"tribal" business?

I have an idea to start a web site to bring people together who are like minded in wanting to start a business. Using Daniel Quinn's basic idea's he wrote on in Beyond Civilization. The set-up would allow people to find others with the same ideas for a business and bring them together. It would also lay out a basic business plan to help them get started in thier “tribal venture”. Any thoughts on this Idea? Any web designers want to go in on a tribal venture with me to start this? Just thought I'd throw this out there.

Jeremy

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Re: "tribal" business?

Seems like a great idea.

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Thanks I thought so but I guess its just you and me. Ha.

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Hi, I'm wondering if you have any thoughts about the idea I posted here:

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Sounds like you have a good idea and you are going for it.  I would love to contribute but I'm not real clear on the idea and would like to hear more.

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I dunno that this is the place to get into what some I am cooperating with seem to be hashing out. Partly due to ongoing case management, and partly due to the challenge to sensibilities.

People dont look for an alternative lifestyle unless they are dissatisfied with what they have been doing. And, when you mention the unintended, or unconsidered, effects of the values they have, rather than thinking about the values, they get angry, not illuminated.

But if anyone is so bold as to want to push that envelope in uncomfortable directions, feel free to post me in private email at daybrown who gets his mail at daybrown dit org.

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Hi Jeremy,

Sounds logical to me that people who share a certain call of spirit may want to think about living together.  It makes me think though of what a village, or community or tribe is exactly.  Do you want to form a community based on this work as the focus of each member's lives?  It could be short lived if one finds themselves having to go outside their home territory just to get away from it. : )   That would be a reverse on what now exists wouldn't it?  You go to work and must ( get to ) leave it to go home to your family.  When you live/work in the same space you must be aware that you can end up working a whole lot more and rationing out your personal time in doses that may not meet everyone's needs in your life.  I live that life right now.  It's a tough balancing act. 

The idea though is very traditional.  If you think about a small community where the economy is anchored by one or two sources of livelyhood, you have a similar situation.  Not unlike a small farming town today.  I am sure that you have thought about what this streamlined model would look like.  It would be neat to hear more about the types of businesses that you think are suitable for such a new/old village.

I think a lot about recreating a social structure to meet the needs of particular groups of people that would benefit by a different social model.  I have alway liked the term “tribal” when I think of it too.  It is a tribal way of doing things.  Tribal also means a very close interconnectedness and willingness of spirit to see to the others.

Good Luck and please tell us more!

Lynda

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 While I completly agree that it is logical to live and work together in a community, this is not what I would be going for. I would like this to be a venture that could change our business structure from the inside. Perhaps while the word tribal descibes the new structure well it would not be widely accepted by those less like minded.  I guess what I would be going for is a business structure that allows for people with the necessary skills for success to come together and get out of it what they put into it. Quinn uses a few examples such as Ben and Jerry's before they got big, his own local tribune that his wife and he started and found 2 others that had other skills and they all shared in thier successes and failures.  An example I can think of would be a local bread store where you have the cook obviously needed for product but also just as necessary someone who can do accounting, advertising, customer service, legal services and so on. These jobs can be filled by one or many people. The key is that you bring together people who are passionate about what they are doing and they each have an equal stake in the venture and an equal take from it. I would like to see these ventures grow and take on more people and be competitive with the big corporations without there being the 1% that take home all the profits. Lets spread the wealth and enjoy what we are doing at the same time. I'll have to think of some more but this is a start.
Jeremy

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The problem is bringing people together who are passionate. If you try to set it up so that each person has their own home, then the cost of the carbon footprint is so high they dont have anything left over to invest in the business.

But if you move them all into a commune to reduce the per capita carbon footprint to a sustainable level, then the pheremones in the place tend to make life a lot more interesting than most people can handle.

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The probem here is that we must take baby steps to change a majoriy. The only way you can change the way people in mass think is to show them how it benefits them and fits in with there current lifestyle. You must plant a seed and let it grow. By involving communities in this I would only be reaching only a small niche of people. I would like to play it off more mainstream like job websites like Monster. Let people figure it out for themselves that its not a normal way of doing things. As soon as you show an idealist view you begin to shut others out or others begin to shut you out. I think the only way for this to work is to grow from within the system.

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Hi Jeremy,

It turns out that we ARE talking about two very different things.  If I had paid attention I would have seen that you meant a cyber village.  I am talking about a new “intentional community” type village. 

As it turns out we are kind of exchanging similar observations.  I do think that it is important that we remember that our visions may not be the type of thing that the majority finds attractive.  Do you need to convince many to accomplish your idea?  I don't feel that I do.  Once a person can set up a model that works great for some, the many may follow or not.  Like I said, it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea. That is what social growth is about in my opinion; diversity! Blazing a trail is it's own reward if good things come out of it. 

