Expansion of Contraction.

Not sure I should post this yet, but John O'Brien and I (and perhaps others) are working on buy-nothing-new pact for Portland. We hope to tie it into the bartering/freecycle section of this Civic Space. We could use Civic Space to set up a loaning library too. Hopefully, Jeremy can help us expand the bartering forum...

Jennifer Rueda

Yes- one of the key planning ideas might be to examine how to meet basic needs for the community. I break it down into a simple mantra

Food, shelter, Heat.

How do we supply these basic things to ourselves as Peak Oil preparers, and to Portland residents once things get increasingly difficult economically.

In terms of food, I think we should be networking with CSA's and local farmers to assess what kind of local production of food could occur and how to develop localized distribution networks to supply as many people as possible. For those things we need from more distant locations (range fed cattle, rice, wheat) we should be developing direct connections with these suppliers and developing new systems for trade and transport.

In terms of shelter, those who are renting or are deeply in mortgage debt need to assess how to maintain adequate housing. That may mean moving in with family or friends if there is severe unemployment. This may mean working hard to reduce mortgage debt quickly. Many people will need to move closer to available jobs. Transitioning to and promoting a larger amount of people per household may be one thing for Portland Peak to advocate.

In terms of heat, we need to come up with adequate ways of providing localized heating to our community. Most likely there will be a strong move to wood based (hopefully sustainably harvested) heating in the not too distant future. Developing networks with these suppliers of wood and developing CSEs (Community Supported Energy) would all be smart ideas.

In the long term, a new economy will develop based on localized effort. The new hubs may center around food production, sustainable wood harvesting and small industry. We need to plan for this new economy by insuring that we can grow in certain localized areas while more nationally based companies shrink and contract.

Let's think about this.

You want to talk about how do we expand the idea of "Contraction", when what I think you're really asking is "How do we grow cooperative communities?"

Well, first and foremost, without a sense of self awareness, how can there be a sensitivity to the needs of others? If our community remains unaware of the needs for change, your efforts will be a hundred times harder.

I just got off the phone with my brother, a police officer in Austin, Texas. I'm a lefty and he's a wrongy (joking), and one thing we can see eye to eye on is that our lives are dictated by e-mail and no sense of connection, how his boss doesn't even know him other than by the scores on his tests and e-mails back and forth. How e-mail rips apart your day, sends you in all directions and tears apart your plan of action, if you let it. Which is why people move to the cities anyway, right? To find a sense of purpose?

What I learned from the teachings of Swami Kriyananda, founder of Ananda Cooperative Village, is this:

People move to cities because jobs are more plentiful, social life is more varied, and cultural stimuli are incomparably greater than living in rural areas. Country living, by contrast, whatever its natural appeal, poses severe obstacles for the average person. Economic opportunities are perceived as minimal in rural areas, and many people hardly know anything about farming.

The skills city dwellers have are city skills - merchants that need customers for their wares, secretaries who need letters to type, teachers who need students to teach. People are obliged to compete with one another in order to thrive. Any move away from this "System" constitutes a complete re-education.

And what of the fear of losing the city's system of social opportunities? Without a taste for farming, why would today's average Portlander want to spend time with people that merely talk about how this year's crop is doing?

Let's look at the reality of the situation here. Portland's community needs to become an intentional community in order to thrive. And how can we thrive without income? We can't... In marketing, in order to overcome your competition, you find your competitor's biggest strength and learn how to turn it into a weakness. (think Akido)

So how do we kick this Powerdown community into hyperdrive? The community needs to come together, almost like forming a business, and sell its goods to outside cities and communities.

There are plenty of places that still want to buy widgets, and know we need to stop relying on cheap foreign goods. These are what we call LOHAS consumers (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability). This is why New Seasons, People's Food, local hardware stores and other local companies are thriving in Portland. The awareness is out there, already floating around our community.

So, when there is demand for goods & services made from a community that pools it's resources of skilled craftpeople, laborers, artists, artisans, and any skill that can be "donated" to the intentional community to create products and services to sell.

And the beauty of it is those products and services can be sustainably made by the community without impacting the earth, creating the first TRULY sustainable city, all based on intentionally cooperative community. Without it, no city or town will be able to prosper in the future.

So, what things can we sell to fuel Portland's cooperative community growth? It shouldn't be too difficult for the minds of the presently gathered community to specialize in goods and services that can be sold at a competitive prices to the outside world.

Books can be published, useful things can be made as a team, weekend programs and seminars could be charged to outsiders, or even better, we create a consulting business for other cities. Why not be paid for our expertise... create a "Community building" team to send in and help cities, all while fueling the prosperity of our own.

Another idea is to start a school for children, attracting the right kind of community members (this is already under way!) There's no reason the community couldn't open brick and mortar stores in other cities and eliminate the middlemen, either.

How the incoming money will be handled is a question I still have,and I'm sure we can come up with ways to appropriate funds.

- Randy

In order to grow cooperative communities, one must be able to benefit from economic, political and social institutions. Once you are able to find inner harmony and continue those insititions, can you progress.

...why is everybody trying to "fund" stuff? ...i feel like we, the people are the funds and between us we have everything we need. I think money is the middle man and it would do us good to eliminate it as much as possible... money, with it's inherent measuring, does not encourage kindness and cooperation ...it's perfect for impersonal interactions - that's not community! Community is face to face. (think of the people who don't like their work or their boss but do it anyway 'cuz they've got to make a living... think also, how destructive this "detached" work may be) Also, money is an immaginary unit of measurment, whose value is determind by gov't policy, like the "oil dollar"... and it's taxed ...how many of us are on the same page as the government? ...the less power those people in capitals of the world have over my life the better i feel.

So i'll end my $ rant there and get back to "the library"... this reluctance to lend personal stuff must go... the knowledge from the books that i've read is in my head; at times i like to refresh it but for the most part i'd like to pass it on... so if someone were to "steal" my Powerdown book, i wouldn't mind 'cuz it would be doing me more good by "enlightening" that person. But a simple lending system can be arranged in which very few copies would be lost/stolen. Say, a "hard-core" Peak Oiler volunteers to be the librarian... the people who are not "possesive" will entrust their books/videos to the librarian (no ownership strings attached). People who'd like to take out a book will fill out a card with their name, phone # and date and the name of the book... if someone else asks for the same book the librarian will call the person who has it. The system will be all bark and no bite... it will not seek out and punish those disappearing with the book. For those of us who are "possesive" but still willing to share their stuff: the librarian can compile a list of who has what and then people requesting the material will be connected with the owners. This could be done online. The library could except donations but the point is to end unnecessary consumption.

I'm sure sharing is all ready going on but to make it official can help newcommers (and i expect for there to be more and more with the recent publicity).

I'd like a copy of "the end of suburbia" to put into my housemate/landlord's hands... he is mildly interested in the subject and giving him a DVD is more authoritative then me talking... sad but true. If he realized that this is seriouse stuff may be we could adopt the house accordingly - digging up the cement drive way, insulation.

Also, can we make our own copies of DVDs (and books) for outreach purposes? I would lose all respect for authors who would object to such "unathorized" spread of their ideas.

hope i didn't bore you.