Source: Sol 2012 next steps

Date
Author
BenSibelman
Comment
Fixed link
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3111 bytes
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[[Eric]]: I want to honor [[Hank]]'s assertion that we need some practical action, and I think [[Paul Krafel]]'s water practice (the game from ''[[The Upward Spiral]]'') would be a good start
* [[Brandon]]: I like the idea, but it would be hard to organize trips ahead of time when it has to happen during a rainstorm, and the improvements would take a long time to appear, making it hard to keep people interested
* [[Ben]]: Also, getting to the wilderness without a car is difficult ... but we should focus on learning to think long-term
* Brandon: We could do an urban version of the practice, e.g. disconnecting downspouts from the sewers and [http://depave.org/ removing impermeable paved surfaces], replacing them with gardens where rainwater can soak in instead of running off
** Ben: Also rainwater capture (reduce dependence on city water supplies)
** Eric: We would have to include an observational component, e.g. taking people down to the stormwater exhaust pipes to show their negative impacts
** Brandon: We could get [[Mathew]] and [[Molly]] as allies and tie it into their interest in composting toilets
* Eric: I prefer going into the wilderness, "seeing and healing nature" ... maybe we shouldn't play Paul's game until we've studied our environment to see if it fits
** Ben: There might be Sierra Club outings like this, with something like trail restoration
*** Brandon: That kind of trip usually doesn't include enough close observation of your surroundings
** Brandon: There's hubris in the idea that we can heal nature ... Paul is humble and talks instead about "making plays"
*** Ben: Paul believed that by "acting high in the drainage," he could have profound positive effects
*** Eric: But only in a few micro-drainages ... the overall watershed will barely notice, unless many more people start playing Paul's game
* Eric: Planting trees is also a good practice ... you can do it anywhere

Brandon: I'd like to focus on finishing the [[SolSeed book]] ... it will give us something to show to help us grow our membership
* Ben: Of our four [[OnePagePlan#Targets (3 Years)|three-year goals]], Vision is the only one we can plausibly complete, and the book fits into that

Eric: We should consider having multiple locations where SolSeed groups are gradually growing ... your group is still growing toward "critical mass" even if it's spread across multiple locations
* Ben: It's no longer just a question of me moving to join the [[Seed Village]], which probably won't move itself ... Eric also has a family and is unlikely to move
* Brandon: A few people have expressed angst about the fact that SolSeed doesn't have activities outside Oregon
* Ben: On the other hand, let's list the benefits of building an intentional community:
** It's a test-bed for small communities on space missions
** It will draw in people who are really serious about living their values
** It's hard, but maybe we should get used to taking on hard projects
** Brandon: It helps us focus our energies toward SolSeed activities
* Also, there are questions about whether SolSeed Meetups are the right way to go