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Over the last two weeks, Peter Kenyon from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. facilitated seven one day Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) workshops throughout rural Ontario, Canada. To see and download presentations, visit the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. Website Home page. The two week visit to Canada also enabled Peter to see some amazing local developments which are highlighted throughout this newsletter. This newsletter also shares several opportunities for readers to support practical low cost grass roots development in Timor-Leste, the poorest country in Asia/Pacific. Enjoy the Read.
(George Bernard Shaw)
Peter
Kenyon from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. will be facilitating Facilitator
Training in the B.E.A.R Program in Auckland on the 22-23 July.
Click here for more details. If interested in the training, contact Annie Irwood, Local Economic Development Advisor with the Auckland Council - annie.inwood@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz. The training will carry international accreditation through Business Retention and Expansion International, based in the USA.
The Bank of IDEAS has a strong commitment to finding practical ways to
assist Timor Leste - the poorest country in Asia/Pacific in terms of
grass roots development. During a recent visit, two opportunities
emerged which we want to present to our newsletter family:-
Mobile Workshop - in the village of Triloka, the
Good Crocodile Foundation is establishing a mobile workshop facility
to support village farmers - they require 250 sheets of zinc for the
roof structure. Each sheet costs $8. They are looking for donors to
purchase one or more sheets. To see the reality of this initiative
click here to see photo's and a brief story.
- Grain Silos - the average East Timorese farmer loses up to 60% of their seed due to weevil infection. The Seeds of Life Project and the East Timor Roofing Company (see article below) have developed a grain silo that kills the Weevil and allows a farmer a full seed compliment. This one action has enabled farming families to develop a liveable income - such a small action with massive income security implications. The cost of the silo is only $110. If you are willing to support one farming family develop income security, please purchase a silo. Click here for more details on this revolutionary initiative.
If willing to support either of the above donation initiatives please contact the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. - pk@bankofideas.com.au.
This
is an amazing 30 year story of a small hamlet of 100 persons and
visionary leadership creating a theatre and a School of Arts that now
generates each year 40,000 patrons, $1.3 million in ticket sales, a
resident company of artists and 30 post secondary students in
professional theatre arts training. The Rosebud Centre of Arts now
entails 20 full time staff, 50-100 part time staff, a $2.7 million
budget and 50 volunteers.To learn more about their story and the 5'P''s of success, download a presentation by Bob Davis, their Executive Director, or check out their website. Click here to read several stories about the Theatre.
This is the theme of a Conference being convened by Mainstreet Australia in Melbourne on 25 August, 2011. Peter
Kenyon from Bank of I.D.E.A.S. will be a keynote presenter on the topic –
“Getting Your Tills Ringing and Your Mainstreets Humming through Five Critical Relationships”.
Click here for more details on the Conference.
Click here watch a thought provoking YouTube video about the progression of information technology.
This is one amazing group that are passionately committed to placemaking. Initiated by the incredible and lovable Gilbert Rochecoute, Village Well have taught many of us across the globe about effective placemaking.Click here to gain an insight into their philosophy and work, click here to read their Winter edition of their newsletter or view their website.
It
is great to discover planners who really opt for creativity when
it comes to community engagement. Rob Voigt is one such planner.
Rob is the City Planner at the Canadian City of Collingwood. He
recently was acknowledged by the Ontario Professional Planning
Institute for his passion in building healthy and connected
communities.
Click here to read about his interesting
initiatives and the set of fascinating community engagement
tools he has created.Rob is a passionate urban planner, an artist and blogger. He has created two wonderful and helpful videos about engaging citizens…..the first of their kind in the planning profession.
Incidentally, Rob’s personal and professional inspiration comes from a statement from his three year old son Xavier - "The more I play, the larger my world does become".
Click here to view, learn and be amused, by Rob’s blog.
Lions
Quest Canada is a registered charitable organization established in 1988
and is based in Cambridge, Ontario. It is dedicated to fostering
positive youth development by producing and disseminating effective
tools to empower and unite caring adults in all aspects of young
people's lives. These tools include innovative and well-researched
programs, products, training and services for youth, parents, educators,
and community leaders.Click here to learn more and connect with their newsletter.
The aim of Brooklyn Grange is to improve access to very healthy food, to connect city people more closely to farms and food production, and to make urban farming a viable enterprise and livelihood.
