Cooperative Ecology Project
From P2P Foundation
Contents |
The Cooperative Ecology Project
The Cooperative Ecology Project brings together time-tested patterns from cooperative enterprise with peer-to-peer principles and technology. This combination enables individuals to work together with a more embodied relationship to the Commons while garnering all of the personal security that comes from direct ownership of the means to secure a quality livelihood.
This project is in development phases. Please use the discussion page to ask questions or point out opportunities for elaboration.
Narrative Introduction to The Project
Imagine a village, an ecology, that is also a cooperative. If you live in the ecology then you are a member of the coop, and vice versa. You own a share of all the buildings and physical infrastructure in the village, and work to produce goods and services that are consumed by your fellow ecology members.
Imagine that the ecology has an accounting system that allows you or any other ecology member to examine the volume of production and resource usage anywhere in the ecology at any time. In fact, it's something like being the production manager at a gigantic multinational, except that you or anyone else in the ecology can take a look whenever you like.
Now imagine that you are looking at your life in this ecology. You are examining your life and taking a sort of inventory. You have work you enjoy, free time to pursue your interests, you have an opportunity to voice your opinions on whatever you like, and you can leave any time you like without penalty. A house, a bike, food in your refrigerator, a comfortable bed, your own computer, high speed internet.
Take this one step further and imagine that your ecology, the set of manufacturing operations, agricultural operations, and various services like housing, transportation, and even what you might have called businesses like restaurants, dry cleaners, markets, that all of the entities, these hubs of activity in your ecology, where your fellow members work, imagine that all of these businesses are spread out over 10 kilometers. They are spread and disconnected a bit, not all being under the same roof. In fact, unless you are patronizing one of the nodes in the ecology you might not see your fellow members much. Things, in general, though, are pretty close, and you can get to your ecology outlets without taking too much time or trouble.
The ecology is connected. It serves you and your fellows. It expands and contracts as needed. And the ecology has another benefit. The ecology is actually a network of operational, connected nodes, embedded in an urban center. The biggest distance in the network is the route to the farm, in the city's surrounding farmland. You actually live in an ecology inside Amsterdam. NYC. Paris. Perhaps any city, anywhere. Perhaps in one of 25 ecologies in Amsterdam, or somewhere, anywhere.
An ecology like this CAN be made. This project will make one, and then many more of these ecologies. In the process we will work with projects working towards similar ends to create tools that the operational nodes can use to successfully participate in an ecology. Over time these tools and the processes for using the tools, will come together into a package of sorts that will facilitate the rapid deployment of networks in cities that will allow the formation of ecologies in neighborhoods in cities maximizing the benefits of geographic proximity and aligning interests and motivations in a cooperative, Commons-Based fashion..
Size and Scope of the Project
The Ecology is the scale of focus for this project. The project as a system is designed to be scale invariant. The Ecology is a cooperative of cooperatives (of cooperative...). A cooperative is owned by the members. The members are engaged in commoning activities. The members govern the Ecology and the constituent cooperatives. Members participate voluntarily. The members can leave when they like, and take the skills related o their work with them.
This project has many, many goals. The focus of the project is on the Ecology scale. Regardless of the focus scale, all the practices applicable at the Ecology level must be relevant and pragmatic for the operation of a single small enterprise.
- The ecology must be able to develop in stages or extremely rapidly
- The operational nodes in the ecology must be 'competitive' after a certain fashion when compared to 'non-ecology' entities in the geographic area
- Friction caused by exchange between ecology nodes must be reduced to as close to zero as possible
- All work skills must be supported with fully documented self-paced training tracks
- Humans need room to move, evolve, adapt, and rest. The Ecology has to provide room for all this.
In order to meet the goals of the project it is estimated that a membership of 250+ persons will be required. If that number can be reached, and if the operational nodes capacity can supply 51% of the goods and services that would otherwise require currency transactions outside the ecology, it is expected that the ecology can thrive to within natural limits of 500 persons, at which point a second ecology can be begun alongside the first.
The Ecology
Interoperating Functions in The Ecology
An ecology can employ many different operations on the way to reaching stability and self sufficiency. At the moment work in this area is focused on engineering, and in some cases reverse-engineering, plans for operations that can 'hit the ground running' in order to provide comparable offerings at comparable prices while operating in what might be called a wholly different manner.
- Bike Factory/Sales/Repair
- Small Engine Factory/Sales/Repair
- Computer Assembly/Sales/Repair
- Library|Bookstore/Internet/Cafe Rentals/Sales
- Restaurant|Cafe Preparation/Catering/Sales
- Grocery|Market Distribution/Sales
- Agrifood Farm/Process/Sale
- Food Preparation Preparation/Sales
- Maker Shop for Wood|Plasting|Metal Fabrication/Alteration/Assembly/Sales/Repair
- Information Technology and Communications Development/Sales/Services
- Design|3D Design|MediaLab Development/Sales/Services
- Accounting|Legal Services Source/Sales/Services
- Building Materials Used/New Stocking/Sales/Service
- Housing Reclamation/Renovation/Rental
The mix of functional nodes is important so as to maximize, where possible, synergy and interconnectedness.
