Walden Two and Founding Documents

I picked up Walden Two by B.F. Skinner again the other day. When I started reading it, I only got a little past the introduction, but I have more appreciation for it right now. The existing community which I most admire, Twin Oaks, used this book as inspiration when it got started, and I am curious to see what I think. So far I don’t have any major objections to the material although I’m not sure how much of it I would personally prioritize in a community.
Over the course of this past week, I have also been working on developing some founding documents for the Sunflower Village Initiative. Some of it is derived from posts here and from some other writings. I am working on a piece to explain the essence of what this Initiative is, and I am also working on some By-laws. I have also been thinking about what a really effective board will be like.

Productive in the World

went to DELA (Don’t Eat Lunch Alone) in Springfield for the first time. I found out about it through the Pioneer Valley Local First group on Linkedin. If you aren’t familiar with the concept, Don’t Eat Lunch Alone is the idea that lunch can be used as valuable networking time. This group brings together people to discuss ideas relating to business and employment. I found the discussion interesting and I met some people who I think will be helpful with the Sunflower Village Initiative, so I’m glad I went and I’m likely to go again.
I also went to the Forbes Library and wandered around until I realized what I wanted to look at: Treehouse architecture. I found two books, one of which I know I’ve seen before used and desperately want to buy but can’t. So I read that until the library closed. After  picking up my partner from work, we came home and I grabbed a quick dinner of canned soup and grilled cheese, then left again. I went to a volunteer training for Habitat for Humanity. Now I can volunteer on sites for them, not just stuff envelopes.  I’m really excited about the non-profit skills I’m going to learn from them, in addition to house-building skills.

Refresher

I just returned from four days in Maine with Katie G. and her mother. Being away from my house and Western Mass allowed me to unwind a bit from the pressures of job hunting and being too hard on myself about a lot of things. I had fat chunks of time for daydreaming and thinking. I wrote some SVI notes and I have more thoughts. I’m feeling inspired and ready to dive into SVI as well as my job hunt. I hope to post those notes here soon, after I get the house straightened back out. As always, thanks for reading and for your support

S Definitions

I’m working on getting the vision for SVI into one coherent document. I’ve started by defining the three “S” primary values of the Initiative. I’d love feedback, and I’m sure these will be edited in the future. Thanks for reading!
Sustainability:
Sustainability is literally the capacity to sustain over time. Term used by the environmental movement to refer to practices or series of practices/systems which support the capacities of ecosystems to continue to function properly while providing resources for human activities. This term has become highly popular, to the point of having such broad definitions and use that its use is often meaningless, having been co-opted into many other contexts. Sustainability in the sense of SVI refers primarily to ecological sustainability. This means reducing the impact through encouraging the use of products and systems which are locally sourced, locally produced, repairable, multi- and re-useable, recyclable, biodegradable from least-at-risk habitats, land managed for the benefit of the broad whole with best environmental practices
Subsidiarity:
Subsidiarity is the Principle that tasks and activities should occur at the most local level practical. The most important quality of Subsidiarity is that it argues that local people should have the greatest say in local issues. Of course everything is interconnected and people from local communities have the responsibility to not negatively impact neighboring communities or the well-being of the larger society. Without restricting access to human rights, local people should decide the rules for their community in terms of economic principles and social practices. Unfortunately, at present, many decisions are made at such a “high” level that the people who are most affected by those decisions in their daily lives have little voice, despite votes, ballots, and public forums.
Subsidiarity as an economic principle offers stability of employment, containment of recessions/depressions, and stronger currency by virtue of being backed up by closer approximations to the actual value of goods and services. In some cases, the efficiency offered by engaging in subsidiarity may reduce costs. Subsidiarity supports sustainability by encouraging the use of local products and businesses before ones further away. This reduces the amount of gasoline burned in transportation, the packaging of products due to shipping, wear and tear on roads (and thus reduced need to use petroleum in their repair). From a health perspective, locally grown foods are often fresher and exposed to less chemicals. They are also at lower risk for the spread of disease through the industrial food chain.
Solidarity:
Solidarity is the idea that the struggles for justice faced by other people are just as important as those which affect us personally. Genuine solidarity is not patronizing or merely agreeing with the principles of equality and fairness. It recognizes the equality of all people. By identifying oneself with those afflicted by injustices, people who express solidarity contribute to shifting opinions which create the foundation of change. When people who express solidarity take action in partnership with those directly affected, they become an important factor in the achievement of social, economic, political, and cultural justice.
Today, economic and cultural justice are often missing aspects of intentional communities oriented around sustainability. Because of this, many people who would like to participate in the sustainable lifestyle opportunities offered by intentional communities are directly or indirectly denied access. Economic barriers such as income requirements prevent hard-working, intelligent people with low-paying jobs from entry, while people from diverse cultural backgrounds may be made to feel uncomfortable in communities which shun meat or dairy or are primarily Caucasian in composition. There is a critical need for existing and forming intentional communities to reflect on how they can integrate social justice into a broader vision of sustainability.

Organization

While I was a student, I had opportunities to gather information about local organizations and businesses with goals and values similar to the Sunflower Village Initiatives. However, as I was focused on my education and unable to devote the time to them, I filed them away to be researched later. This past week, I cleaned out my files. I began creating a database of these entities, which in keeping with what I have been learning from Katie G., I am terming Allies. I plan on researching these Allies to see how our values align and what kinds of relationships we can build as SVI grows.
I have long struggled with being specific enough about how the Sunflower Village Initiative will work. So one of the other major things I am working on is thoroughly describing the Initiative: how it will work, what programs it will engage in, who it is for, and why it is needed. I am also brainstorming ideas for making more effective use of Board Members capacities and time as well as for involving individuals who want to be volunteers or members of the Initiative. As this becomes more coherent, I am likely to share some of it here to disseminate the ideas and to receive critiques. Look for more soon!