In their first growing season, Brooklyn Grange cultivated thousands of plants including over 40 varieties of tomatoes, a dozen different types of capsicum and chillies, various radishes, carrots, beans, kale, okra, and salad greens amongst others. Produce is also sold direct to a number of local restaurants at weekly farmers markets as well as their own on-site market every Thursday. The farm also runs a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA).
Click here for more information on this great urban farming enterprise.
This
publication is a masterpiece. Not only does it provide great
understanding into a useful tool, namely the circle process as the basis
for effective conversation, consensus building and conflict resolution,
but provides insights into creating community collaboratively. Its value
is captured so well in the Foreword – ‘What could be more profound
than sitting in a circle with others who care as much as you do- about a
question, an issue, a threat, or an opportunity – and then listening
together as you try to explore what really matters, what really counts,
what really can happen now?....circles encourage not just voice but
listening, not just initial opinions but deeper insights, not just “what
I want” but “what can we do together”’.To purchase a copy contact Living Justice Press – info@livingpress.org or via Amazon.
‘A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality’
‘If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace’
‘Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one’
‘Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans’
‘Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it’
‘Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law. It's nine-tenths of the problem’
‘Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted’
‘The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility’
‘Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands! And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewellery’
The pub is located downtown in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The US Magazine -
'All About Beer' has chosen it as one of only five places in Canada where you must have a beer in your lifetime, and one of 125 places
'to have a beer anywhere in the world before you die'. Peter Kenyon can strongly support this recommendation,
but not just because of the beers, but their long term business commitment to local producers of foods and beverages as they follow their motto
'Think Globally, Eat and Drink Locally'. They have taken the words of David Suzuki seriously -
'Eating locally isn't just a fad - it may be one of the most important ways we save ourselves and the planet'.Not only is the Woolwich Arrow committed to practical but local philosophy, they function in an environmentally sensitive fashion in terms of power, recycling, sponsorship and product purchases. They are proud to promote themselves as 'A pub for our children's children children'.
Click here to visit the Woolwich Arrow website. Click on image to enlarge.
No other person has popularised and promoted the enterprise facilitation model as well as Ernesto Sirolli. Central to his approach was his own experiences as a young Italian aid worker in Zambia. Thanks to Phil Evans, Ernesto’s story and concepts has been well summarised.
Click here to read.
Social Traders have recently released the Social Enterprise Builder resource as a step-by-step guide on how to develop a social enterprise. The Social Enterprise Builder provides a rigorous business planning process. This comprehensive guide is structured in seven stages. The first two stages share about social enterprise. The third stage is for those still looking for social enterprise ideas. The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh stages are for those that have an idea and want to develop it into a social enterprise. In each section, there are downloadable worksheets and templates.
- Stage 1: Understanding – Understanding social enterprise
- Stage 2: Inspiring – Social enterprise case studies
- Stage 3: Exploring – How to generate ideas
- Stage 4: Focusing – Focusing and developing the idea
- Stage 5: Designing – Conducting a feasibility study to flesh out the enterprise idea
- Stage 6: Pursuing – Writing and pitching the business plan
- Stage 7: Implementing – Executing your business plan and bringing the enterprise to reality
The Builder is a free resource available to anyone wishing to use it. To discover more, click here.
The dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence have been created to recognize the application of cooperative values and principles to drive cooperative and business success.The Awards seek to encourage cooperatives from all sectors to examine their processes in order to compete for the award and will provide other cooperatives the opportunity to understand how cooperatives can best use their differences to positively impact their business and their communities.
Click here for more information.
Thanks to Gordon Morris for the information.
Click here to read their progress report and to see an updated version of their Community and Economic Plan. For more information, contact Glenda Pickersgill on glendap5@gmail.com.
This document reflects a growing wave of concern amongst ordinary people across Canada about the future of food. It is the result of 3500 citizens talking about food at over 250 kitchen table talks. It contains their ideas about how to make Canada's food system fair, healthy and ecological. A great conversation process and policy.
Click here for a summary.
Click here to view and download.
This is an exciting example of heritage preservation by a small community in South Western Ontario, Canada. It is a great example of what a determined and motivated group of residents can achieve. Located in a heritage 1914 Bank of Montreal and an 1883 timber frame barn on the main street of West Lorne, Ontario, The Arts & Cookery Bank offers up culinary and photographic experiences for all ages and abilities.
