Social Reproduction

Aimed at discussing potential strategies and alternatives to cover the costs of certain aspects of social reproduction ...

also see :

http://sharewiki.org/en/Parenting

http://sharewiki.org/en/Emergent_Synthesis

=Shared Email Archives=

Socialized Child rearing
Forwarded conversation Subject: " socialized child rearing " - in hospitality network style ? / networked intentional collaborative individualism

From: Dante-Gabryell Monson  Date: Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 12:34 PM To: Michel B Cc: Marilyn M

Thanks Marilyn and Michel. ( cc: hc ecology )

What if " socialized child rearing " would be extented, not simply to the family , but to intentional networks / new forms of intention based peer tribes.

Not going back to collectivist care, but moving on towards collaborative individualist care.

In western europe, at the current moment and in the last years , it seems that most of the socialization people are having is within their " work / office space " , or with their family , if they still have any ties with their family.

What if the complete socialization aspects of most of the population would change, as it already seems to be , through the greater ease with which we might be able to travel and eventually connect with our " intentional tribes ".

For example, Michel , imagine that you would come back to Belgium , for one or two months , with your family , where perhaps you would not have the same extended family as in Thailand , yet would be able to count on a whole network of peers that are part of intentional networks in which you are active in and contribute to.

We would " pool " child care into specific intentional community " logistics ", to people we believe we can trust , and each of us could take care according to opportunities we find.

For example, I am now in Tartu , Estonia. I could take care of children of a certain age , and probably I would be even more interested to care care of children of friends, or potential friends.

It could even be a opening for me in the community with whom I would feel I share the most intentions with, and would open up not only opportunities and wealth creation through shared care for the community here , but also for me , as I would have access to new friendships and new information about the situation and issues I could collaborate on.

And when I would move on to Helsinki, I would already be able to dispose of a certain credibility m that would eventually open up opportunities with other intentional networks.

There would probably be a difference in the way one would imagine " community " in a collaborative individualist realm, compared to a collectivist realm - I think for example as hospitality networks being a community I connect to , yet I do not have to conform to changing decisions in my life because of some strong influence of the community on the way I rule my life - so it is not , as I perceive it , collectivist.

And the same with connecting with intentional network communities when I would travel, and eventually take care of their children , or gardens , or computers , or ... whatever ... my trust could increase ( or decline ) as on hospitality networks ( and my hospitality profiles ) ,

yet I do not specifically need to conform totally, as I am not specifically dependent on them - I can move on if none of us agrees.

When we can start creating such kind of logistics, as hospitality networks already do with hosting , we can create new opportunities for wealth creation.

And it does not even need to be dependent on money - even though we could imagine creating our own currencies used accross intentional networks.

So there is no specific dependence on the mainstrean financial system.

But these tools do not seem to be existing yet, although two years ago I was talking at the couchsurfing collective in austria about ideas that where going in this direction. Unfortunatly because of internal cs politics all the ideas have not been open for implementation, but perhaps it can be done through other social network tools that are slowely emerging. ( open social, etc )

I would like to go to Helsinki, where this project is being developped

http://www.helsinkivirtualvillage.fi/Resource.phx/adc/inenglish/index.htx

and see if they are open for such kind of social experimentation.

Hugs

Dante

From: Dante-Gabryell Monson  Date: Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 5:26 PM To: Michel B Cc: Marilyn M

Hi Michel, Marilyn ( cc: hc ecology )

Michel : " I can indeed imagine such networks arising in the future, though see zero hints of it at present, "

with all the ideas in relation to alternative forms of collaboration, alternative governance , and with the networks of researchers growing around them ,

I wonder how can we best facilitate support and collaboration between progressive social and lifestyle change activists , to bring forward, experiment , develop such kind of solutions ?

I remember an event I attended in England, which had the intention of connecting the academic world with the activist world , called knowledge lab , yet such a temporary event , I feel , is not enough to build up a real open , inclusive and networked environment space that facilitates the gathering of individuals interested in developing their creative and caring collaborative intentions. ( many other events and camps, especially in the summer , such as http://eyfa.org/ecotopia might have similar opportuniites for sharing ideas and meeting others - but all too often , because of their temporary and holliday nature , do not build up much further then awareness raising )

I m still looking forward to find some right combination of resources and spirit that could facilitate the emergence of such kind of spaces / hubs.

Yes, there are squats - but they too are all too often limited in their access to resources.

So anyway, as to continue on this search for partners , I might end up in Helsinki soon - I ve heard of some re-development of the Arabiaranta neighborhood.

