Wow This is an amazing story Graziano! Thanks for sharing. :) On Fri, May 3, 2019 at 12:17 PM Graziano Milano via NetBehaviour < netbehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> wrote:
> Hello, > > I’m actively involved with Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) > <https://www.theruss.org> which is a members-led Community Land Trust > based in Lewisham (South East London), founded in 2009 with the aim of > creating sustainable community-led neighbourhoods and truly affordable > homes. > > It was a long and hard journey for us, but in June 2018 our first housing > project was finally granted planning permission by Lewisham Council and > soon after that we managed to get a £988k pre-development grant from the > Mayor of London. Our story started a few years earlier when, after a > campaign led by RUSS members, we successfully completed a public > procurement process and signed a Development Agreement in April 2016 with > Lewisham Council for a ‘community-led, affordable, self-build housing > development’ in a derelict former school and industrial site at Church > Grove in Ladywell, South East London. > > The project will provide 33 new sustainable, customised, high quality > homes (including 5 social housing) that will be permanently affordable and > partly self-built in order to reduce construction costs. Have a read at the > Innovative > Approach to Community-Led Housing > <https://issuu.com/ruralurbansynthesissociety/docs/russ_prospectus> > brochure (which I designed) for more detailed info about RUSS’s vision. > > In summer 2017, I also successfully led a Spacehive crowdfunding campaign > <https://www.spacehive.com/ladywellselfbuild> to raise £50k+ to > self-build (this summer) a community hub on the same site as a training > facility for would-be community self-builders (may well be used for > community arts projects as well). If you wish to find more about it, you > can book a free ticket for the RUSS Community Hub - Build Launch Event > <https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/russ-community-hub-build-launch-event-tickets-60878784082?fbclid=IwAR2HNnvBJGqgL-xgaSl9Cz46gtb_JgrYFL_qOYNSuHwid1emCT25OrlkiAU> > on Wednesday 15th May. > > Graziano > > On Fri, 3 May 2019 at 10:31, Tom Keene <t...@theanthillsocial.co.uk> wrote: > >> Hi all, >> Interesting thread. >> >> On Cressingham Gardens Estate where I live, we're currently setting up >> our own tenant management organisation and explored a coop option, but as >> we have a very complex relationship with Lambeth Council (i.e intention to >> demolish through regeneration) the coop structure didn't seem to fit. We >> are now about to become a Community Interest Company (CIC). >> >> Interestingly, Lambeth appointed itself as the UK's first 'cooperative >> council' though in reality this is meaningless. When housing officers >> attempted to enact a cooperative approach they didn't have a clue what it >> meant in practice, and said as much. The officers (and councillors) >> practice is based around tight control of information through existing >> technical systems, though they don't particularly recognise the role of >> technology. Weirdly, Lambeth Labour party councillors partnered and >> campaigned under a joint Labour/Coopertive Party banner. In other words, >> they co-opted (I do like a pun;) the term cooperative to make their >> policies of social cleaning through urban regeneration more palatable. >> >> What I've learnt through my experience of housing activism (trying to >> stop a council demolishing my home) is that multiple organisational >> structures are required to intervene in, alter, or instigate new power >> dynamics. On Cressingham, for example, there's a Residents Association, >> Community Interest company, Save Cressingham Campaign (organised around an >> anarchist model), and a formal council structure based on a written >> constitution. Each of which presents different possibilities of action - >> you need this fluidity or ability to participate in different structures to >> address a problems from multiple, simultaneous, directions. This >> multiplicity is required because they things we are dealing undergo >> constant change which is a central problem of capitalism... Can you tell >> i'm in the middle of my PhD writeup ;) >> >> Tom >> >> >> On Thu, 2 May 2019, at 10:06 PM, Ruth Catlow via NetBehaviour wrote: >> >> Dear Julian, >> >> It's great to hear that you have finally got some traction for the >> development work that you want to do. I would be v. interested to hear how >> it goes. >> >> I've been interested in cooperatives as one (incomplete and partial I >> know) route to democratising work and money flows - following the debates >> around platform cooperatives, open cooperatives, and the Preston model >> (where the local authority has committed to favouring local and >> cooperatively run services in public procurement decisions, with great >> benefits to the local economy). >> >> I've followed the rocky journey of Resonate to build a blockchain-based >> cooperative music service. And what I know of their experience chimes with >> the article when it says... >> >> "cooperatives are more difficult to bootstrap than corporations because >> they don’t have access to the same capital markets. Historically, it’s been >> a lot harder to coordinate investment from members with shared values than >> it is to raise funds with the singular goal of maximizing profits" >> >> We have often entertained formalising more cooperative organisational >> forms for Furtherfield projects, but have been put off by the >> administrative overheads and legal complexities and costs. The potential >> for DAOs to lighten the bureaucratic load is therefore very attractive! >> >> Look forward to hearing more about CoopDAO >> :) >> Ruth >> >> >> >> On Mon, 29 Apr 2019, 10:39 Julian Brooks, <li...