Click here to read and see their story – especially see their great YouTube viedoes. In their words, this creation is – “A snapshot of rural culture stirred”.
To learn more, click here.
To subscribe send an email to Plumbline@terracoeur.com.
Gail Plowman and her wonderful and most recent edition of ‘Pigs will fly | the can do community blog’ has a great section about shipping containers as a housing option with lots of links. The Bank of I.D.E.A.S. has long promoted the shipping container as a building resource for the development of both housing and business.
Click here to read.
Click here to view the video.
Thanks to Julian Keys from Imeka and their
“Ideas with Meaning”
newsletter for the referral to Gihan Perera’s fortnightly email newsletter which gives old-style businesses tips on how to best use new-style marketing techniques.Click here to check out the web site and subscribe to the newsletter.
For more details on the initiative or the position, contact Fiona Wilson, Manager of Economic Development at Cairns Regional Council – F.Wilson@cairns.qid.gov.au.
This is an essential read for any rural community builder. Written by two Albertians Doug Griffiths and Kelly Clemmer from first hand experience in Western Canada, it demystifies the attitudinal barriers to hold rural communities back. Incidentally, the 13 ways are:- Don't have quality water
- Don't attract business
- Ignore your youth
- Deceive yourself about real needs or values
- Shop elsewhere
- Don't paint
- Don't cooperate
- Live in the past
- Ignore your seniors
- Reject everything new
- Ignore outsiders
- Become complacent
- Don't take responsibility
To obtain a copy try Amazon.com.
More details will be distributed over the coming months including the range of interesting presentations and workshop topics. Plan to be there.
The Memphis Manifesto by the Memphis Tomorrow group was conceived at a conference on creativity in 2003. It contains 10 principles - it is an excellent checklist:- Cultivate and renew creativity
- Invest in the creative ecosystem
- Embrace diversity
- Nurture the creatives
- Value risk taking
- Be authentic
- Invest in and build on quality of place
- Remove barriers to creativity
- Take responsibility for change
- Ensure that every person has the right to creativity.
Stay tuned for more information over coming months.
Above all this forum,
being held 17-20 October 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is intended as a meeting place for people and ideas. All the activities in which participants will take part will be facilitated using a participatory and interactive approach. Just like the methods that it seeks to promote, this forum will work in the spirit of co-construction and dialogue.Click here for more information and to register.
- Denver: this was the first US city to launch a large scale, city wide bike share program
- Washington DC: Capital Bike share has more than 110 bike stands through out the nations capital and neighbouring Arlington, Virginia
- Austin, Texas: conventional and electric bikes to share
- Chicago: B-cycle's rental stations, available form May to September, are clustered along the lake front
- London: locals call them Boris Bikes (after the Mayor Boris Johnson) but you'll recognise them as Barclay's Cycle Hire. Transport for London continues to build cycling lanes (super highways) into central London
- Montreal: the Canadian city has some 400 BIXI stations that operate from April through November. This summer BIXI also debuted in Toronto, Ottawa and Gatineau
Click on the city name for more information.
Big Venture Challenge is a national UK competition to find the 25 most ambitious social entrepreneurs. Winners of Big Venture Challenge will get an initial £25K grant and the chance to access up to £150K of seed funding if matched by loans or equity from co-investors, plus first class business support and mentoring designed to keep pace with high growth social entrepreneurs.Click here for more details.
Thanks to Gordon Morris for the information.
The purpose of these workshops being held in Northern NSW in July-August
2011 is to empower individuals to harness and direct collective action for development of ideas into useful outcomes.
In these workshops you will be introduced to the concept of Intentional Innovation Communities (IICs) and invited to contribute to and participate in the identification and realisation of a strategy for innovation intended to:
- Empower and reward individual creativity & ingenuity
- Harness and direct local expertise into collective action
- Create useful things
- Improve and ensure the ongoing prosperity of the region
Click here for more information.
This book by David Bornstein provides a fascinating insight and wonderful story illustrations about the social entrepreneur- those driven, creative individuals who question the status quo, exploit new opportunities, refuse to give up – and remake the world for the better. The book simply helps us appreciate afresh the ability of a single person to make a massive difference.