I heard about the project when going to a conference in Brussels - yet most of the people pushing for the project and getting money for it ( from european institutuions for example ), at that meeting , seemed to be bureaucrats ,

and the approach is very much centered around business and technology, supported by learning environments needed to maintain high levels of solution development , and with eventual potential social network experimentation around it.

I m not ( yet ? ) a business man, I do not have $$$ to invest or banks to back me up , ...

where do I start ?

I ve asked this question earlier - and got some answers - yet, still , I end up being limited by basic questions like : where will I sleep tonight , where will I get the money for food , how long can I stay here , ... ?

But still, yes , where do I , do we , start ?

Creating alliances between academic environments ? between organizations ?

But thats already contrary to the peer to peer approach, even though it could eventually try to promote it. ( although my experience with youth movements, and of what the hierarchic information structures grants require , made me very suspicious after a number of experiences with projects )

///

I met a lot of young people out there - although they might be a minority of the population.

A minority which nevertheless seems to be growing, and who seems to be willing to spend some time in living a different kind of life , open to develop new solutions , but they do not know how to survive during such an enterprise on a permanent basis.

And only few dare to go into the world without any backup, without any money , without any support. Which makes it even more difficult to find ways to gather and develop solutions together.

This is a dilemna I hope we can solve at some point.

I wrote this proposal - hoping it could help leading us to experimental networked projects, which could get ad hoc support :

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hc_ecology/message/565

Although it seems that perhaps I express it in a way that is too confused or complex for many people to understand ... hmm

Anyone out there with some suggestions ?

-- Forwarded message -- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson  Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 at 1:02 PM Subject:

When you'r young : What to start with, with whom, where ?
Re: Build up of mutually empowered critical mass of prosumers ? To: jeff

Great to hear from you Jeff.

hmm, I feel like re-writing some kind of overview , from what I see and experienced in the last years - I have set some phrases into bold character in case you feel like scanning through it.

It could be called, overview of :

" I M YOUNG, HAVE AFFIRMED SOME NEGATIVE LIBERTY , AND AM DETERMINED TO BUILD OUR MUTUALLY EMPOWERED POSITIVE LIBERTY "

Where, with whom , what to start with ? ...

or towards " using the internet to trans-connect to existing localized intentional networks anywhere. "

//

Hmm, perhaps the first step many of us go through , is to affirm our " NEGATIVE LIBERTY " , rejecting what feels meaningless or destructive and what is not intrinsically motivating, what does not make our life worth living for.

And then after going such a process, we might go through a process of finding out what has meaning for us , and what our intentions may be.

And when finding out, there still seems to be a long road towards empowering POSITIVE LIBERTY

//

Here is a little overview, from this point on ...

//

Yes, it feels that out there there is a potentially huge " intentional network " , and some of us manage to connect and interact through the net.

Some of us are also gathering into " intentional communities " - such as Arcosanti, Auroville , and many other , smaller EcoVillages , where sometimes the " intentional network " comes and visit the " intentional living community ".

//

Sometimes " intentional networks " gather, through big meet ups - events , whether it are researchers , hackers , sports enthusiasts , music enthusiasts , hitch hikers , etc

yet I am still facing the question :

How to mutually empower intentional networks , into creating viable alternative systems, not only in certain areas / eco-villages / communities ,

but anywhere ?

And I guess that in some way or another it is a question many of us may be asking.

//

Hospitality Networks ( such as http://couchsurfing.com . http://hospitalityclub.org, http://bewelcome.org ) have now members from almost every region in the world , and in some way it has facilitated, for me , an alternative lifestyle , and sharing all accross europe or the world if I wanted to.

Yet it is not an alternative society by itself, even if it includes many open and trusting individuals.

//

The " cluster " model is becoming more and more popular in the way that businesses think of their development, or at least , their research and development.

I sometimes feel that we are creating some new kind of decentralized business , and that it is important for us to see the various resources, in various different fields of solution development , with the various intentional social networks ,

and find ways to more effectively empower each other, develop solutions , experiment , share best practices and multiply them.

I would be interested in facilitating the identification all the different " hubs ", and all the different " intentional social networks " that we could , as a first step , think of collaborating between each other.

The facilitate the emergence of tools so that they can understand or position each others questions, issues , visions , initiatives

and how they can learn together and collaborate

, and offer the same tools for and between individuals. ( some emerging solutions and softwares are being developped in this field - for example : http://kluster.com/  -  and conference platforms such as http://www.ted.com/  are trying to spread some inspiring ideas and gather people arond them )

//

Ecovillages, Schools , Universities , Cooperatives , ... and all kinds of social networks related to some of the intentions being promoted by certain organizations.