Quality in each of these areas can and will approach "world's best" quality because the processes, technologies, and supporting operations will be shared amongst functional nodes worldwide in an open source manner.
Ecology Framework
The Ecology Framework is the basic operating conditions required for nodes in the network to interoperate. As an example, it is like a computer's operating system. If you have a computer with a Linux operating system, then Linux is your framework. If you use the Linux framework, then you will need to install software that is compatible with Linux framework; namely, you will need Linux compatible software.
In the case of the Ecology, our Framework is much like an internal operating system. It is a set of rules for the internal operation of each node in the networked Ecology. By using the Framework it becomes possible to handle an incredible amount of interchange and discovery. By sharing a framework individual nodes can interact and Ecology Members can transit through the Ecology with ease.
- The map of an ecology is comprised of interlinked nodes.
- Each node is made of one or more functional entities.
- Each functional entity has only one function in the context of the map of the ecology.
Legal Entity Enclosure
- A legal entity may embody any number of nodes in one or more ecologies.
- Embodying multiple nodes may minimize legal/ITC/management costs
There are at least 4 different types of functional entities
- Performing the Renting of Access to a Commons Resource
- Maintaing or Increasing the Value or Quality of a Commons Resource
- Evaluating the Use/Management/Modification of a Commons Resource
- Owning/Stewarding a Commons Resource
Ecology Protocol
A framework is nothing without protocol. A framework is the internal configuration for a node in the Ecology. Protocol is what allows nodes to talk to each other and interoperate. Without protocol a node would be all alone, and we couldn't really have something as complicated as an Ecology.
Declarative Nodes
Nodes can identify each other in the network by asking for a declaration. The declaration is a pretty simple set of facts about the node:
- Name of node
- Ecology Membership
- Functional Declarations
This declaration will become the mark of the Ecology and the proud banner of each participating node.
Open Invitation to Join
Ecologies will be able to grow to 500 persons without much difficulty. That is based on the experience of Mondragon. While each Ecology is growing, there are a few truths about how the Ecology relates to established operations in an area.
The Ecology is seeking non-isolated self-sufficiency, quality, and is highly differentiated because of the tight relationship with Commons-Based practices.
- Where possible The Ecology will patronize already established enterprises outside the Ecology.
- Where possible The Ecology will attempt to integrate already established businesses into the Ecology.
- Because the Ecology desires self-sufficiency and self-determination the Ecology will begin new, potentially competitive operations in an area when this will allow the Ecology to pursue self-sufficiency and self-determination.
In regards to non-ecology businesses, and specifically with regards to profit-seeking competition, procedures are as follows:
- If your enterprise is the best, we applaud you, and invite you to join the ecology, which means converting your business into a functional node
- If you choose to convert we will provide our best resources to aid you, and help your operation become a model for others to follow.
- If you choose not to convert, we will endeavor to provide a comparable product at a comparable price
- If your enterprise is not the best, we will do our best to help you as soon as you convert to a functional node
- If you choose to convert we will help you to convert as well as aiding in the improvement of your operation
- If you choose not to convert we will provide a superior product
Information about conversion operations is no different than starting a new business.
Condition - Response | Why This Project Now =
This project is a response to a number of conditions, the very same environment conditions we are faced with every day in a modern world gone slightly mad.
- Changing Nature of Work
- Condition - Professional Jobs lead us to expertise in one subject and potential ignorance of other areas of life
- Answer - Holistic approach to work that allows us to develop wider understanding of subjects and greater trust in our community
- Globalization's Impact
- Condition - Local source/supply/production/distribution networks have deteriorated with globalization. This atrophy has blinded communities to local resources and disabled the local ability to respond to crisis at home.
- Answer - Facilitate the re-emergence of these networks with supportive tools and enhanced interdependance
Project Principles and Practice
- Scale Invariance
- Communicative Assent[1]
- Ecology lasts as long as it serves the Members
- Commons endures even after the Ecology leaves
- Consider the Commons Timeless
- Build Linkages
- Create Artifacts that Reinforce Protocol
- Democracy - 1 Person 1 Vote
- Consensus Building
- Low or No Intermediaries
- Multiple Bottom Lines - People, Planet, Profit, Process, Purpose
- Transparent Interactions
- Interpenetrating and Overlapping Topologies
- Flat, Devolve Power in Decision Making
- Satisfice is ok
- Open System, Interacting with the Local Community
- Complex Adaptive System
- Interaction Leads to Learning and Adaptation
- Use Pattern Language
- Always Leave Room for Self-Organization
References and Resources
On the Commons
On Governance
On Cooperatives
Current Relevant Projects
Notes
- Alex Rollin is actively developing this project and would appreciate hearing your ideas on the subject.
- Originally published at http://alexrollin.com/content/cooperative-ecology-project