Available through Amazon.
Thanks
to Gordon Morris for bringing to our attention this UK website that
provides easily accessible how-to-do-it best practice information of
international scope and relevance on community planning.Following is a great quote from their website - "If you want to know how the shoe fits, ask the person who is wearing it, not the one who made it."
Click here to visit their website for more information.
This Summit is being convened by the Country Education Project in Victoria, Australia on 12 August, 2011 at Glenormiston College, Mortlake. It will consider ways in which rural communities can enhance the engagement of young people in learning, improve retention rates, and increase the participation levels of rural young people in further education.Click here for more details click.
Click here to read the story.
Innovations in Civic Participation (ICP) is a non-profit organisation supporting the development of innovative high-quality youth civic engagement policies and programs both in the USA and around the world. ICP is a leader in the global movement to promote sustainable development and social change through youth civic engagement.The organisation embraces a positive view of young people that recognises their potential to create beneficial and lasting social change in their communities through active participation in service opportunities.
Click here to check out ICP's website and their 2011 Activities Report: A Catalyst for Meeting Global Development Needs through Youth Civic Engagement.
Landshare Canada brings together people who have a passion for home-grown food, connecting those who have land to share with those who need land for cultivating food. The concept of Landshare began in the UK, launched through the River Cottage television program in 2009, and has since grown into a thriving community of more than 60,000 growers, sharers and helpers across the UK. Launched in Canada
in May, there are now 250 members.Simply, Landshare is for people who:
- Want to grow vegetables, but do not have anywhere to do it
- Have a spare bit of land they are prepared to share
- Can help in some way – from sharing knowledge and lending tools to helping out on the plot itself
- Support the idea of freeing up more land for growing
- Are already growing and want to join in the community
Great to see eccentrics are still doing amazing things. David Walsh is a very private individual living in Hobart, Tasmania who has recently built and opened a $100 million art gallery housing a personal collection of 460 pieces dating from 4000BC to today. The collection represents David and presents him to the world for interest, outrage or difference.
The architecture of the building is amazing, the collection simply unbelievable and believe it or not, its free admission.Check out the museum website and click here to read a review by Gordon Brown in the QANTASLink Magazine.
CSA
is an alternative food distribution network that was initially a US idea
to link farmers directly with local consumers. It has grown as a
methodology across the globe.
Click here for more details. As part of its involvement with Making Local Food Work, the Soil Association in the UK is hosting a one-day conference on 16 September, 2011 to celebrate Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in UK, exploring the diversity of enterprises, hearing from CSAs overseas and looking to the future of CSA development in the UK. The day will provide an opportunity for community supported agriculture enterprises to come together, to experience being part of a bigger network on a local, regional and national scale.
The conference will create opportunities to network, to share good practice and to hear from interesting models. In addition it will be looking at the international movement in order to bring new ideas, blueprints for scaling up and a wider dimension to the UK network. And finally it will look forward to the potential for CSA in the future; where it can go, how it will look, and who will be involved.
Click here for more information or to book your place, visit.
Churches are incredibly asset rich, and can play a significant leadership role in neighbourhood renewal. A wonderful example of one church’s story to partner with others to transform their community through practical projects comes from the Edge Church in Adelaide.Click here to see the collection of videos illustrating a range of community transformation projects including the renovation of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Paediatric Outpatient Area. The project involved 377 volunteers contributing from 16 different churches. The Edge Foundation and Edge Church contributed a total of $61,000 in funds to support this project (total estimated project cost $350,000).
This is certainly one of the most impressive community planning initiatives that Bank of I.D.E.A.S. has witnessed. Congratulations to the 2030 team of Charlotte, Tiffany and Jessica. They are about to launch Stage 3.
Click here for more details.
Click here to read about ways friends are planning to celebrate his life.
Thanks to Karyn Bradford from Milang, South Australia for sharing with us Colin Ball’s latest book. Colin has had a long and impressive involvement in the community sector across many countries, and this book is a classic. Colin wrote the book to challenge and encourage discussion about Third Sector organisations in Australia and their future.
