A key part of building the new world we want to see is encouraging grassroots groups to exchange ideas, experiences and lessons learned with each other. That’s what we want to achieve with this blog. While we want to encourage grassroots groups to link up with each other, we are definitely NOT interested in creating any kind of umbrella organisation. That would take too much time and energy, and would be an unwelcome distraction from what people want to get on with.

What we DO want both this Grassroots Alternatives blog and the Alternative Estuary Facebook page to be is a reference point/clearing house where groups could publish what they’ve got planned, what they’re doing, and what they’ve learned from their experiences. We’d also like it to be a space where people bounce ideas off each other and come up with new initiatives. Last, but by no means least, we’d like it to be a place where we can offer each other practical help as and when it’s needed.

We want this to be a collaborative project where we can create something that’s greater than the sum of its parts. To achieve this, we need your input. Ultimately, we want to hand some of the running of this project over to grassroots activists involved in neighbourhood level initiatives. So if you’re involved in a community project and want to share your experiences, please get in touch with us and we’ll sort out getting them published on this blog or maybe even in the next edition of the Alternative Estuary paper. That includes the failures and lessons learned as well as the successes. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes at times – it’s helpful to have pointers from people who have gone through it, on what to avoid doing!

Obviously we’re interested in the nuts and bolts side of getting a community project up and running. What we’re also interested in is if you put what you’re doing with the project in the context of the way society is structured to get across the message that fundamental change is needed now more than ever. We’d also like your thoughts on how you think the project you’re working with is setting an example of the kind of society we want to see.