The place-based work Lankelly supports is led by groups of local people with different backgrounds, roles and experiences. They are immersed in the reality of failing systems, extreme poverty, oppression and injustice and are organising in ways to counter the behaviours those systems exhibit.
The approaches in and across communities have varied, but over the last seven years or so there have been recurring elements that we believe have enabled a shift in mindsets and a distribution of leadership that supports a more diverse community led approach to change.
These elements include:
- A focus on the importance of building relationships – the true infrastructure that remains when the post-funding dust has settled
- Power sharing and the use of tools to enact that, such as participatory grantmaking, microfinancing, liberatory practices, devolved decision making
- Capacity building through processes such as system changers, money workshops, decolonised practices, building and amplifying voices
- Support for principle led infrastructure and liberatory governance – including different ways of holding money, decision making, collaborating, and a more recent focus of building solidarity through networks.
Our partners’ work has informed what we think are the building blocks for the more healthy flow of resources and distributed decision making that support social justice work in place.
Whilst there are common elements in the various approaches, there are also clear themes arising in the places:
Emerging themes
We are at a stage with our learning where we feel we can make more explicit the layers of work that have built towards shifting of resources and that allow resources to be received and held well. We have noticed a pattern emerge in the place work – which can be likened to the layering of bedrock which forms the shape and eventual nature of the top organic matter from which flora and fauna can be nourished.
- Bedrock (relationships & trust building, showing up)
- Sub soil and nutrients (infrastructure / liberatory governance, that allow resources to be received well include principle led infrastructure, governance resources, capacity building, devolution to core groups
- Organic matter – that supports the cycle of organic growth and decay of flora and fauna (growth of ideas, justice change work – food; land; language; intersectional justice) and composting at the surface of the earth. The tools (or practices) that work the soil.
We are looking to create a graphic image of this to add to the website – but as its not ready we are sharing as is for now
