First Day - Friday, August 20, 2010
9:00 am - 10:10 am – Antidotes for "Structural Conflict"
Ecovillage Story: My Search for Why 10% of Communities Succeed & 90% Fail. Structural
Conflict and eight antidotes to resolve it. Small-group exercise: Structural conflict you've
experienced.
--- Break – 10:10- 10:25 am ---
10:25 – 11: 45 pm – Creating an Effective Mission & Purpose
Ecovillage Story: "Change the World" or "Snuggle Up." Creating a shared community
Mission & Purpose. Ppt: Mission & Purpose in Community. Values, vision, mission & purpose,
activities & goals. Strategic plan. How groups create Mission & Purpose documents. Ppt:
Creating Your Mission & Purpose. Two communities in the room? Which decision-making
method to use when deciding M&P? Small-group exercise: Your top values for community.
--- Break –11:45 am – 12:00
12:00 pm – 12: 30 pm – Consensus Decision-Making, I
Consensus Story: Blood on the Wall; Humanitarian Aid to Hanoi; Mexican Midwives. Five
elements of consensus. Standing aside and blocking.
--- Lunch break 12:30 - 1:30 pm. BYO (kitchen available) or use nearby restaurants
1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Consensus Decision-Making
Small-group exercise: Meetings you've hated. Standing aside and blocking. Strong agendas.
Well-crafted proposals. Skilled facilitation. Ppt: Consensus. Minute books & decision logs.
Ppt: Consensus Story. Effective methods to prevent personal, frivolous, or too-frequent
blocking: (1) Solution-oriented meetings with supermajority voting fallback. (2) Criteria for
a valid block. (2) Ppt: Consensus Modifications.
--- break 3:00 – 3:15 pm---
3:15 pm – 4:00 pm – "The Board Game"
Ecovillage Story: "Monsanto-Like Agribiz" & the Membership Process. A clear, thorough
membership process. Expectations meetings. The critical, mutually reinforcing relationship
between M&P, membership process, and decision-making method. Exercise: Board Game.
--- break 4:00 pm – 4:15 pm---
4:15 pm – 5:30 pm – Making Effective Proposals
Ecovillage Story: The Famous "Threats & Demands" Document. Small group exercise: What
things you'd like to have or experience in community, if not there already? Creating what
you want in community: social enterprise or proposal? Well-crafted proposals. Small group
exercise: Drafting a proposal.