Upcoming Events
Conflict is Renewable Energy: A Conflict Transformation Workshop
Conflict happens! In many ways, the only way we build trust in cooperatives is through conflict, through how we repair when we rupture. The word conflict means “to strike together,” a friction that throws a hot spark into the room. The energy of fire can burn us or warm us, it’s a disturbance that can destroy like a wildfire or cleanse like a cultural burn to make more life possible. In fact, conflict is the most renewable energy we have! It’s inevitable when we live and work with biodiversity. The question isn’t if we have conflict, but what are we doing with the feedback of heat?
So many collective movements and cooperative experiments split because of the crushing pinch between top-down repression and restriction and internal tension, coercion, and hurt. So many organizers and movement leaders recognize the urgency and vital need for grassroots groups and organizations to practice the future right now in the midst of difference and pain. This workshop focuses on conflict, power, and a transforming and restoring practice of justice.
Conflict as Renewable Energy Day 1: Practice, Power, and Possibility
This is a standalone workshop that will introduce us to conflict transformation, reshape our imagination around conflict, and explore how power and emotions come into play. We will also collaborate to rethink how we build agreements and how we can shift our practices around conflict. This workshop will take place from 10am till 5pm on Dec 2nd with a break for lunch.
Conflict as Renewable Energy Day 2: Putting Power and Justice into Action
Our second day of workshop will be a space for anyone who would like to dive deeper into our work on the first day. You must have attended day 1 to join us on day 2. During the second day, we will explore the differences between conflict, harm, and abuse as well as practice cooperative ways of shaping power and practicing feedback. This workshop will include an introduction to meditation and restorative justice as approaches to conflict. Day 2 will include breakfast and lunch and take place between 9am and 4pm on Dec 3rd.
Anyone who registers for both days is welcome to camp or sleep indoors slumber-party style with us overnight. If you would prefer to reserve a bed or a room, we have some space to accommodate you for an additional fee. Please contact Tevyn at dreamingstonenc@gmail.com to reserve these additional accommodations!
For more information and to register, see the Dreaming Stone website.
Starting your own community savings pool
Starting your own community savings pool (Cooperatude Call)
Cooperative Land Access Practice Group and potluck dinner
Will be in person at a yet-to-be-determined location
WNC Biochar Cooperative
"WNC Biochar Cooperative," presentation and discussion with Alex Gray and friends, 5:30-6:30
Kudzu Culture Harvest Training and Products Fair
Kudzu harvest training and kudzu products training.
Mutual Aid in the Great Unraveling
Report back and discussion Coopertude Call via Zoom.
Mutual Aid Roadshow: West Asheville
Mutual Aid Roadshow, West Asheville: Barter fair, Coop Land Access Panel & Acorn Doughnuts with Hole
Mutual Aid Roadshow: Going Nuts at Earthaven
We’ll gather in person at Earthaven Ecovillage for a barter fair, trust games, village market, a shared lunch with plant and seed swap, and special session on nut tree agroforestry. We’ll also enjoy acorn treats.
Mutual Aid Road Show: Designing a late summer and autumn of events and celebrations around cooperation and regenerative living
This conversation will be gathering your ideas around topics, locations, leadership, and how it could all come together to knit our communities more profoundly into a regional culture and practice of mutual aid.
Cooperative Rural Healthcare through Mutual Aid
Join this discussion to hear about behind-the-scenes work we're doing to explore creation of a rural cooperative home health care enterprise, and share your ideas about how we can holistically support human health through cooperation.
Cooperate WNC Open Q&A: How it's working currently, where is it going, and what do you want it to do?
This is a chance to share about your experiences with Cooperate WNC so far, your celebrations and critiques, your hopes for where it will go, to ask CWNC director Zev Friedman questions about what's happening behind the scenes and what we have in the works, and to give input and feedback on where you think it needs to go.
Cooperative Living Focus Group
Do you long to own land cooperatively or start a cooperative business, or have a local network of people that help each other out in emergencies and for work projects?
Whatever your vision of what a cooperative future could look like, if you are longing for a life filled with trust, cooperation, and collective power, then we want to talk!
Radical money: Participatory budgeting and collective financing skillshare for WNC mutual aid
Let's talk about money and mutual aid and Cooperate WNC. Money and finances are often kept quiet or compartmentalized even in collaborative groups where other things are shared more freely.
This will be a time to talk transparently about how different folks are dealing with money and financing in your lives and projects, cooperative tools that you are using and resources that are available to support more of these practices, as well as the finances of Cooperate WNC as an organization and some discussion about what role money needs to play in mutual aid organizing in our region.
RSVP for this free online gathering here:
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLScu.../viewform
Members Only: Deepening member ownership of and investment in CWNC
As we grow this mutual aid network and find ways for the network to "see itself", membership is the way that people, communities and organizations step up to participate deeply, to own the work and receive concrete benefits of participation.
This conversation will be about our current membership structure and benefits, how it's going for members so far, and ideas for making membership more effective and wonderful for members and for the whole project.
Learning together: starting cooperative learning circles and book clubs around common efforts that CWNC community members are engaged in
Emerging from conversations at the CWNC annual meeting on April 19th and other conversations with community members, we are considering organizing learning circles and book clubs around topics such as affordable land access, cooperative financing, community interview processes, grassroots mutual aid, agroforestry, rural health care, worker coops.
Come join this conversation to share ideas you have for how this should be set up, topics to prioritize and if you have specific things you'd like to contribute.
Community welcome for Afghan families: an evening of food, connection and mutual aid
Black Mountain, NC
Come out to meet and support Afghan evacuees who are living in Black Mountain/Swannanoa and surrounding areas.
We’ll work in the community garden at a retreat center, prepare and eat a meal, make plant starts for Afghan cuisine foods for the home gardens of the families, and possibly pack up regionally grown food boxes to distribute to new incoming refugee families.
This gathering is a free event and a collaboration of Cooperate WNC, Christmount, Utopian Seed Project, Catholic Charities and Lutheran Services.
With any produce or seed donations for plant starts, please contact Zev Friedman, zev@cooperatewnc.org.
Afghan families interested in joining, please contact Noele Aabye, nlaabye@ccdoc.org.
RSVP to let us know you are planning on attending here: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSdfU2RlIbjuKj.../viewform
For volunteer offerings and questions about the event, please contact Katey Rudd katey@christmount.org.
Mutual Aid and Community Organizing for Boone Food Sovereignty
This event is a “community listening interview” introductory workshop and planning space where we will look at the different practical strategies for community food sovereignty & how to reference them in community listening to get the input end and share ownership for a deeper transformation of our food system.
Lunch and coffee & tea will be provided!
We will ground ourselves in the history of existing food organizing/community organizing in the Boone area. There will also be a focus on agroecology and permaculture as they relate to this project.
Cooperative Agroforestry and Acorn Donut Tasting
A networking opportunity to learn about the innovative land access, polyculture orcharding, and nut cuisine enterprises that have been sprouted by the Nutty Buddy Collective and Cooperate WNC. Come and explore ways to get involved as a nut gatherer, land owner, farmer, purchaser, or cooperative financier.
All while eating delicious gluten-free acorn flour doughnuts created by Hole Doughnuts!