Bottom-up seems to be the way to go when you’re serious about change – and, let’s face it, change is something we need to seriously embrace if we are to keep improving our community and our world.
And I’d guess that most people would prefer to be part of change – or at elast be consulted about it – not to have it done to them!
A recent article in The Guardian nicely summed up the concept of ‘Thick Networks’, highlighting the success of community initiatives like development trusts, food assemblies, community choirs, transition towns and the well known and much loved men’s sheds and looking at how they can be built upon.
Turning such initiatives into a wider social revival means creating what practitioners call ‘thick networks’: projects that proliferate, spawning further ventures and ideas that weren’t envisaged when they started.
Starting from a fairy slender base, the ‘thick network’ begins to develop a dense, participatory culture that becomes attractive and relevant to everyone rather than just to socially active people with time on their hands.
The strategic planning workshops recently undertaken for Boomerang Bags Noosa has shown signs of a developing ‘thick network’ starting with very little money and evolving rapidly through trial and error. The project has created opportunities for what the Guardian refers to ‘micro-participation’ where people can dip in and out without much commitment.
Interestingly, it also sparked ideas for other community businesses and hybrid ventures which could generate an income for those ready to grab the opportunities arising from the switch away from single-use plastics to other more sustainable alternatives.
Triggering an enterprise explosion
If more such programs are launched it could trigger an explosion of social enterprise and new activities that then start to draw in the rest of the population. According to the article, a tipping point is reached when between 10% and 15% of local residents are engaging regularly.
The result is communities that are vibrant and attractive to live in, which generate employment, are environmentally sustainable and socially cohesive, and in which large numbers of people are involved in decision-making.
A study commissioned by the London borough of Lambeth estimated that the cost of supporting a thick participatory culture costs roughly 0.1% of local public spending.
It is likely to pay for itself many times over by reducing the need for mental health provision and social care and suppressing crime rates, recidivism and alcohol and drug dependency.
The same outcomes could be achieved for the environment with great programs like Boomerang Bags spreading across the globe. It doesn’t really matter what cause you’re rooting for, just get out there and be a part of the revolution!
