Thank you for sharing your perspective and reaction to my story Mud Hut. I really appreciate being challenged in this way, especially to think deeply about diversity.
I definitely share your concern and un-ease with IO Collective being or becoming too monocultural — white, European, educated and relatively privileged. We do have a few members who would consider themselves older generations than millennials (my year of birth 1983 is around the boundary I think), and a reasonably balanced gender mix. We can and definitely need to work pro-actively on other dimensions of diversity in the group.
What do you think are some effective ways to pro-actively bring more diversity into a group?
I wonder if framing some “real-life” challenge areas that we’re interested in (sustainable food, local regeneration, etc.) would be a good way to pro-actively invite people in from diverse communities and who share those interests? (I guess like you have done with food and farming)
In terms of affording to go to retreat centres in Greece and the UK, firstly, inclusivity was a huge factor in deciding those locations — we picked them to be as affordable as possible for people to come from around Europe. The last retreat was £160 for the whole week + we self-catered to keep food costs to a minimum (and because cooking together is beautiful, as you know!)
For the one in Greece, I believe a good step was a heavily subsidised lower price for local Greek entrepreneurs — though I still know we could do a lot more to engage and bring in the hyperlocal community at future retreats.
From a personal perspective, I’m very aware that it’s easy to inhabit a bubble. I seek out experiences and work that takes me out of that comfort zone and exposes me to diversity and some of the raw challenges of the world. I have lived and worked for periods ranging from 3 weeks to 12 months in Venezuela (student non-profit), Estonia (startup) and Chad (with MSF), as well as the US and UK. Reflecting right now, I’m sure there is a lot more I could expose myself to locally around London to broaden my perspective too. Getting more involved with Sutton Community Farm, which I’m a member of, for example, and seems to attract a beautifully diverse crowd.
What you are doing at Three Stone Hearth sounds brilliant (and hard, valuable work!). I just started working on a project called CoFarm which is focused on how community-based farming can have a positive impact in terms of biodiversity / natural capital, community cohesion, inclusive local economy and individual health and well-being. I’d love to have a chat with you and hear more about what you’re doing, I think there’s a lot we could learn from you, and maybe there are some ways we can help each other too!
Thanks,
Dan
