for urgent sale: good sort needed.

Macbeth Performance Structure 

Donor or Purchaser:  As Good Intentions Turn into a Nightmare 

  

A project that started with great community intentions has quickly turned into a nightmare. The Loons, with the help of Pete Evans, secured precious community earthquake funding from Project Lyttelton to purchase a cover for an outdoor stage. The cover enabled the very successful production of Macbeth to take place in Lyttelton for the Arts Festival. All was going well, the stage was erected and the show played on. The bills were paid and then the show finished at the end of September. 

Project Lyttelton and Pete Evans were both keen to enable Lyttelton to maintain this temporary stage so that more shows could be performed and the community would have another focal point until The Loons could reopen. Money raised by the Matakana Market for Lyttelton earthquake recovery was earmarked for more live performances in Lyttelton, and so this money was allocated to keep the structure going.  
We all hoped the stage could remain and the shows could continue on. 

Thats when the red tape started to get in the way. No longer was the stage considered a temporary structure.  A building permit, structural engineering report, fire reports, inspections etc were new requirements from the council. Our desire to keep shows rolling was stalled.  

Too expensive, time consuming and frustrating.  Two weeks ago the decision was made to sell the stage cover and just wind the site up. Two weeks of Trade Me later, there is still no buyer, but the debts keep mounting.  Unless a buyer or a donor can be found we are going to have to use vital community funding to pay off the structure. Is there anyone out there who would like to help, or a community, or project that has need of such a structure?  It can readily be       

reconstructed in a day. It will already be deconstructed and can be picked up with a normal trailer.  

Please contact Pete Evans 021 328 707 or Wendy Everingham 021 047 6144 if you can help the Lyttelton Community out. 

open day at the community garden

Flower gardens grow flowers.

Vegetable gardens grow vegetables.

Community gardens grow community.

In the rain and wind we gathered.
The bar-be-que and cups of tea were kept on the go the whole morning to keep away cold and weariness.
And the distill provided an evocative centrepiece.
Stinging nettle distilled as we stood around it, checking the fire and the warmth, timidly tasting and smelling the hydrosoil that appeared.

Foraged elderflowers were also celebrated; their smell, their taste and sheer prettiness reminded us that it was indeed Spring in the midst of a Southerly blast..

Elderflower frittters:
Elderflowers dipped in batter, fried in oil with a sprinkle of icing sugar.

Elderflower cordial:
20 elderflower heads (flowering now)
1.5 litre water
800gm-1kg sugar
30gm citric acid
3 lemons
Make a hot syrup with the sugar, water and citric acid and then pour over flowers. Use a large bowl. Let stand in a sunny spot for 24 hours.
Strain through muslin.
Use straight away or bottle for storage: heat the syrup again until about to boil, heat the bottles at 100oc for 15 minutes, then using a funnel pour and cap bottles.

We shared knowledge and skills, enjoyed the visitors who braved the weather and celebrated the garden and the community anyway.

what water shortage?

At this time of the year and in particular, this year because of pipes being munted from the recent earthquakes, we hear a lot of talk about water shortages.
A couple of nights ago within half an hour of arriving home and in the steady rain, I managed to collect 120 litres of water off my carport roof......and then dinner was ready.
You do the maths but I dear say,  it could be a water tank shortage rather than a water shortage.

I know the detail of my collection because we have a half completed water harvesting system at home.
Let me explain....
>We live in an old bach with guttering which I would say is probably just as munted as the city's stormwater system.  We have large barrels under each dodgey area.
>We have six of these barrels fed by the carport downpipe. These were connected but over winter discovered that the connections were leaking and so had pulled it apart to try a different system...and then it rained.
> From the 20 minutes of bucket collecting on Wednesday we now have a rubbish bin filled with water (ready for seaweed to be added and made into liquid fertiliser for the garden) and a wheelie bin.

As you can see the system isn't that efficient at the moment but we are working on it and do the best we can and catch what we are able.
Each step raises our consciousness:
> When our family began to put buckets in our showers we quickly discovered how much water we used with each visit. Some of us chose to shorten our showers, some of us turned the water off while we washed and others showered less often. Different solutions suit different people.
> Using a small container in our sink for washing dishes reminds the girls to rinse their dishes without running the tap.
> Being inspired by composting toilets for Christchurch we have been peeing in a bucket for a while now and using the diluted solution to water our non-edible plants. The Christchurch sewerage system is severly compromised from the earthquakes but still we flush pure clean water down the toilet. The bucket system is a great alternative to having the yellow settle in the bottom of the toilet and happily gets us outside more!
>We still bucket the water from the barrels..we are happy to do this...you know, a "chopping water, carry water" kid of meditation in the middle of our busy lives.

