[matilda] Neighbourhood at Camp for Climate Action

Tue Apr 4 11:03:21 BST 2006

Hello Happy Campers,

I am part of the networking group for the Camp For Climate Action. The Camp for Climate Action is being organised by a coalition of individuals and groups determined to take positive action against the root causes of climate change. It will be a space for people to come together to debate, protest and take action against the root causes of climate change. It is being held in the North of England from August 26th to September 4th 2006. For more information please see the website http://www.climatecamp.org.uk .

I am contacting you because we are looking for groups to host neighbourhoods at the Camp. We are contacting all the groups that  ran neighbourhoods at the Stirling Ecovillage during the G8 protests. There is more information about what hosting a neighbourhood entails below. If you are interested in hosting a neighbourhood that is fantastic and could you please answer the questions at the bottom of this email and send them back to me ASAP. You may not be able to answer them all at this stage, but do the best you can. We will pass your details onto the site group who will liaise with you about the practicalities of running your neighbourhood.

If you are not interested in hosting a neighbourhood, but want more info on the camp or can offer help in any other way (equipment, workshops etc) then get in contact!

Thank you!

Eleanor

(Networking Group)

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Background on Neighbourhoods

One of the aims of the camp is that it is easy for people to get involved and feel part of it. We want everyone to be part of decision making processes at the camp, and everyone to be involved in its running. We want people to leave feeling they have been a real part of a collective event rather than just consuming it. To aid this, the camp will be divided into a series of neighbourhoods which will have space for people to meet, eat, sleep and socialise.  People can join the neighbourhood of their choice, and through being part of a neighbourhood can easily engage in the running of the camp, and making decisions at a camp wide level. 

Each neighbourhood, at its very basic, will have camping space, a kitchen and meeting space, and will be run by the people staying in that neighbourhood.  It could also include anything else you would like to bring, like a library, cinema, crèche or spaceship. Neighbourhoods are expected to be themed by geographical or political affinity, for example we may have a 'Birmingham' neighbourhood, or an anti-roads neighbourhood.

Neighbourhoods are expected to have daily meetings during which tasks (eg cooking, washing up, gate duty etc) can be shared out, actions can be prepared for, and problems can be settled.  Each neighbourhood is also expected to provide people to help on a camp-wide basis (for example, people to help run the gate, clean the toilets etc). Neighbourhoods will be expected to send representatives to camp wide meetings where decisions on a camp-wide basis will be taken.

We are asking that all food provided from the kitchens is vegan. This is generally the most ecologically sound way to feed large numbers of people, and maximises the number of people who can eat it. We want the camp to have minimal ecological impact, and therefore are asking people to reuse and recycle as much as possible in the making of their neighbourhoods, and use minimum power to run their neighbourhood, for obvious ecological reasons!

You don't need to be a huge group or have loads of equipment to host a neighbourhood. A group of 6 people with little equipment but a commitment to the project could easily host a neighbourhood. The site practicalities group will link providers of resources (such as marquees, water, food and electricity) to groups who are interested in establishing neighbourhoods. If you're interested in hosting a neighbourhood or are already in the process of getting one together contact the networking group at networking(at)climatecamp.org.uk

Neighbourhoods will need the following:

Structures – markees for meeting space and kitchens

A kitchen 

Alternative technology power: we want to use minimum power on site, and all the neighbourhoods should run on alt-tech  - this means wind turbines and solar pannels (biodiesel generators?)

People to facilitate their meetings

To liaise closely with the site group and facilitation group

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Questions for groups considering hosting a neighbourhood:

What is the best way to contact your neighbourhood

-Contact name?

-Contact email?

-Contact telephone number?

Structures

- how many you will need?

- How big do you want (we are flexible!)

- how many you can provide (and the size of them)

- whether you can bring any extras

Power sources

- do you have or can you find/borrow any alt-tech power sources (solar panels, wind generators, bicycle powered generators)?

Power needs

- do you plan to run any high energy equipment, if so how may kilowatts will it use and why do you need to use it?

Lighting

- are you able to bring any lighting for your neighbourhood communal spaces (inside/outside)?

Kitchens

- do you have a already have a kitchen linked to your neighbourhood?

- How many people do you think you can feed?

- do you need any kitchen equipment that can form the basis of a kitchen?

- do you have any extra kitchen equipment which can be used by other neighbourhoods?

Groups which have no kitchen are asked to bring as much food serving equipment as they can so that they can distribute food from larger kitchens (ie get yourselves a few big pots). You can host a neighbourhood with out any kitchen equipment.

Seating/Flooring

- do you have access to any seating (chairs or the making of benches)?

- Do you need flooring (old carpets, coconut matting etc?)

- can you bring any extra?

Transport

- do you have transport to get your things to the camp?

- do you have any extra room to transport things from other sources?

Theme

Do you have a theme for your neighbourhood, (eg locality) or would you be interested in linking up with a campaign group.

Workshops

Are there any workshops that you want to run? Aimed at how many people? Do you want to do these in your space or could we put these elsewhere if necessary?

Is there anything else that would be useful for us to know?

Thank you for your time!

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