//

And I stress " the social networks related to ... ", as I have experienced the huge difference between the social networks related to an organization , and the organization itself , as the power structures of an organization , by my experience , very often promotes its own internal structures of power , sometimes even to the extent of contradicting its own intentions / see for example some of my comments in relation to an organization I have been volunteering with for some time : http://www.forum.fyeg.org/viewforum.php?f=11&sid=3272c0dc1cf65793791fd7c2d3828f01

//

Offering open and transparent mutually empowered local production and solutions , as an alternative to the mainstream, everywhere.

//

Biological farming has and is becoming more and more popular in western europe, yet is now being developed also by big corporations who apply to the conditions for the label ,

but have very different social structures as small biological farms.

I imagine a series of new labels to emerge, and I feel that both producer cooperatives and consumer cooperatives can work hand in hand ,

if and when we can set up the communication channels to facilitate it.

//

As new intentional networks emerge or interconnect, the trust and potential for transactions between them may lead to alternative currencies , empowered by softwares such as http://ripple.sourceforge.net/

//

I am very interested to understand the impact, on their surroundings , of intentional communities.

Do they close themselves on themselves, of do they have a greater reach ?

And what may be the parallels with, for example , monasteries in europe ( or elsewhere in the world ) in the middle ages ?

//

So, yes , its a broad map ... :-)

And to be honest, I do not necessarily know where to start with :-)

//

Some day I feel I should start by touring and connecting schools, the other day I feel like working with cooperatives , another day I feel like creating inter-disciplinary communities of practice around questions between various students from various faculties , another day I feel like I should settle down and try to focus on learning programming - as to program yet one midst other starting points : some kind of mapping system in itself , ...

//

At the same time I feel that my strenght is to bridge networks, people , ideas , and push towards some broad trans-visions. Which I feel is what connects many of us.

So sometimes I feel I should connect further with documentary making, ...

//

But ... to start with, I realize I need to find myself a place to come back to , with people awaiting me , ... yet at the same time a place where people tend to converge , a hub.

So often I feel that one of the starting points and connections with the rest is ... a space for gathering people with common synthesis intentions.

A intentional network " base / hub " of very mobile people that connect communities and spread practices, while facilitating processes of awareness raising , mutual learning , experimentation , and solution development. ... ... which again leads me to the same questions - where am I best capable of finding such environment ? While at the same time making some kind of living with it ?

This is my current dilemma :-p

And to find a solution to it, I guess that I m trying to talk about it to people around me , to see who is interested , and what we can do together.

//

When one does not have money / capital, using a nomadic strategy , hopping from one community to another ( one school to another , one cooperative to another , etc ) , feels like an effective way of extending and connecting each others circle of influence ... which can then use its experience and dynamics , to report and further extend its reach through information technologies.

//

But to start with, it feels best to " engaged " with more then our own selves :-) And somehow , I have found it rather difficult to find partners willing to live without , or with very little money.

//

So there is some kind of turning into circles that needs to be broken -

... some funds need to come from somewhere, following smaller visions that need to be defined , by a small group of very enthusiastic friends.

//

A few years ago, I was thinking about crowdfunding solutions ( old brainstorming : http://oikoumene.coforum.net/OpenWorld ).

Such kind of crowdfunding technical solutions / platforms are now, seemingly , starting to emerge. ( http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/MagicHat, http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/funding  )

//

I have met and got in touch with a lot of people in the last years , while trying to put together these different pieces of the puzzle, and while trying to find some next " starting point ".

I did not yet find an environment, that suited some of these needs , or more precisely , not an open environment , except here , on the internet.

No organization with power structures was open up enough -

I understand that the solution needs to come from our own interconnections, and if possible , without creating further power structures.

//

From my own experience, Even projects that did not have an organization or official power structures , often ended up creating power structures related to its communication channels and ownership of communication channels.

//

So one of the challenges I see is to be able to create alternative communication channels , around specific issues or questions , which can be effective, open communities of practice , and can facilitate the emergence of a miriad of communities of practice , between volunteers, but also between businesses , and paid employees , while creating a intrinsically motivating, and meaningful feeling.

//

And for this, the starting point becomes a question , an issue , for which we might want to find solutions for together.

//

Hmm, well , this starts to sound like ... Minciu Sodas , or P2P foundation - convergence points , ... :-) http://www.ms.lt/ - Laboratory of independent thinkers ; http://p2pfoundation.net

//

Then, perhaps the question becomes " What issue to focus on first " ?

And when one realizes they are all inter-connected, perhaps the question , and issue one might have is :

How can we become aware of the inter connections, and benefit more easily from inter-disciplinarity ?