Seems to me that there are many sites out there that touch on your idea, but have not gone into it quite as completely as you might.  Think of “Duff” on “Ace of Cakes”.  If you have ever watched this show you will recall that in the beginnning, he graduated from Culinary school as a baker.  He knew the usual route to sucess would not be for him.  So he hired a bunch of his artistic friends and it grew into not only a thriving business venture but a hit show.  Not to mention that they seem to have a fabulous time at  work each day.  To me, the coolest thing is that he had a vision and let it happen. 

That is one example of how like minded people can create something brand new that they thrive within/on.    Your virtual village idea can be explored here at Gaia in a few places.  Have you found the area where people can network their green businesses?  I forget what it is called and how I found it but I'm sure that if you look around you will find it.

Think boldly!

Lynda

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Yes, it makes much more since now. Have you looked at the intentional community group on here? There are a couple that live and work together.
 
I'm sure there are some sites out there that touch on this idea but none so outreaching and none that are not geared towards a special group of people.

As far as the carbon footprint for seperate housing, have you looked into earthships. These have no carbon print and if you have a labor force, say your community, they can be cheap to build. Go to eathship.net and check them out.

I would love to live in an IC with this tribal business structure and would definatly want to build earthhips for everyone. My idea is just based on the fact that most people in america right now would never think about living in an IC.

I'd love to here about what your doing with your IC ideas.

Jeremy

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Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for asking what I am thinking about.  I feel that we can all learn valuable things from tossing out our personal observations; even if we are not working on closely related projects.  We have a common bond here.  We are working on social change.  You are creating a new way of business networking.  Who knows what will grow from that?
One of the components of my vision is to also network business through actual communities.  I will explain in as small a sketch as possible and still have you understand this idea.

My vision is not like any other that I have run accross yet.  The metaphor I use some times is a garden.  I have a mature plant (elders like me) that will wane and die off one day, but for now (we) are viable healthy stock looking to extend our service to the garden (community, life, earth).  Our seeds, as heirlooms are valuable to future gardens. 

We have grown healthy and large and now overshadow some of the younger plants in the garden that struggle for light.  Rather than pulling them up and tossing them on the compost which is what we tend to do with young people who get in our way as a society, we can re create the garden and plant them close to us but far enough away that all benefit.   By creating a mutual living arrangement of let's say one elder who owns their own home (might be struggling to keep it right about now) , and a couple of young people who are homeless or disenfranchised in other ways from the communal garden, we can form a more sustainable community.  Add to that our gift of knowing a great deal about gardening, preserving , budgeting, sewing, cooking, building, maintaining, etc. and you can see that the benefits of co-habitating is pretty terrific.  What do we get back as the elders?  A helping hand, a lot of satisfaction in helping out a young person who would otherwise be prone to some very negative life experiences, a companion, a student to pass on our lifeskills to and so much more.

Imagine several houses, a community within a community.  Each house has people that share common interests.  One of them for example is a retired couple who have been builders.  They take on two or even three young people who want to learn that trade.  Joe, let's call him, takes them to work a job site of a builder friend he knows each day.  Or he teaches them cabinet building or whatever his special gift is.  Martha, teaches them the valuable domestics that they will need to know in order to run their lives more efficiently.  Or these roles are reversed, I'm not saying that Martha can't be the carpenter here!

Just a simple example here.  I can become as complex as it needs to be and last as long as it should.  It can involve school, transitional life coming out of foster care into the world of self sufficiency, perhaps rehab or juvenile justice.

This can be a way of staying outside the system all together and depending only on each other instead of a handout to help a tough situation.  Keeping one's self respect is a very important factor while learning how to count on your own capabilities.  I don't feel that there is any reason to get sucked into the spirit killing welfare system if we can just reach out to each other just like in the old days when community WAS community.

Some of the things that I talked about here lend themselves to an “Earthship” model, some don't.  I disagree with most Intentional Community models because stablization is not an important component.  Most folks that get into them are adult and are ready for a lifestyle change,  These kids need much more and then who knows?  They may find the life very fulfillng and want to join a community.  They will know many of the basics of true communal living.  Such a houshold would run on many of the same principals.

Sorry for the lengthly letter.  I have actually left out tons.  But you get the idea!

Take care

Lynda

There, I have hopped off my soap box for now.

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Sounds like a great idea. Something like an apprenticeship style community. I would have liked to have this as an option before I got so bad the military was my only way out, but then I guess I would not be with my great family now.

 I was more suggeting the earthsips as the homes to be built in any model community. Very green, sustainable, and cheap.