As we raise our consciousness about our water usage, we engage further with our water project at home and plan on fixing the plumbing to our tank system.....just as soon as the rain stops.
Next week I plan to check the guttering at the community garden - a little late in the season but doing the best we can.
How are you managing store, re-use and save water in your own home?

written by Jacinda, also at www.watchingkereru.blogspot.com

real wealth

Lying in bed at the end of a day I reflect on the wealth that surrounds me.
Here is a day in the life of Margaret…
I talk to my two hens as I feed them their warm mash, check their water and
pick up a still warm egg. This is like a meditation process for me,
grounding me at the start of the day.

Tuesday mornings in term time I do a regular Timebank trade with Lyttelton
West School helping with the Early Words programme. New entrants get a great
start to learning to read through this work. Timebanking is based on
reciprocity, not just of time spent, but also in the pleasure it brings to
both parties. Who can resist the welcome from a five year old, “Oh,
Margaret, it is so lovely to see you again!” – makes me smile and imagine
what great modelling her parents are doing.

On my way home I drop past the Portal (Project Lyttelton’s office) to touch
base, a few little details but it is a social visit really!
Project Lyttelton has started a new project looking at how we can build
resilience into food supplies in the Harbour Basin. Each project we
undertake has a champion to run with it (me for this one) and an advisory
group to support and direct the process. I’m just firming up this advisory
group today and send out a Doodle to arrange a time for all to meet. Doodles
are so much more efficient at planning meeting times than interminable
emails.
Lunch – based today around my favourite whole grain bread from the Farmers
Market.
On my way to my next meeting I pick up a supply of ionized water from Lyttel
Piko. A Chinese firm gifted our community this ionizer to help ease our post
-earthquake situation. This water is lovely – so much nicer than the
chlorine smelling water we have for the time being.
A meeting at Coffee Culture. I talk with the student working at the counter
and get her email as she wants to be on the contributors’ list of those
writing for the Lyttelton News.
Today at this meeting I am talking with our two newly appointed community
development workers for the food project along with the liaison person from
the funders. There is so much energy here, ideas, development of ideas,
plans, directions, sharing networks and resources. We all recognise that
prioritising is going to be important!
A quick hike up the hill back home, pulling a few weeds out of the cemetery
steps as I slip through the excluded zone. (I’d rather pull these weeds,
often isolated ones, than see them being blasted with spray.)
I pack the car because tonight I am going to my upholstery evening class,
re-covering an arm chair. The preparatory pulling out the staples takes a
long time though.
3.30pm. Eleven of us meet with Professor Bruce Glavocic at the Portal to
have an unstructured conversation about our individual and community
experiences and feelings related to the earthquake. This was quite a
reflective conversation. We learned of successful models of engagement,
recognising we have one such on our own doorstep in Waimakariri. It was
great that we had biscuits and seeded lemon muffins to hold us together – we
talked to nearly 6 o’clock!
I was a bit late for class, but that seems to run on glide time. I
discovered at the bottom of the box (I had stripped the chair eons ago –
before the earthquake – and stored the fabric pieces for future patterns) my
staple puller AND my dressmaking scissors – what joy! I’ve been looking for
those for ages!
Returning home I completed what I was scheduled to do with a section of work
on our Project Lyttelton’s monitoring and evaluating programme.
Satisfaction level is very high! This is what I call wealth! Being
surrounded by a loving world, doing what feels meaningful work, creating,
sharing and being extended.
As I lie in bed reflecting, a feeling of deep gratitude flows through me.

written by Margaret Jefferies, chair of Project Lyttelton

culture

Over the past 50 years money affairs have become a far more private matter as people turn away from their neighbours and communities and towards the ever-consuming, self-absorbing task of growing their own personal money tree/s. This has evolved a culture which is consumer-driven; a culture where individualism and competition are king and the trust and connectivity that we rely on for fulfilling human relationships undercut.

