Community Organising
in the Food Movement
Welcome
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Aims of the workshop
Agenda
Your training team - Organising for Change
“Organising for Change is a collective that builds the capacity of those working for a co-created, equitable society which respects and makes space for multiple cultures and is rooted in the principles of environmental, racial and social justice.”
Introductions
Name | Organisation | What you are hoping for from this session? |
Gary Stott | Incredible Edible | To find inspiration and comfort from others stories |
Nicola Kelly | The Lambeth Community Shop | Sharing ideas and resources, meeting others. |
Clare Horrell | Real Farming Trust | Practical and theoretical ideas to help inform our work with communities beyond our own |
Dale Cranshaw | Soil Association | Deeper knowledge of how to apply community organising theory into practice |
Anna Cura | Food Ethics Council | Practical ideas to suggest to my network + connecting with the FLF community |
Sophie Peters | Food Foundation | Sharing ideas and stories for learning, meeting people on similar journeys |
Introductions
Name | Organisation | What you are hoping for from this session? |
Rakhee Westwood | Sustain | Learning more about the tools and techniques for effective community organising |
Sarah Williams | Sustain | To explore how we can use and share principles of community organising in our projects and networks |
Cecily Spelling | Sustain | A better understanding of community organising and what role it can play in the food space |
Simon Shaw | Sustain | To understand how community organising could be part of our follow-on work with our Food Power network of food poverty alliances |
Vera Zakharov | Sustain - Local Action Coordinator for Sustainable Food Places | I am keen to understand and cascade learning from today among our SFP network of food partnerships who are increasingly supporting food action and activity at a grassroots level. |
Introductions
Name | Organisation | What you are hoping for from this session? |
Faith Holland | Alexandra Rose Charity | Learn from experienced community developers, gain ideas and inspiration which I can utilise in our project work |
Ren Piercey | Sustain / Sustainable Food Places | To feel reinvigorated and inspired and understand how to work with and mobilise communities |
Rachel Brown | Your Local Pantry/Church Action on Poverty | Looking to hear from others and their experiences and practical ideas |
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Hearing from the network
Introduction to organising
What is organising?
Mobilising = Engaging a self selecting population
Organising = Building motivation/ capacity of a community - building agency
Organising v.
Mobilising
Organising v.
Mobilising
Models of power
Monolithic - Power over
Pluralistic - Power with
Power in society
flows from its people;
rulers only have the
power people provide
them with.
Leveraging mobilised power
Only the person at the top of an institution has real power. To make change you need to change or convince the people
at the top of society.
People
Norms
Myths
Laws
Institutions
Dr Hahrie Han
“ Movements build power not by selling people products they already want, but instead by transforming what people think is possible”
Five part framework for digital organising
If efforts are not distributed across all areas of the framework, campaigners are missing key approaches that are necessary to building power, and ultimately winning
Ethnographic research into local campaigning groups - Professor Michael Rosino
1) Activism-as-identity - Majority middle class white
“Driven by a personal sense of meaning-making” their involvement is “part of what makes them feel like they’re engaging in good moral work”.
2) Activism-for-impact - Majority working class & ethnic minorities
“Much more grounded in improving the material and social conditions in their communities because they recognised that those… communities were real
human beings who are being deeply impacted”
What is organising? - Reflections
Funding dynamics - funders are more interested in organising but how to work in practice?
Feels like organising is better than mobilising
Cyclical nature of mobilising and organising - important to see connections
Volunteer leadership - amazing, how to manage?
It takes time to transition to a more organising model
Privilege - if the leaders have set the tone for the identity of the group… what does that mean for who is involved?
A paid centre - staff doing the core work… funders want projects… how do you devolve this?
What is organising? - Reflections
SFP: a framework AND an increasing desire to be more inclusive on shaping direction
Tendency to say: take volunteers - build capacity - become leaders - come on forums… - could be problematic!
We need different tools!
Cyclical nature of mobilising / organising - build the leadership, do the work, mobilise others
Activism for identity v. activism for impact - is this actually backed up in the evidence? Can I use this confidently? (NB SHARE THE RESEARCH)
What does it mean for our jobs if organising works!?
Idea of ‘pilot lights’ - who is holding the core flame so it can continue?
What is organising? - Reflections group 3
Tension in the organising framework - need to show communities want the work. But communities
What is organising? - Reflections group 4
BREAK
Sharing our stories
Your story is the “why” of organizing - the art of translating values into action
It is through telling stories that individuals, communities and nations construct their identity, make choices and inspire action.
Each of us has a compelling story to tell that can connect us to others and help move them to take action with us.
One to one meetings
Are:
Are not:
A good 121:
Practicing one to ones
Goals:
Sharing our stories - Reflections
Maybe the story is more appropriate for project/organisation
Food experiences of immigrants - already valid, rich experience around food
Could see how it could work in developing relationships
Sharing our stories - Reflections
Sharing our stories - Reflections
Mapping your community
Community mapping
Me
People I don’t know but could access...
People I know
People I don’t know
Group 1: community map
You & your campaign issue:
People you know:
People you don’t know:
People you don’t know but could access:
Group 2 community map
You & your campaign issue:
People you know:
People you don’t know:
People you don’t know but could access:
Stepping stones
Now
Goal
E.g. big team organising campaign/ project
Own community mapping
Outreach �& 1:1s with stories
1st meeting - establish culture & more community mapping / power mapping
More outreach 1:1s with stories
Big planning meeting to start campaign/project
How might this work in your organisation?
Can embed all the tools from the beginning of project design/thinking so we can start creating truly co-created projects and programmes
We’re pulling together a speaking truth to power programme - we could use this to plan actions as a group of individuals (activists) and partner organisations
Mapping would help avoid duplication of work
Greater understanding of motivations and how people work
Give better transparency and cross over of projects
Being more aware of when we are mobilising vs organising
When recruiting council members or seeking new businesses to join our forum
How might this work in your organisation?
I think the rainbow slide could be useful
Could possibly do a skill share for other staff that more directly engaging communities
Working with a group of people from around the UK to decide on future work on food poverty
Wanting to build relationships with people I don’t know
We might want to think about the distinction between organising and mobilising
Useful facilitation tools for others running grassroots projects
Explore how we can share learning in more participatory ways with aim of supporting organising
Close