17 ways the Community Kitchen at Saanich Neighbourhood Place = good collaboration
My timing was good. The day I visited the Community Kitchen at Saanich Neighbourhood Place, there were oodles of cookies, strudels, zucchinni/spinach quiche and soup being prepared. All of which I like very much. I was there to learn about community kitchens.
There are 3 community kitchens currently based out of Saanich Neighbourhood Place (SNP), part [...]
Haliburton Community Farm: A collaborative model worth emulating
We need more places like Haliburton Farm. Last month, I partook in a farm tour, dinner and conversation there. This week I visited this local farm to chat a bit more with Elmarie Roberts, one of the farmers working the property. Our conversation reinforced my view that Haliburton Farm is a powerful, collaborative community model [...]
Break bread together: A rule of thumb for good collaboration
Have a meal together.
Why it matters
Eating together helps people connect; helps bond individuals into a collaborative whole.
It doesn’t matter what it is that you do, you need something to bring the team together — something that says we’re special, we value each other, and we’re in this together.
Food, dress, ceremony, celebration… rituals are developed around [...]
Home is Where The Food Is
“Home is Where The Food Is” is an animated short film made by Jody Kramer for the 100 Mile Diet Society in Vancouver, BC. It follows every ingredient of a delicious and simple meal to its source. It’s a story wonderfully told, and a story of collaboration.
This film was shown as part of Food Matters [...]
The good farmer: An expert in relationships and sustainability
There is a view of farmers that I believe seriously undervalues their value, in the bigger scheme of things. I’ve thought this for a long time. It goes back to my early years living on my late Dad’s farm. He grew crops and raised pigs for market. Yet; he was also a German Jewish intellectual, [...]
The Market on Millstream: A community-oriented hub for food producers and consumers
Increasingly, I find myself thinking about food security, and the people and businesses who support local farmers and food producers. The Market on Millstream is one such business.
In late 2009, The Market on Millstream, a local grocery store where I live, was named Canadian Independent Grocer of the Year, in the medium surface category, by [...]
Heritage wheat movement “godmother” advocates for communities that connect people, plant, and place
Sharon Rempel advocates for a world that honors cultural traditions, diversity, and abundance, gained through collaboration and caring for each other. She is systems thinker, and wonderful community builder, in ways that acknowledge the historic relationship between people, plant, and place.
Sharon is the “visionary godmother” of today’s Red Fife heritage wheat movement in Canada, founder [...]
Level Ground Trading: Linking sustainability to long-term relationships
You go to the store. You look for the “fairly traded” coffee. You make the purchase. What now? Who benefits from your purchase? Sure, you’re a satisfied consumer. And, it’s more than just the coffee tasting good. You’ve just, through your purchase, contributed to a making the world a better, fairer place. Really? Have you [...]
Connect with the world: Another way to make your neighbourhood a better place
International collaboration works. I saw it in the Philippines, where I spent the better part of the last two months working for a Canadian not-for-profit (CESO). I blogged about it (e.g., 27 ways Filipinos create successful, collaborative e-Governance projects). I went half way around the world to collaborate with others. Now, I want to bring [...]
How all things connect: Adapting to unintended consequences in Hagonoy, Philippines
Rice farming was the main agricultural activity in Hagony, a Philippines coastal community, at least up to the 1980s. It was around that time that the salinity of the water started to rise; eventually to levels unacceptable for growing rice. Many believe the salinity increase stems from drainage canals and dikes built in the 1970s [...]
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