@julianbrooks.net> wrote: >> >> Hey Ruth, >> >> Yeah I also found that article of interest too. >> Insight from VC's, who'd a thunk it. >> >> I've been digging into Coops for the last couple of years. For me stems >> from a visceral reaction to DAO's & 'Code as Law'. I just immediately >> thought it'd be better to consider them more human-centric - with DAO's >> being such a potential for collectivising power. >> >> So started putting this kinda mental construct together 'Cooperative >> Autonomous Organisations', a sort of 'DAO, Coop, Mutual, Union' - type >> structure. This was to house the participants in the music licensing / >> smart contracts / IP-reinvention post-doc project that I have been >> attempting to raise research funding for (unsuccessfully so far). >> >> I always thought the CoAO would be the trickiest part to put together, >> and was actually planning to work in this during years 3-5 in a 5yr >> project. After getting rejected for funding last October (working w. >> UoMcr proposing to AHRC) I started exploring and getting involved with >> the 'Aragon Project' community (cool people with some astonishing [& >> really-existing] crypto tech-tools). >> >> A small Aragon group started seriously considering and engaging in what >> a Cooperative DAO could be in practice. To this end I put togehter a >> small funding proposal that was voted though by $ANT holders (the Aragon >> token) a couple of days ago (whoop whoop!). So there'll be two of us >> working a couple of days a week each, with additional funds for CoopDAO >> members to also propose paid work a day p.w. to formulate and put into >> practice what this org can actually be. >> >> Quite excited:) >> >> https://twitter.com/AragonProject/status/1122172288462356484 >> >> >> https://forum.aragon.org/t/agp-40-discussion-aragon-cooperative-dao-funding-proposal/783/12 >> >> Totally agree Coops are definitely 'a thing' atm. For me, this is a very >> good thing. Also fascinating that (Ethereum mainly?) crypto is very much >> engaging in this too. >> >> I don't know where this is all going, perhaps this is what I like most. >> >> J. >> >> On 28/04/2019 15:21, Ruth Catlow via NetBehaviour wrote: >> > Thanks Rob, >> > Full of great nuggets as always >> > >> > Past, Present, Future: From Co-ops to Cryptonetworks - >> > >> > https://a16z.com/2019/03/02/cooperatives-cryptonetworks/ >> > >> > >> > Coops seem to be on the upsurge. >> > I'd be interested to know whether people here are already members of >> > coops as workers or customers and if so why? >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > NetBehaviour mailing list >> > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >> > <mailto:NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org> >> > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > >> > >> > >> > -- >> > Co-founder & Artistic director of Furtherfield & DECAL Decentralised >> > Arts Lab >> > +44 (0) 77370 02879 >> > >> > *Furtherfield *disrupts and democratises art and technology through >> > exhibitions, labs & debate, for deep exploration, open tools & free >> > thinking. >> > furtherfield.org <http://www.furtherfield.org/> >> > >> > *DECAL* Decentralised Arts Lab is an arts, blockchain & web 3.0 >> > technologiesresearch hub >> > >> > for fairer, more dynamic & connected cultural ecologies & economies now. >> > >> > decal.is <http://www.decal.is> >> > >> > >> > Furtherfield is a Not-for-Profit Company limited by Guarantee >> > registered in England and Wales under the Company No.7005205. >> > Registered business address: Ballard Newman, Apex House, Grand Arcade, >> > Tally Ho Corner, London N12 0EH. >> > >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> NetBehaviour mailing list >> NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org >> https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour >> > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > NetBehaviour@lists.netbehaviour.org > https://lists.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > -- Co-founder & Artistic director of Furtherfield & DECAL Decentralised Arts Lab +44 (0) 77370 02879 *Furtherfield *disrupts and democratises art and technology through exhibitions, labs & debate, for deep exploration, open tools & free thinking. furtherfield.org <http://www.furtherfield.org/> *DECAL* Decentralised Arts Lab is an arts, blockchain & web 3.0 technologies research hub for fairer, more dynamic & connected cultural ecologies & economies now. decal.is <http://www.decal.is> Furtherfield is a Not-for-Profit Company limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales under the Company No.7005205. Registered business address: Ballard Newman, Apex House, Grand Arcade, Tally Ho Corner, London N12 0EH.
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