What is the 'At the grassroots' project about?
grassroots
grăs′roo͞ts″, -roo͝ts″
noun plural
1. People at a local or low level rather than at the center or upper levels of an organization or movement. Often used with the.
2. The lowest or most basic level of an organization or movement.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
At the grassroots
The above is a dictionary definition of grassroots. It’s pretty clear that it’s about bringing power over our lives right down to the lowest level which to all intents and purposes, are our neighbourhoods. That’s bringing power down to the level where we collectively exercise it and are accountable to each other. Accountable in a way that neither local authorities or national governments ever can be. Accountable because unlike local or national government who serve a range of unaccountable corporate interests, we’re working for each other in our communities.
You don’t need us to tell you that trust in government at both a local and national level is in decline. A breakdown in trust can be seen as something negative in that cynicism has replaced any sense of hope for the future. On the other hand, it can be seen as a liberating step as it dawns on a growing number of people that our interests are best served by working for each other in our communities rather than relying on increasingly unaccountable forms of governance. Once that realisation grows, then we can start on the serious work of taking power at the grassroots.
However, it could be argued that the seeds for that have already been planted. It could even be argued that they’ve always been there, it’s just that they have not had the right conditions to germinate, grow and flourish. Despite what some people may tell you, by and large, humans are a co-operative species. Working and co-operating with each other is the best way of meeting our needs, material and spiritual. Once you start to look, there's an amazing array of projects and initiatives where people willingly volunteer their time and effort for in order to make their communities better places to live.
If all of the voluntary groups were taken out of the equation, society would be very much diminished in the process. We looked at a few examples of how voluntary groups empower society in this post from last year: What do we actually do? 15.9.23.
We believe in bringing power right down to the grassroots. A strong community is essential in achieving that aim. When we were living back in Thurrock on the other side of the country, we got involved with volunteering as gardeners at our local community run park - Passionate about Hardie Park. From what was almost a no go area back in 2010, residents have transformed it into a valuable community hub with a cafe, meeting rooms, well maintained play areas and flower beds. All looked after by volunteers from the area. It's a project that has built a sense of ownership and belonging. One of the few regrets we had about moving away from Thurrock was leaving this project.
Now we're in Keynsham, we're involved with a couple of projects that we hope go some way to building a sense of community and belonging. One of them is this - Keynsham Community Veg Plot in the Park. One of the aims of the plot is to start conversations about the need to localise food production. Whoever controls the food supply, controls the population. We sure as heck don't want our food supply controlled by faceless corporations in thrall to the likes of the World Economic Forum. We want it localised so that the people involved are accountable to the community they serve and are a part of. The kind of things I've written about in this post: Now more than ever, we need to grow our own food 4.7.23.
Then there's the litter picking project we're involved with - Keynsham Wombles. The Wombles work collectively litter picking at the big events that take place in the town, the summer music festival and at the end of November, the winter festival. There are other occasional group clean ups. In between these, we all have our patches that we're responsible for. The one we work on is a series of footpaths starting by the side of where we live. We litter pick this every month. It's rare that we pick up more than a bag of litter. That's a clear indication that despite a small anti-social minority, the vast majority of people care for the town they live in and don't litter the place up.
By doing this, not only is an immediate need met, by involvement in the project, people are empowering themselves by learning new skills. Also by working on a grassroots project, people are forming bonds with each other and building the community solidarity we need in these increasingly troubled times. Empowerment and community solidarity have the potential to be a potent combination. A combination that as the system slowly crumbles and becomes more dysfunctional, will increasingly become vital, not just to get us through whatever crises are coming our way, but also to lay the foundations for the new world we want to see.
That’s what the At the grassroots project is about. It’s about empowering people to bring about fundamental change and build a better world in the process. When you start talking about bringing power back down to the level of the neighbourhood where we can all be accountable to each other and take it away from the elites, you’re making a fundamental challenge to the status quo. Challenging the status quo is a serious business. That is why At the grassroots is NOT a fluffy project in any way, shape or form!