportunity to be part this experiment of integrated community sustainability.

Click here for more!!!





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If I see myself as a piece of this larger puzzle, than you helping me is being part of that puzzle. And, by inviting you in, I become part of your story, also a piece of the larger puzzle. And then, when you invite me to assist you in some way, you are inviting me to experience your piece of the world. And when we work together, we discover things together. We create shared knowledge and find innovative solutions. We add value, beyond the direct service, to our co-existence.

I fully anticipate that as I am asking people for support or involvement, I will be reciprocal. All sorts of people ask me for things—sometimes it’s material, but often, since many people know my skills, it’s about an idea, a connection, a project, etc. That’s why I love community organizing—it’s about connecting people for collectivity and grassroots action, and recognizing that the path is often seemingly unclear. Yet, we trust. We believe that each conversation, each moment’s gift or action, adds up. Trust is the “messiness”, and the propellant, of the socio-eco-system.

Trust is a very important aspect of living an interdependent life. I have to trust the web that I am stepping into, and the many components of that web have to trust me. Sometimes I think of myself as cell of an organism, and that the other people who I know (like you) are also cells of that same entity; therefore I trust that we will each want to sustain the health of the whole. Sometimes you just have to believe this, and start acting like it, before it necessarily manifests, but by doing so, by naming it and taking those baby steps, you help to make it real.

(6) Slowly growing an alternate economy

The economic aspect of the Community Supported Activist programs is only one piece of what keeps me “afloat”. Living in Cedar Moon, the intentional community at TLC Farm, is a fabulous example of the power of trusting the interdependent web. My rent is inexpensive because I live in a small space and share amenities with others. My food costs are cheap because we buy in bulk and prepare our own (otherwise costly) value added foods, like granola, hummus, milks, hot sauce, etc. And we operate as a collective, which saves time, money and energy—a few people do the food buying, a few make the “prepared” foods and we each cook dinner or clean up only once a week but get great homemade food daily. Even part of my health care is provided by integrating myself into a community: because many of the people around me are also searching for healthier lives, and we have collectively learned a whole lot about natural medicine and the ability to heal/prevent illnesses with foods and herbs. Transportation costs are low because I bike (and have friends to trade with for fixing it). I have almost no entertainment costs because I enjoy the talents and company of my friends--musicians, filmmakers, artists, philosophers, event creators, nature lovers etc. And when I travel, I know how to take local buses (and enjoy them), how to find cheap or free accommodations (or work trade), and successfully carry my own food or make do with local supermarkets.

In Portland, we have many communities of people who are walking similarly integrated lifestyles, and therefore have the people power to enact a more wholesome economy as a whole. This economy has been emerging slowly for decades, and I believe that we are at a point of critical mass: it’s time now to take the next steps.

This is how the world seems to work…

The other night I followed a whim and went to a benefit event for a women’s health clinic in Guatemala. It was held at New Borne Tribe, which is usually a Rasta type shop and music hall. I thought the cross-pollination there would be interesting.

So, indeed it was an interesting evening, but I want to observe one thing: this was hosted (and mainly attended by) yet another sparky group of young women who went to another country, connected with a group there, and now is working to send them resources. I saw myself in these women (which is why I took this photo of one of the organizers photoing her own table—I do that!), but somehow I was triggered by this: look at all of these “random” little fundraiser events that people are always trying to put on, raising maybe a few hundred dollars if we can. (Those of us at TLC Farm did this, too, with our benefit to raise transportation money so that we could connect with the global network of the Berkana Exchange.)

I don’t know whether to see these as beautiful acts of education and grassroots fundraising, or whether they feel like so much energy with relatively little gain. (you can see I’m in a cynical mood) There’s something that just feels draining about all of these inspired young Americans (myself definitely included) trying so hard to get people to care about the people or places that they’ve been (and where there are serious problems, often caused by the U.S.). Somehow my mind wants to “do something” with this energy… so many of us doing the same kind of thing, all in our own bubbles… Or maybe this is exactly what grassroots fundraising looks like and I should be celebrating all of the creative and loving efforts…

It’s also interesting to think about these events as another type of remittance from the U.S. to other countries, which I think is the number one source of income for many people around the world.

Another lesson in: “this is how the world works” (currently). I’d love to hear comments about this…

(A) The next steps: a new economy

If we take the principles of the integrated socio-economic-ecosystem for the individual (see post called “I am living the integrated ecosystem”) and apply them to organizations, than we can observe similar patterns and possibilities. If each organization that is “making the world better” has a basic set of foundational needs outside of their core mission, what if we seek to align those basic needs from multiple groups?

Click here for more!!!

I met a very inspiring woman in Denver who drew me a map of one such example. You can read her description of this here. It’s really quite fun when you start seeing how one group can offer support to another, and then how much more efficient the whole system is.

And, even on the level of an organization’s mission, we can look to a more integrated interdependent system to produce effective work. Many groups are trying to change policy, get the attention of the public, effect business, etc. I bet that if each of these groups framed their work within a larger political and historical context, they would find some similar roots of their issues and therefore potentially similar paths to solutions.

And what about the part about asking for what you need as a step towards integration and interdependence? This is interesting in the context of organizations, because many organizations quite directly ask the world to help them… each wants their message to be heard and responded to. Now this creates a fun challenge: how are we (the general public, and/or the active changemakers) supposed to hear and respond to so many needs? Good question. It gets overwhelming.

(B) Cultivating resources

When we step back and witness the growing number people who want to participate in something meaningful, we see the opportunity. There are vast numbers of people who would participate in changemaking activities if they had the access and invitation.