//

Visualizing the relations between the ideas, questions , issues , various resources , and the various different actors in such issues ( including the social networks that are interested in finding solutions to such questions ) ,

as to determine priorities, strategies , and actions between ourselves.

some related links : http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/referencemaps ; http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/visualization, ...

//

Some of the intentional networks I found on the internet, including the one through which I may have connected / got introduced to some of your activities and interests , are great, yet they stay in the virtual world , and bridging the individuals related to these communication networks often would mean for me to go and meet them individually , in various different places , or to go to various punctual meet ups accross europe by hitch hiking , which I did.

It has its strenght, but it does not help me that much to really focus and work on a project. For this I need ( socializing, entrepreneurial and creative ? ) people around me , to which I develop a strong friendship and bound with.

And as I am not a student, I do not have access to the kind of opportunities that certain kind of learning environments offer.

I actually fled the mainstream learning environments ( school, university ) as I felt it was tempering my ... potential to learn, interact , discover , collaborate.

Most often, such mainstream learning environments still function according to a industrial paradigm , and very often there is no space, or very little space , for intrinsic motivation to learning to be developped , and one needs to be really lucky to have had the opportunity to discover before starting studies, what one is passionnate about.

In a world that is constantly facing new issues, our passion might well be a field that does not exist yet - one we might create.

How can we shift towards more open, trans-disciplinary , multi-environment learning networks and resources , based on CREATION and new initiatives ( mutually questioning , connecting and re-mixing existing knowledge according to needs ) instead of REPRODUCTION of knowledge and practices according to patterns imposed by a curriculum or head teacher.

... although, for university students not to get lost , such approach needs to be implemented from a very early age , building on the natural curiosity and intrinsic motivation for learning of children , instead of oppressing this natural tendency and associating the idea of learning to boding and oppressing reproduction of knowledge and practices. I collect some links about learning on

http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/alternativelearning

http://del.icio.us/deliciousdante/learning, ...

//

What I do have access to is learning and interacting through the internet - I have been rather successfull in using it.

//

For example, I am now in Helsinki.

My intention was to try to connect to some groups of people and resources related to

http://www.helsinkivirtualvillage.fi/Resource.phx/adc/inenglish/index.htx

and its Art School.

http://www.taik.fi/en/

I know that one of their approaches includes trans-disciplinarity in innovation, urban development , and eventually also lifestyles.

Yet I realize it is not easy to connect with other individuals involved in such projects. - or to find our own position in relation to them to further interact and collaborate.

And it is even more difficult to find the people with whom we really get a long with and feel like working with.

In other words, finding opportunities to become friends.

There are some conferences, but they are mostly lectures.

There are some events, but they are punctual in time.

and when adressing myself to the bureaucracy related to such institutions, the answers tend to be that " it does not match with their procedures " - and to match procedures most often does not correspond to my profile , nor even to my objectives.

//

But I have been using another medium : hospitality networks.

Through hospitality networks, I managed to connect with open and friendly people , some of which with whom I share common interests , and that suggested me to come to certain meetings.

Yet, these individuals themselves are most often students , and do not have many resources , or are very busy with their studies and/or work ( to pay their living ) , and can not take further some ideas they feel enthusiastic about.

Although at some point, if they continue their studies , they might have access to a doctoral grant , extend their social networks and access to resources through academia , and collaboration programs between academia and the business world - governmental organizations - non-governmental organizations , ...

Which is great, but still too limited !

//

Alright, this overview can go on and on ...

Now I m faced to finding partners - at a time where I am getting tired of hitch hiking constantly, am not sure how I will finance my food within the next week , and am not sure if I should stay in Helsinki or use my last financial resources to move back to some other city where I may have more chances of finding a job ... :-p

... and I end up being on the net, spending time deepening overviews and relations , while knowing that it may not lead much further.

And probably I am not the only one.

By connecting with each other we are trying to create opportunities with each other , trying to definine certain issues to work on ,

trying to define projects to apply for resources, ...

and eventually create new solutions and economic resources to re-invest ...

I interacted, over the last years , with many organizations , and yet dramatically mutually empowering each other and building outside of status quo is constantly discouraged as long as one faces power structures.

I ve attended courses, many seminars , youth organizations , ...

but what I look forward to does not exist yet.

We are setting the visions, and now its about finding people willing to share visions , without falling back into power structures, and while deifning a open framework , not only through the internet, but with the internet to connect to existing localized intentional networks anywhere.

... beyond " meet up " :-) ... beyond " a cup of tea " ...

Greetings

Dante