From the Back Cover of the Book-
"Colin Ball sets out challenging new directions for the organisations that comprise Australia's third sector. These radical proposals are grounded in experience gained over 40 years working both in this sector and in government …and the directions are bold and in many respects highly controversial:
- scrapping 'charitable law' entirely, even expunging the work 'charity' from the sector's vocabulary
- recognising instead that openness, inclusivity and 'for the common good' are the essential defining characteristics of third sector organisation;
- distinguishing (when tax concessions and other benefits are given) between genuinely independent organisations and those that have become agents for the delivery of government welfare services;
- ending the imperialist behaviour and attitudes of what Colin calls the big and powerful 'institutionalised voluntary organisations'; and above all,
- liberating people's potential rather than regulating it.
You can find out more or order copies of Colin's book from his website.
Click here to access this incredible resource!
The town of Ingersoll in Ontario, Canada has converted an ex primary school facility into an amazing youth complex offering
- Youth entrepreneurship training and support
- Youth technology centre offering a range of skill development opportunities in terms of music, recording, graphic design, video, photography, multimedia, computer repair and radio broadcasting, as well as, internet cafe, PC gaming zone and e-waste recycling
- Youth activity centre offering a wide range of programs and activities related to creativity, sports, fitness, lifestyle, culinary training and leadership development.
An incredible initiative for a small rural community of only 12,000 people.Click here for more details to check out the website.
Bank of I.D.E.A.S. finds Josef's 10 Commandments to business success a useful list:
- Turn your dreams into reality.
- Set high but achievable goals and work step-by-step to get there.
- Be alert to and be courageous enough to assess quickly opportunities that appear.
- Have determination but be able to distinguish between determination and stubbornness that can lead to disaster
- Whatever you plan have a second option.
- Employ people who give loyalty, work hard and focus on efficiency.
- When negatives arise, search for ways to turn them into positives.
- Know when you don't know and ask for advice.
- Deliver value for money.
- Whenever possible deal direct with the end user - it's the best way to understand and meet their needs.
HEYWIRE is now open to people aged 16 – 22 willing to submit a story about life in Australia outside the major cities. The story can be created in any form of media - text, video, photography or audio. If you are selected as one of the 40 winners, the story will be featured on ABC Local Radio, ABC Radio National, triple j and abc.net.au.
Winners will also score an all-expenses-paid trip to the Heywire Youth Issues Forum in Canberra in February 2012.The Heywire Forum is a chance for the participants to develop outstanding ideas and proposals that will create change in their local communities. Entries close on Monday 19 September 2011.
Click here for More information.
Click here for more information.
With 2012 being declared the
International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations, Cooperatives Australia (peak organisation for Coops in Australia) issued a recent statement to highlight the economic and social contribution that Cooperatives, Credit Unions and Mutuals make to the Australian economy and society.The Statement provides a list of the top 100 Cooperatives, Credit Unions and Mutuals and their annual turnovers. It is an impressive list and reveals that they collectively turned over $14.7 billion, involved 13,085,216 members (3 out of every 4 adult Australians) and employed 26,038 employees.
For a copy of the Statement, click here.
“Social businesses are not just a good way to do business, they are a business-like way to do good” (Social Business Australia).
This new guide is a great addition to the practical resources now focused on using an asset-based approach to community development. The document has been published by the Carnegie UK Trust and the International Association for Community Development (IACD).The guide seeks to help develop a practical framework for asset-based approaches, and help users reflect on the policy environment. The document explores what is meant by "assets" and how to appreciate them – both physical and human – drawing on experiences from across the globe. It is the outcome of a nine-month enquiry process, initiated at an international event in London in 2009. The investigation focused on the applicability, challenges and potential of using asset-based approaches in a UK/Irish context.
In the report, experienced practitioners share their own lessons about building more vibrant, sustainable communities – even through tough times. ICAD president Ingrid Burkett said: "This report aims to incite discussion and dialogue in practice, policy and academic circles."
Click here to download a copy.
Copyleft Policy
Resources of the Bank of I.D.E.A.S., either in full or in part, can be copied, quoted, reprinted, given away or circulated. Parts may be torn out, extracted and enhanced. In short, all resources are public property. Please use in any way to build the skills and knowledge of citizens in building healthier communities and more vibrant local economies.
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Bank of I.D.E.A.S.
(Initiatives for the Development of Enterprising Actions & Strategies)
14 Bird Rd, Kalamunda WA 6076
Ph: 08 6293 1848 Email: pp@bankofideas.com.au