And yet there seems to be a strongly felt but often unspoken challenge among organizations of how to successfully involve the people who want to get involved.

Click here for more!

Many people want active meaningful engagement with a group “doing good”, beyond simply writing a check. But, unless a group is producing an event or specific campaign, it is often very difficult to find tasks, roles and proper support to maintain happy participants.

Now, before we move on, it is important to recognize the power of naming and framing things: if people are called “volunteers” than it feels like they are generally on the periphery of a group, and may be asked to be brunt labor or do more remedial tasks. But if we call them “participants”, than it’s more of a co-created experience. And that’s what this integrated socio-economic-ecosystem is all about: weaving our work and lives in many direct as well as intangible ways.

So, the challenge/opportunity of integrating co-participants is an important one to recognize. And, once we do so we can identify many common patterns: the time and effort that it takes to offer support and mentorship to participants; the need for redundancy in systems; leadership dynamics; burn out; affirmation, etc. With all the groups out there discovering the ins and outs of meaningful integration and participation, why not learn each other’s best practices and share the “tricks of the trade”?

I know of one group of people focusing on these questions, and they are beginning to serve as one of the above-mentioned collectives. They are in essence a “human resources” collective, and have been meeting weekly for six months to develop a framework to assist activist-oriented groups with these types of challenges. This group is manifesting the new economy by functioning as an “outsourced” HR support mechanism. Check it out!

(C) Collectives of collectives

What if we had legal collectives? Housing collectives? Technology? Aesthetics (art)? Health? Food forest? Political? The more we step together into our skills and find ways to interdependently offer them to one another, the more we will find ourselves living the web.

“I have the answer. I know what needs to happen.”

That’s the thing. So many people think that they know the answer to what we need. When we each see the world through the lens of issue of choice or our own personal life experiences, we tend to see how everything fits in those frames. We are each the star of our own movie. But then how can we learn from each other’s frame, or understand how “your issue” is actually “my issue” too?

We are all participants

So, let’s look at how we are all actually already participants in many of the problems and solutions of a socially just, ecologically sustainable world. I am a participant in slavery because I eat refined sugar (sometimes). I am a participant in racial profiling because I am not regularly calling out the institutional and subversive ways that white people are privileged. I am a participant in the oppression of the Tibetan people because I still use gadgets made in China, as much as I try to avoid them. I am a participant in clearcutting because I use toilet paper, or allow others to use virgin paper on my behalf, like at a bank or businesses.

And, I am a participant in supporting my local socio-economy because my food comes from farmer’s markets or local co-op. I am a participant in discovering healthy methods of group decision-making because I live in a 22-person intentional community. I am a participant in growing the pedestrian, public and bicycle transportation infrastructure because I mostly walk, bike or bus. I am a participant in the “caring and sharing” economy because I participate in a shared car collective.

We are already participants in many pieces of this world. And the groups working to end injustices or protect/regenerate the environment want us to recognize this. But it’s still too much for each person to actively right all of the wrongs that we participate in, which is why we need the infrastructure and systems that allow the vast array of changemaking avenues to become more connected, efficient, collectively impactful. That’s why we need to cultivate the conversations and identify the patterns that many of us experience. That’s why we need to recognize that we are indeed all components of an emerging ecosystem of change, a massive “movement of movements”.

Who feels it knows it.

The national movements to cross-pollinate

The idea of cross-pollination is similar to many ideas of community connection and learning among many fascinating and creative projects across the country.

Essences of cross-pollination can be found in descriptions eloquently portrayed in so many books and well-known speakers. I continuously discover new groups and websites for study circles or cross-cultural exchange. And in my own life, I see cross-pollination as the building block for The City Repair Project’s Intersection Repair and other neighborhood organizing activities.

This brings up two questions: 1) Am I trying to foment “yet another” project, website and listserv instead of inhabiting those what we already have? And, 2) How can we all learn from each other and explore coordinated action?

Click here for some answers!!

Some answers:

1) I am weary of anyone creating “yet another” website, listserv or meeting. I wonder why it’s so much more attractive to start something new rather than embody and evolve the structures already created. For example, at the end of a slideshow someone may suggest making a website or e-list so that everyone in the room can keep in touch. I like to point out that everyone got there through “the network”, so let’s continue to embody the network and trust that our efforts will connect.

At the same time, I am very conscious that I have my own Journey de Jenny website, listserve and project. Sometimes I wonder if these things are the very “new institutions” that I am seeking to avoid, and that with my lens of “cross-pollination”, “non-profit industrial complex” and “movement of movements”, I can make everything that I witness fit into these moulds. Am I doing exactly what I discourage in others? Or am I doing exactly what I witness in others—the need to make sense of the world within one’s own language?

I tend to see these things as my personal vehicles to directly connect with and among the people and groups that I am personally familiar with. My goal is to be a channel of links as they make sense, not to bring everyone together under one umbrella. And with the Cross Pollination Project, I seek to create a mechanism for social action among existing entities, not a new organization.

I invite any comments or perspective on this.

2) In the past few months of publicizing these cross-pollination ideas, I have met or been connected with many, many cross-pollinator type people across the country. While it’s always exciting to find “peers”, I am also wondering what to do with these connections, how to take them beyond swapping life stories. I ask, what does it mean that many of us are getting on such similar wavelengths about social change systems and possibilities today?

Right now, I am simply allowing myself to form these connections and trust that when the time is right, something will come of it. I have to listen to my own advice: the “random” conversations are valuable in and of themselves and that by knowing about each other, understanding some of each other’s stories, and forming a personal relationship, we are weaving ourselves together in ways we may not yet realize. Yes!