One of the more interesting community groups I have joined in the last 12 months is Community Harvest. This group formed by a couple of extremely passionate folk which aims to connect people to their community in a way that centres around food issues on multiple levels.
The most interesting bit me though is this group has been a real education to me on meeting people where they are in regard to community engagement.
To the eternal frustration of the founding members getting people to attend workshops, one of the real focuses of the group, has been an extremely hard slog. In the last year the types of workshops that have been offered were jam making, chutneys, tomato bottling, planning a 12 month harvest and Sourdough bread making. All bar the bread making and tomato bottling were a real effort to garner enough interest to run (minimum cut off for most was 2) .. and that doesn't count the pasta making and soap making that were offered but never ran through lack of interest.
The thing is although the workshops have been a struggle getting attendance, the monthly communal meal has been much less of an issue. Sure many of the faces that attend each month are new but I think the smallest attendance we have had was 5, in the dead of winter, and the maximum was probably tonight when I think we had about 15 people crammed around someone's dining table.
This is made up of a core group of 3 that attend pretty much every meeting and up to 6 that attend most. It's always enough to sustain a lively conversation and provide a wonderful range of home made food. For me it is a great way on a monthly basis to reconnect and recharge and the slowly increasing repeat attendance suggest I am not the only one that feels that way.
So many enviro/sustainability groups are only focused on "doing something". While this is great, there is a lot that needs to be done, my experience with this group suggests the opportunity to get together to chat and share informally with like minded people is sometimes the main thing people want. Sometimes knowing you can safely share your concerns, voice your opinions without having to explain everything from scratch to be understood is more powerful for many than educational opportunities.
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4 comments:
I was attending a Slow Food group here in my town for a while but it became a real chore trying to sort out what everyone was going to do and what the group ultimately wanted to achieve...while I am interested in taking action, I'm one of the people who really wants to start off just connecting with others in my community with similar concerns and the same appreciation for the kinds of skills it takes to become more self sufficient.
I must say that I would have LOVED to sign up for the soap making class and the sourdough class.
Hi Angelina,
I suspect that is why the group works so well overall. You can go to the communal dinner without having to be concerned about group politics, or being pushed to volunteer for something you simply don't have time to do. Your commitment begins and ends at turning up with a plate. For someone tied into many community groups it is a wonderful experience.
:-).. you managed to pick the two workshops that I actually offered, I would have LOVED to have you there.
Kind Regards
Belinda
I like the sound of that group.
I would have signed up to the soap making and sourdough work shops in a flash. I've wanted to make soap for years but I've always hesitated. There are some things I prefer to watch been done rather than take it from a book.
Hi Nevyn,
I have to say it is my favourite group of people to spend time with.
I seem to remember you have reason to come down to Melbourne occasionally next time you do give me some warning and we can probably do the soap making if not the sourdough.
Kind Regards
Belinda
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