NOTE: The minutes for the Tuesday, Oct. 27th meeting will be distributed by email, but may not be posted on the blog before the next meeting (blog facilitator away for two weeks)
However, the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 11th, one more time at Susan Marie's.
At the Oct. 27th meeting, an important update on the state of the field was shared. Please refer to the previous post for details.
Also, in the post before that, only 4 of all 6 drafts in progress towards our Basis of Unity were available. Work has already been undertaken tweaking the statement on Community, however for convenience of the membership, here are all six original draft statements in one place. At the next meeting on November 11th, the group will work on the drafts for Sustainability and Education, and review the 2nd draft of our statement on Community being amended by Sheila.
SPUDS BASIS of UNITY - FIRST DRAFT (for Oct 27/09 Meeting)
1) Community Building - draft (sheila)
In addition to caring for the soil and the food we produce, we also want to build community by providing affordable access to a fun, safe, welcoming environment that will encourage and nourish the cooperative participation of a diverse intergenerational group of people with various skills, perspectives and physical abilities. Together we will celebrate our harvest and eventually share the overflowing bounty with the broader island community.
2) Sustainability - (Veronica)
The membership agree to the following definition of sustainability
"Sustainability refers to the quality of life in a community, that is the economic, social and environmental systems that make up a community, and the extent to which those systems are providing a healthy, productive, meaningful life for all community residents, present and future. It means becoming aware of the holistic interconnections- visible and invisible- in which our day-today choices affect the intricate balance of social, economic, and ecological systems."
SPUDS will source and purchase supplies, services and products locally wherever possible. Preference will be given to Denman Island service-providers and suppliers.
We will move towards increasing the yield of the field production to ensure an organic vegetable supply for the future.
We will work with others in the D.I. community towards an island food sustainability program to support the Denman Feeding Denman movement.
3) Commitment and the Soil by Velda
The first idea could be “First, Do No Harm”.
ie- no toxins, harmful substances, and so on- I would also include ‘no harmful practoses’. This will mean different things to different people…BUT, doing things TO and FOR the land at the wrong time, CAN be quite harmful, as well as futile.
We need to be committed to our patch of Earth. We have lots of sources of information about what the land needs. When we determine its needs, THEN we will go ahead and meet those needs in the best possible way.
If green crops are to be the way of nurturing this patch, THEN its essential it be worked in at the appropriate time. Time is very important – if we are committed to this, we will be willing to forgo some other activities SOMETIMES in order to BE THERE. There are enough of us to do a good job of caring for the land, if we share responsibility, and if we ARE committed…
There is no merit in labour for labour’s sake. We have computers and lots of brains behind us. We can investigate new methods of land stewardship, we can try new ways and hopefully learn how to “love the land” in a progressive, non-greedy way. Let us now move in that direction before disaster overtakes us.
4) Education (Veronica)
We will encourage members to learn about organic farming, vegetable growing, how cooperatives operate and to develop the following skills: leadership, group facilitation, and communication.
Members will be empowered through skills building activities and will develop competencies experientially and formally.
Members will search out the educational model and practices that suit them best.
5) Group Process - draft from Fireweed
We strive for equality and inclusivity by sharing responsibilities and practising power-with (rather than power-over) in our deliberations and actions. Before speaking we pass our words through the Three Gates: “are these words true, are they necessary, and are they kind”?
6) Ethics (Mike)
Whenever possible, we will choose from the alternatives generated to address issues or problems in the field, those which are least harmful to the soil, plants, animals, people and the ecosystem as a whole. If a decision needing to be made in the field appears to necessitate going against any member's core values, it must be brought to the entire group for deliberation.
SPUDS seeks to be a non-commercial, non-profit endeavor. No individual, nor the collective, shall make any profit from the activities engaged in by SPUDS, other than to continue the necessary activities agreed upon by the entire group (e.g. buying seeds for cover crops, necessary tools or equipment, constructing a root cellar, etc.)
We shall engage in any and all activities from here unto perpetuity (or until SPUDS is no longer of this mortal coil) in an atmosphere that encourages fun and enjoyment. Should any member experience a serious lack of fun and/or enjoyment as a direct result of their membership in SPUDS, an official inquiry shall be launched to determine the root cause. If such a cause cannot be dug up by the Fun Subcommittee Working Group, the aggrieved member shall be composted.
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