Idea:

To create a network of people passionate about making a difference in Colombia and working on a variety of projects together that all are informed by the same purpose of creating a more spacious, just and lifeaffirming system of influence in Colombia.

A network where we can crosspolinate each others ideas and invite the right people for a specific project, as it is needed.

Purpose:

Together we will, in an on-going process, develop the commitment, understanding, and a network of relationships to create or transform systems that they may come to serve Life, and operate in life-affirming ways.

Key People:

International: Julie, Mille, Zaid, Frauke, Lesley, Carsten,
Colombia: Pablo, Susanna

Income potential:

Nothing direct, but has the potential of generating projects that in turn can generate income

Status:

Idea state, but is a model that very easily could substitute the Hub community or compliment it.

Next Steps:

Define the structure and offer more in detail
Explore who are interested in Colombia
Invite people
Work together

Inspired by:

Pioneers of Change

Idea:

To collect the stories of the indigenous people of Colombia and making them available through books and dolls depecting the different tribes in colombia.

Purpose:

To make the indigenous culture, peoples and wisdom visible, accesible and valued in the Colombian society.

Key People:

International:
Colombia:

Income potential:

Status:

Idea state

Next Steps:

Inspired by:

Solen dukker
Anatomic dolls

Idea:

To provide introductions and youth training about the discipline of the first peace. To connect to peace projects and offer this capacity building training to youth and people passionate about making a personal effort for peace.

Purpose:

To create a larger culture of peace and understanding of differences in Colombia in order to strengthen the work towards peace int he country.

Key People:

International: James O Dea, WindEagle, Carl, Vanessa, Maria and Sarah
Colombia: Santa Marta contact

Income potential:

Not much… possibly something if we connect it to other work connected with peace or indigenous wisdom

Status:

Rowan will be a certified youth trainer by 2010.

Next Steps:

Contact James o Dea
Find initiatives that would like to include this approach

Inspired by:

The Discipline of Peace

Idea:

To create a officespace where social entrepreneurs from all social classes of Colombia can work together and connect to a international network of like minded people and people to can help them realize their dreams and projects about creating a better Colombia and a more lifeaffirming world.

Purpose:

To create the possibility for unlikely meetings to happen and to create a Colombia that is less polarized.

To create a network of social entrepreneurs and play mates in Colombia

Key People:

Internationally: Jonathan Robinson, Maria Glauser, Simone Poutnik, Tatiana Glad, Simon Ulvund, Frauke Godat, Silje Grajsvit, Janne, Yulia, Lesley, Danny Gol
Colombia: Pablo, Susanna, Paula, Carolina,

Income potential:

Potential some income from consulting work, and spin off projects, but not initially.

Status:

There is a community of 150 people who are interested and a concept proposal is just about created.

Next steps:

Clarify our contribution

Inspired by:

The Hub

Idea:

To create a learning center, based on an experiential and practical learning style, building human capacities to deal with the uncertainty of our times. To have a physical location where we can offer trainings, retreats and host processes. A place where we live sustainable a place that invite the diversity of the Colombian Society.

Purpose:

To empower people to make a difference in their lives, their communities and the world towards creating a more life affirming system of infuence, through concrete tools and a translocal network.

Key People:

Internationally: Sarah and Maria, Debbie Frieze, Margaret Wheatley, Vanessa Reid
Colombia:

Income potential:

Depends on the activities, but has potential when the place is found and ready.

Status:

Idea state and there are many good connections and cases to draw on.

Inspired by:

Axladitsa, Greece
Kufunda. Zimbabwe
The Shire, Canada
Santropol Roulant, Canada
Berkana Exchange

This TED talk gave me lots of good ideas for what we might play with in Colombia. It is about how clever and competent nature is in solving design questions that we are far from solving.

Some of the ideas I got was combining this approach Biomimicry with learning journeys to Colombia with Nature experiences focussed at improving a specific need and at the same time building the inner capacity and leadership in the participants to be better at bringing these new ideas forward.

Janine Benyus has started this website called Ask nature, where the idea is to gather a database of a large number of design achivements in nature, and when you are designing something yourself you can ask nature how it does.

Check out: www.asknature.org

So what does a home look like according to nature?… hmmm…

Janine Benyus has a message for inventors: When solving a design problem, look to nature first. There you’ll find inspired designs for making things waterproof, aerodynamic, solar-powered and more. Here she reveals dozens of new products that take their cue from nature with spectacular results.

Here is an idea for what the purpose of our home can be. When I did my internship I lived at Axladitsa for 6 weeks experiencing a learning center like this. It was also a home, a farm and place to gather, for people who had something om their heart – people who cared.

So here a little bit about Learning centers and  a link to Axaladitsa and to Kufunda – a amazing learning village and strong community in Zimbawe, where they are really pioneering how to organize a community in a lifeaffirming way, using many ancient social technologies in a conscious way.

Berkana Exchange: Learning Centers.

The Berkana Exchange is an ecosystem of learning centers, grassroots-based initiatives, individuals, regional learning communities and movements all working to create healthy and resilient communities. Participants are developing the capacity to solve their most pressing problems—such as community health, ecological sustainability and economic self-reliance—by acting locally, connecting regionally and learning trans-locally.

Why “trans-local”? We believe that large-scale systems change emerges when local actions get connected globally—while preserving their deeply local culture, flavor and form. There is no universal solution for the challenges of poverty, hunger or environmental destruction. But there is the possibility of widespread impact when people working at the local level are able to learn from one another, practice together and share their learning with communities everywhere. We do this by gathering face-to-face, engaging in communities of practice, learning exchanges and regional collaborations. We share stories, create new experiments and build relationships that help us better serve our communities at home.

Kufunda:

We are a learning village whose purpose is to inspire the co-creation of strong life affirming communities in Zimbabwe and beyond by living and sharing the wisdom, practices and social systems that are required for such communities.

Axladitsa:

Axladitsa-Avatakia is a home place, an olive farm and a place of collective inquiry , learning and retreat – a place for Living Wholeness.

Axladitsa-Avatakia is a practice and catalyst for exploring the relationship between the power of place and work/mastery through real-time collective inquire, research and practice - as contribution to the next level of our human evolution.

It is also a place that really touched me deeply and one of those places in the world where I really feel at home. I think that has to do with the setting of the place close to unspoiled nature, to the way it is hosted by its two stewards, and to the intention that runs through all tasks and all work here… a level of high consciousness in all that you do. It is truly of place of power.