While the gardens and outdoor learning spaces have been active this year, ‘underground’, we are investigating how our collective roots might grow.

Last January, our group of researchers began the 9 week online program, How to Start a Coop with Young Agrarians. There was so much amazing information and learned knowledge presented to us! When garden work subsides we will be circling back to the resources we have now on file while meanwhile information gathering is still ongoing.

The Collective Land-Care research cohort (CLC) coalesced the learnings, sharing it with our board of directors, (it helps that 4 of the researchers joined the board) -and collectively the board and CLC cohort has begun drawing up a seasonal wheel to better understand the interconnected work rhythms of EartHand.

Sharon has also tracked hours for work in different divisions of labour from website work, program development, gardens, community and more – in general we are establishing a solid profile of what is required to cover the EartHand invisible care work that keeps us gathering.

Our next step is an online survey will help us assess the needs, desire and capacity of our community of skill holders- How can EartHand best support them going forward to both continue learning and growing while skill/knowledge sharing and be paid an appropriate amount?

As we navigate what it means to be the current witnesses and stewards of this Coast Salish stolen land, we are continually learning and evolving how we be good allies for Indigenous skill holders and skill seekers. This learning and self reflection time includes listening-work towards better understanding how the EartHand community as a whole and through specific actions of reciprocity can grow as allies.

Future steps in the months ahead will include an online poll to our wider community of skill seekers to better gauge interests in types of learning programs and various styles of collectivism we might envision.

Keep your eye out for ‘open house’ conversation jams both in person and online in early 2025 as we share what we are hearing from folx!

Meanwhile: Here are some of the resources shared in our workshop time with Young Agrarians we think are worth knowing about.

~ Have you heard of Holocracy? We thought it was a pretty cool business model for collective action and individual autonomy

~ Alternative collective accounting software- Open Collective

~ Choosing a business model questionnaire– what type of coop is good for your project?

and finally, this short video on the Vancouver island Cow-op was both sweet and inspiring!

Drawing out how various petals of the EartHand flower all connect back to the learning gardens!