Notes - Thessaloniki - Wojtek

GROWL @ GREECE 2014 - notes by Wojtek Mejor

2.10.14

- third sector
- civil society
- social economy
are these the solution to socio-economic inequalities and global problems? no.

Diverse Economies (Gibson-Graham)
- economiec are intrinsically heterogenous processes
- capitalist relations are just the visible tip of the iceberg of economic relations

Alterity (Roger Lee)
- different degrees of alterity in initiatives produce different potential for transformation
- „weak theory” (vs. „strong theory”) leaves open space for novelty and surprise
- possibilities of alternatives are constrained by the need to effectively create a basis to reproduce social life

what can we do? (Gibson Graham)
- politics of language - reframing, rethinking
- politics of subject - „if you change nothing nothing will change”
- politics of collective action

book: „Take Back the Economy”

exercise:
1. draw 24h clock
2. well-being scorecard: occupational, material, social, physical, community
3. what is the balance btw paid labour and other labour?

Commons
- commons are a process
- no golden rules to manage the conflicts of negotiation

Reflections on role-play exercise:
- when played on stereotypes it’s not so interesting and productive; ppl don’t identify with their roles and don’t imagine real, transformative scenarios
- it can be useful to make introductory, warming-up exercises to help ppl to get invilved in the game

- non-market capital
- ppl who don’t feel they control their environment tend to spend money on bad things

- degrowth is a concept, a slogan for a movement and a practice
- climate change might not threaten our survival on the planet but make our existence here much less bearable
- „your recession is not our degrowth” - slogan at Leipzig conference
- is democracy only viable/acceptable in growing economies?
- „sharing creates abundance”

necessary for degrowth to take place:
- alliance with worker’s movement (production)
- crisis, real or perceived
- cutting off big money from political process

3.10.14

visit at PERKA - former military area
- 200 participants
- various 20-40 ppl groups
- 70ha area / 1ha veggies

visit at VIOME - factory taken over by workers
- 22 out of 70 workers stayed to work
- shift of production from toxic construction material to natural cleaning products

What is Degrowth - Francois Schneider
- a concept and umbrella term to create a better life with less
- different concerns about degrowth need to be combined to avoid abuse

4.10.14

- solidarity economy is not philantropy or charity
- the water and sanitation company should be owned by a cooperative (+ secondary cooperatives) and ppl should have shares in the cooparative not  the company - shares not sellable
- K136
- who funds the investments of a local commons? e.g. difficult  areas in mountains or islands
- maybe all citizens of a region or country fund but only the locals manage

Bios Coop
- open committees screen products for quality
- expired products are taken back by producers or destroyed
- 5 ppl working (4 full time)

Agro Naftes CSA
- KOSAP - CSA in greek
- agronaftes.blogspot.com
Requirements from KOSAP experience:
1. eficcient and easy - min effort, max effect
2. communication open and responsive
3. regular and punctual deliveries
4. sufficient quantity and quality of veggies
5. good will and generosity
6. target families that cook daily food
- in Greece no seeding in August
- smaller groups can be coordinated by farmer, bigger groups need coordinator from consumer side (20-30ppl)
- 1 producer 50-70 baskets / week, 5 deliveries, 3t vegs weekly
- 2 producer 1,5t vegs weekly
- 350 families / 1500 individuals
- 10€ / bag
- justfood.org - CSA in NYC
- is the production ethical? how are workers treated?
- no voluntary work by consumers

What is a Cooperative?
- in provate capital you have to buy shares; in coops you contribute and enlarge the capital

Social Enterprise Allostropos
- chess and table tennis
- „big percentage of conflicts is structural” - context is unclear
- book about mediation: „The Third Side”

Vienna Food Coops
- common working groups for different coops

5.10.14

KINO - exchange system and currency
- system online since 2012
- 2014 - 470 members 4556 exchanges (more members but less Kino exchanged that year than previous)

TEM - exchange network, Christos Papaioannou
- replicating some of the faults of mainstream economy
- social element equally or more important
- 850 members
- free credit can be a problem
- ideally should point to cooperative economy
- can function as a buffer for capitalist economy
- democratic structure
- credit limit –100 in the beginning; increased to –300; reduced to –100 later because of abuse; reduced later to –20 because enough credit is already circulating
- upper credit limit
- SARDEX alternative currency in Sardinia - millions in turnover

TIME BANK (Nastasja) - ARSIS ngo
- 10h at start
- 20h lower limit
- 0h upper limit
- 17 transactions / month
- 2 years funded programme

Nea Guinea
- windempowerment.org / neaguinea.org
- renewable energy courses / projects - wind turbines, solar panels, hydro
- herbal medicine

Thelaitrion
- create permaculture cummnunities with yurts and domes and water purification systems and renewable energy
- funded with crowdfunding and contributions for workshops
- no eco-village/communities in Greece
- blurry decision-making process

T-T-T
- emotional knowledge
- we learn through feeling
- touch is a basic need - we want to be touche even despite possible danger/risk
- unique, lived experience lead to learning
- fecilitator assists in the passage from experience to learning accompanying the person in what they decide to learn

A theme you are interested in and could present as a trainer:
- A modular, participatory performance performed in public space on the subject of degrowth. Theme: tenants