Thanks for trying to make a difference.
Jeremy

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Thanks Jeremy,

Exactly right, an apprenticeship style community, tailored to the interests and needs of each person.
I see the need most in rural America where services are basically non existant after the trickle down from block grants is absorbed by larger population centers.  The small wheat town where my kids grew up had a very eeiry element.  In the evening time, especially during the summer, the small town of 2,700 would see bands of roving kids, just hanging out.  In every bunch there would be a few that needed a place to sleep or a meal.  My 3 boys ofter brought home a friend that had no real place to be.  It's a long unpleasant story.  I think that you may know it.  Yes, many do end up in the service.
And for that reason, and boy you brought up a good one here, I think that one of the things that we could make a part of this is, a place to live.  When they sign on for a pre arranged amount of time, they have a choice.  They can put a part of the money that they make from a job, work credit, or even a cottage based business having to do with a website set up on behalf of the village in the form of a “RESTORE” ( refinished and restored objects sold on the site or E Bay or both ), OR they can be given a project, a set of plans, a mentor and the willingness to build their own simple mobile home. It can be from the ground up as a modular that is trailerable or restore an old RV if they are mechanically inclined, or old trailer if they are into that.  You see, each item is restoring, recycling and reclaiming materials and leaving a smaller footprint, while giving the gift of a home to take with them when and if they want to leave.  They will never be homeless again.  They can sell it to the village if they want the cash ( adding to  the future space others can use while there ) or to a private party if they don't want to take it with them. 
It's about building skills too.  So much learning would go into such a project that they could use in the future .

Lynda

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Some truly great ideas. I hope to see them put to use in the future. Good luck.
Jeremy

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I'm affiliated with a collection of communities in Missouri, Arkansas, & Tennessee. I often live alone, but then have one or more guests parked at my place, partly for evaluation purposes while others look around for the right place for them to fit in.

East Wind Penut Butter is made at their commune in Tecumseh MO. We sent a single mom up there with her kids for a safe place to raise them. I've also had dykes and gays stay until things were worked out for them to go to a commune, which for obvious reasons, keeps a lower profile in rural areas.

Then too, there's wiccans whose sexual preferences are more adaptable and who are exploring tantra at another low profile venue where the witches hold safe sex rituals. And of course, there's Short Mountain, where hundreds of gay dudes show up for rituals, but where more recently, they've done outreach to Lesbians wanting a safe place for their kids. The mass festivals these venues hold are a tribal business that's been going on for decades.

They also were a hospice for HIV, but thank Goddess, that part of their 'business' has tapered back considerably.  But whatever, which ever community you show up at, we'll try to find the one you will fit into most comfortably. There is an ongoing effort to identify communities and improve the communication among them. And sometimes, people from one community will go to another to help out, get a project up and running, or whatever.

And just like other kinds of relationships, people get burned out and want a change, or just a vacation to chill. There are changes in communities also. I never wanted to go to the Farm at Summerville because I met Steve Gaston with a following of sychophantic groupies, and marvelled at how any true saint would put up with that. But now, I'm told there's been a revolution with the faculty of the midwife school there taking over, and retiring Steve to figurehead status. Well, he is getting on.

Last spring I got an email with a link to the photos from some charming young folks moving into the pine forest in CA. I guess you know about the fires, but I shook my head thinking about that problem soon as I saw what they were trying to do. One of the advantages of this growing network of communities is all the old farts like me who've seen enuf disasters and can point to those few communities that figured out how to make it work in the real world.

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Sounds like you've seen alot through and made a differance along the way. I'm really not trying to bring people together with communities theres already websites for that I'm trying to reach a much larger group and just bring people together to help them start a new type of business one that will help with the figth against corperate america.

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It sounds like you have a specific plan.  Would you like to share it?
I'm all for small business America.  It's a struggle to the death for so many.
Outsourcing jobs, unfair tax advantages, you name it, nothing is too much for the giants.  And all because we support the whole process by buying whatever it is that they sell.  A little aside from the topic, but I would like to know who you all boycott and why.  Sharing information is  the only power that we consumers have.
Jeremy, what is your “new type of business”  that will help to balance this?
Lynda

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Well there are allot of people out there with allot of skills. Many of these people work for large corporations where their skills a marginalized and they are expected to complete the same inane tasks day in and day out or these same people have lost their jobs do to outsourcing or do to many free trade agreements. What I'm proposing is to bring these people together from different markets to form their own business doing what they do best but on their own terms. The obvious pitfalls and risks with start-up businesses are still there but with a good support network those can be overcome. If enough people start to succeed in there ventures more and more will pull out of the big corporations to go out on their own forcing them to change or get out of the way.

I am still in the very beginnings of planning right now and have allot to learn before getting started but wanted to get an idea out there to get a feel for what others are thinking.

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