Published by Patricia Mikkelson livablefutureproject(at)gmail.com
Hello friends…it has been a long time since I have published a LFP newsletter. But I have been busy working on the goal of Livable Future Project, which is:
To help every neighborhood become a thriving, self-reliant community where everyone’s basic needs get met.
I know that this goal is a pretty tall order. But I do believe this:
that with God all things are possible, and without vision, the people will perish
what man can achieve, man can achieve
, as well as This newsletter has a few ideas that I present to you to help achieve the above stated goal. The Community Gathering is coming up soon—I am so excited about it that I put it at the very top of the newsletter so no one would miss it. I really hope to see you at some of these activities.
I felt so encouraged when I spent a month (back in July 2007) on the West Coast. I learned that I am definitely not alone in my passionate work of helping to create community everywhere. I left Fayetteville on a greyhound bus with $80, and came back with $40. I got to attend several conferences, the Oregon Country Fair, visit co-housing communities and cooperative housing, and spend lots of time with folk who are working on similar projects as myself. I feel more optimistic than ever that in spite of the many times that my efforts did not bear fruits that I wanted—now the harvest is at hand. I hope you have a wonderful, productive, fruitful fall!
Warmly, Patricia Mikkelson, Founder/director of the Livable Future Project
P.S. If you want to print out this newsletter, I have sent an attachment.
Community Gatherings: I have come to the conclusion that one of the easiest way to get people involved in civic engagement and bettering our communities and neighborhoods is to sponsor fun, festive activities where conversations about what people consider to be important issues can take place. I hope you will check out this vision and slide show at the myspace website I created. http:// www.myspace.com/communitygathering
Ozark Area Community Congress www.ozarkareacommunitycongress.org
OACC 28 -- October 12-14, 2007, Ananda Kanan International Retreat Center.
All those who love and care about the Ozarks are invited to gather
together once again to celebrate, appreciate, and learn from this
phenomenal part of the Earth and each other. Only $35 for adults, $15 for children, discounts for couples and families. This is an opportunity for those of us in Fayetteville and surrounding areas to share and connect on deeper levels, as well as get to know new folks. I hope you will check out the website, and that I will see you there! Mahriyanna and I are looking for a ride.
Organizing work wanted: I would love to help you clear your clutter, create order, and create systems that help you stay organized. For the past 8 years I have been able to help clients create order from chaos in organizing garages, whole houses, basements, teenager’s rooms, tool sheds and offices. The trick is getting rid of the clutter, then having a place for everything. I help you in a compassionate, non-judgmental way. Call Patricia 479-225-0047
Time Banking: An Alternative to our money system. For every hour you spend doing something for someone in your community, you earn one Time Dollar. Then you have a Time Dollar to spend on having someone do something for you. It's that simple. Yet it also has profound effects. Time Banks change neighborhoods and whole communities. Time Banking is a social change movement in 22 countries and six continents. www.timebanks.org I have researched this thoroughly, read the book by founder Edgar Cahn called NO THROW AWAY PEOPLE, and have talked to Edgar Cahn in person. I believe that with the increasing worthlessness of money, Time Banking will become a household word. We will some day soon wonder what we did without this system, which has as its mission: Strengthening communities through reciprocity. Please check out the website, and let me know if you are interested in being part of this wonderful project self Self-Reliant Neighborhoods: Growing food and becoming more self-sufficient. I was delighted to find www.Edibleestates.org which encourages people to make their lawns into gardens. The website http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ is a fantastic resource for becoming self-sufficient in the city. It has a great forum: which has what looks like thousands of posts—you can really get a lot of support there http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/
This article has a description of and resources for community gardens. It may inspire you to get one started! http://www.thegreenguide.org/article/community/gardens
Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness: For years I have been researching the best source of information for Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness. I really like the Three Steps to Emergency Preparedness booklet I also really like the plan which is devised by the Berkeley Safe Neighborhoods Committee. You can download free information, including a step by step way of how to help your neighbors get organized. Please check into this and consider starting a program in your neighborhood. You could even adapt this for more local challenges (this focuses a lot on earthquakes).
Family Emergency Preparedness: I just found this Survival website www.captaindaves.com It has a lot of great resources and information you can print out about what to do in the case of just about any emergency. This could help you in your neighborhood emergency planning as well.
Martial Law and other ways our government takes away our freedom: In working to prepare for emergency situations, one scenario is that our government will declare Martial Law, and we will have zero rights. I encourage you to read this article about how our government is encouraging pastors of churches, and other people with good intentions for community building—to help government control us more. You can also think about what we need to do to prevent this from happening by educating our neighbors about this aspect of emergency preparedness. This is important! http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/may2006/240506femaplan.htm
Nonviolent Communication and Neighborhoods: Just think what might happen if everyone in your neighborhood learned to communicate in a way that helped people to prevent and resolve problems, as well as help people get all their basic needs met. What if there was a person in every neighborhood who helped organize a weekly Community Gathering—who wanted to share Nonviolent Communication with everyone who attended. What if most of the people in each of those neighborhoods got really excited about learning NVC (as more and more people are doing). And what if a critical mass of people speaking a language of compassion could just make such a difference that we could help make every neighborhood a place where every living creature thrives? That’s one of my visions. You can take a free class as well as learn more about NVC from an online academy. Click to check it out!
About Meetup Grassroots organizing at its finest! I am finding that meetup.com has a way of helping people connect that is really effective. I recommend that you look at the possibility of starting a meetup group for already existing groups and new groups. The thing I like about meetup is that it teaches people how to be an effective group organizer and supports them with many easy to use on line tools and in person meeting suggestions. It can cost from $12 to $19 a month, and teaches you how to get members to pay for these costs. Here is some information from their website. As you will see, they share my passion for community!
Meetup.com helps people find others who share their interest or cause, and form lasting, influential, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face. We believe that the world will be a better place when everyone has access to a people-powered local Meetup Group. That's our goal.
Meetup Groups help people:
- Find others who share their interests
- Get involved locally
- Learn, teach, and share things
- Make friends and have fun
- Rise up, stand up, unite, and make a difference
- Be a part of something bigger — both locally and globally
We're proud to give more power to the people and we believe it's possible to make a profit and make a difference
Open Space Technology is one of the simplest and most effective ways to help people come together to work harmoniously on a common goal. I hope you will check out this website and learn more about it.
Ron Paul for President: I had given up on the government being any help at all with a grassroots movement for people taking back their power. But when I heard that Congressman Ron Paul was running for president, and a grassroots movement supporting liberty and justice for all…I changed my mind. I hope that you will visit a few of the many websites that are supporting Ron Paul. www.ronpaul2008.com www.dailypaul.com
The internet is the main place where you can see the power of the people who are not only supporting Ron Paul, but the values of upholding the constitution—meaning small government and more local power. Two of the greatest things he wants to do is abolish the income tax and bring ALL of the troops home from everywhere across the world, especially Iraq.. www.ronpaul2008.com www.dailypaul.com I hope you will join our local Ron Paul for Presdent meetup group to stay in touch. You can click on this icon or this link:
The Fayetteville/Univ. of Arkansas Ron Paul 2008 Meetup
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