We, the people on the ground, are all part of this ever-evolving culture. With each pattern of action we make, we create the culture around us and affect the culture of our community.
Here in Lyttelton we are developing a strong culture around localised economics; we no longer try to convince people it's a good idea, local people know about it and are part of the change.
Here are just 3 examples:
> the Timebank now beats at the heart of the community; people use it alongside and instead of the monetary system.
> the Harbour Pool, a collective of households who pool their savings to share with others in the group at no interest, is expanding as the concept becomes more known by a wider range of households.
> as networks are strengthened, gifting - choosing to give away goods rather than receive monetary gain from them - becomes something that we do more often.

The cultural shift happens as we depend less on the market economy and turn back towards each other.
The cultural shift happens as the values that underpin these strategies also become the values of the community.  All of these strategies build trust and cooperation in the members and therefore provide platforms upon which reciprocity is supported. As we nourish these non-competitive alliances, the culture as a whole becomes more connected and concerned for others well-being.
And so this local cultural shift in Lyttelton turns away from individualism and competitiveness and promotes the common good.
It feels good to reclaim the agency that we have in our lives and remember the bigger picture. When I receive a gift I am not just saying thanks but also undermining the market economy that rips the heart out of local economies and people's lives.
It feels good to be part of positive cultural change.
What's exciting you about your community's cultural shift?

written by Jacinda, also at www.watchingkereru.blogspot.com

a workshop on resilience

Building Resilience:

Community Organising now in Otautahi/Christchurch

4pm – 7pm Friday 4^th November (with dinner and social time to follow) -

9am – 4.30pm Saturday 5^th November

This workshop is a place to gather the learnings from the last 14 months, link people together and strategise for the coming year(s)

The aims for this workshop are:

·      To share learnings from participants experience of community organising and community building

·      To envision communities that are strong, sustainable, and participatory in Otautahi/Christchurch

·      To share ideas about how these visions can be brought to fruition and plan collaborative next steps

Kotare is a national organisation, based in Hoteo North near Wellsford, that supports social movements through the provision of workshops (www.kotare.org.nz). Kotare acknowledges that we are not on the ground in Otautahi/Christchurch. We are working with local people on the organising and design of this workshop.

Who For: This workshop is for people engaged in community organising and community building in Otautahi/Christchurch and the surrounding area. Suggestions of people to invite are very welcome. Numbers are limited, so get in quick!

Venue: St Ambrose Aranui-Wainoni Church hall, 309 Breezes Rd

Cost: $0-$150 sliding scale for each workshop. Please self-assess your payment and consider your means when deciding what to pay.

Registration: Registration is required.  Please register as soon as possible and no later than Friday 28^th of October by contacting Tanya, contact details below.

Facilitation team: Tim Howard and Tanya Newman

If you would like to know more about the workshop, please feel welcome to contact Tanya Newman at education@kotare.org.nz or phone 02102769112

achieving the outcome we want

I was sent a link to the Jerusalem Journals http://jerusalemjournals.posterous.com/
The author starts the piece with the fact of the Palestine Authority submitting an application to the UN for full statehood.
She questions ‘if people want to self-define, why do they need permission from the UN or an external body?’ She goes on and says that ‘institutions are no longer the place from which we must ask permission for our autonomy.’
I found the piece really interesting, especially when placed in context with what is happening around the world at this time. And also what is happening for us locally.

A few days ago I went with others to the Community Board meeting where a delegation was putting forward the desire that we (people of Lyttelton) no longer want to solve our earthquake initiated issues by the usual method of consensus whereby we get to share our ideas with Council – they take them away, filter through them, they come up with a draft plan and then they come back to us for further comment.
There is too much at stake and we want the best outcome possible.
Their style of consensus is not giving us the best outcome. There is too much processing going on in there without constant reconnecting with the people it is effecting. We want to be partners in our destiny. We have the passion and the expertise. We no longer want some boffins with their expertise solving our issues for us – we want full involvement. We won’t be shut out.
There is a spirit that is arising around the globe as people start questioning the systems that have been in place for so long. They are largely not working effectively, causing considerable harm to the planet and are disempowering for many, people and all other species.
I listened recently to Bruce Lipton talking about using our energy wisely http://www.youtube.com/user/biologyofbelief . He says it better than I can summarise – so go and listen. But a thing he is talking about is that we need to place our energy where we are getting an outcome that we want to achieve.
I have the feeling that many of our governing bodies are never going to produce what needs to happen. They are based on outmoded and highly inefficient systems. They are Leviathan like.
So I do even question what is the point in going to the community board to ask the question? It is polite I guess. But creating any change? I want to place my energy in a different direction. One I know that will produce results.


written by Margaret Jefferies, chair of Project Lyttelton