What the SwanWater group has done

 Due to my chronic coughing/bronchectasis, related to asthma, I was stuck at home today and missed the meeting of the  (Swannanoa Watershed Action Network: When All Thrive, Earth Regenerates)

But I'd already received a review by member, Robertson Work, of the first 10 months of this dynamic group. So here it is!

"A Story of SwanWater"

     Here in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina, some of us have been meeting two hours each week since 3 March 2022. Next week, on 3 November, will mark our eighth month together. Happy anniversary!

     We began as four folks, who were invited by one of us, to discover what we might do to catalyze social justice and ecological regeneration in the Swannanoa watershed (stretching from Asheville in the west, to Black Mountain in the east, and up toward Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Mississippi) using Doughnut Economics models and methods.

     In these eight months together, we led discussions, listened to several presenters from local organizations to learn what they are doing and what they need, realized that we are a self-organizing, organic group of volunteers, met in a tent by the Swannanoa River, went river floating together, became friends who care about each other, held river cleanups, provided training in permaculture, raised funds for BIPOC initiatives, help public meetings at Warren Wilson College, shared news of our work on social media and radio, created our name SwanWater (Swannanoa Watershed Action Network: When All Thrive, Earth Regenerates), grew to fifteen active members and seventy Facebook group members, and are now meeting each Friday afternoon at the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church.

     The group contains a variety of skills and interests including home food-forests, bio-medicinal plants, rain water run off management, environmental education at the college level, environmental planning, advising county government, providing capital to BIPOC initiatives, women's rights, group facilitation, local governance, database management, website design, videography, social media, getting out the vote (GOTV), tiny homes for the homeless, solar energy, river clean up, and more.

     Recently through facilitated, participatory workshops, we developed statements of who we are, what we are doing, and created seven actions teams on Doughnut Economics Education, Social Actions, Environmental Events and Projects, SwanWater Structure, Environmental Data, Social Outreach and Marketing, and Funding, with a three-month timeline of actions.

     We are also interviewing nonprofit grant recipients, getting out the vote for November elections, participating in global online meetings of the Doughnut Economic Action Lab (DEAL), and sharing roles of meeting facilitation, minute taking, meeting setup, and Zoom hosting.

     We are now discussing how our organizational structure might evolve, how to unroll the Doughnut in the watershed, how to identify specific gaps in the social safety net and fill those needs, how to help the homeless, how to influence the Buncombe County 2043 plan, and how to create partnerships with local governments, businesses, nonprofits, and local communities, and are creating a data base with maps, preparing to do public DE workshops, continuing river clean ups, and much more.

     May each Swan be happy! May we be patient with and care for each other. May we care for everyone in the watershed. May we be a sign to local people of what they can do together as neighbors to care for their bioregions in Buncombe County, North Carolina, the USA, and around this beautiful Earth.

     SwanWater looks forward to learning from other DE pilots and to sharing our lessons with others. Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/groups/5322547411191905

Robertson Work

Ecological-social activist and nonfiction author

Books and bio: https://www.amazon.com/Robertson-Work/e/B075612GBF

Other groups are also using the Donut Economics model...above is a great graphic on a descriptive brochure. 

This graphic shows how a doughnut can be unrolled to address a specific problem. All of these factors would be along either the inside or the outside of the doughnut, in the original model.

A good link to learn a lot more about Doughnut Economics, is the DEAL, Doughnut Economics Action Lab. 

I've mentioned Doughnut Economics model before on this blog, and have offered many recordings by Robertson Work. Just search by those names.