Disrupting ‘Fasaad-ic’ Structures via Community-Building: A Collective Exploration on Societal Transformations

part of the current theme: Beyond COP26: Regenerative Structures for a New Society 

You are invited to join us for this participative, online event, organised by Wisdom In Nature - Islamic Ecology.

Open to all faiths and beliefs.

Times of event are UK times

At the last forum, we shared and reflected on learnings from our meeting with peasants from a revolutionary indigenous movement based in southern Mexico, the Zapatistas. They worked with villages to subvert the dominant paradigm and develop multiple autonomous, self-governing communities.

Their movement was based on deep purpose-driven base building, intensive skilling-up, and disciplined grassroot organising.  In this forum we will continue the conversation on community-building, as there was a yearning to dive deeper into this. The event is open to first-timers as well as previous attenders.

We will further explore the idea of community, something many are searching for, often seeking out in things like ecovillages, housing coops, and cohousing. Any of these - as well as the more broader autonomously governed examples in the Zapatista-associated villages and elsewhere - entail substantial skills in collectivism.

This deeper kind of community-building provides a way to disrupt ‘fasaad-ic’* structures, and ultimately it is hoped, replace them with structures that are life-supporting for people and our earth home.  

Themes that emerged in the conversation at the previous forum in relation to the question of ‘what makes community?’ included: generosity, reciprocity, mutualism, accountability, belonging, shared values, and physical space. We could build on some of these, or may enter different territory, depending on what is alive for each of us at the moment.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Regarding the event title: 

*Fasaad = Corruption or Mischief (as used in Quranic language)

[Here is the original info on the current theme, Beyond COP26: Regenerative Structures for a New Society: 

The Inevitable Collapse of Our Current Story

We know that our world is going through rapid change - and also that the dominating systems we are intimately woven into, continue to destabilise and destroy. It is also clear, as they creek under strain, that they will not remain.

We can either begin to educate ourselves, get skilled in collaborative decision-making, gain intimacy with the non-human world we depend on, learn ecological design principles, and work together to co-create grassroot regenerative systems that meet our needs and are relevant to our times... or we can one day discover the existing structures have crumbled, with no alternatives in sight.

The New Story: Living Examples of Community

At WiN, we are keen to have inspirational models of community as the theme for our current online forums. We are keen to look at inspiring models of community we can learn from, to help nurture the emergence of ideas for co-creating regenerative structures and deeper resilience according to our different circumstances.

There are examples that can provide inspiration at different scales and contexts: e.g. autonomous communities such as in Rojava, Kurdistan, and in Chiapas, Mexico; certain ecovillages and radical housing coops, and of course the Islamic tradition and the time of the Prophet.

We can learn from these efforts, while considering what is needed in our own contexts.]

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Format

We will go through a simple grounding ritual which will include brief introductions from all participating. The event is also a gathering of listening and sharing between participants.  Our intention is to offer a space for connection, engagement and the possibility of transformation. We will end with a simple closing ritual.

Who? This online gathering is for anyone who values a conscious, heart-centred exploration with others in relation to the world we are in. While we are based in the UK, we are open to those within and beyond the region.

Note: If you are unlikely to be able to stay til the end of the session, we would recommend holding back from registering for this particular event as spaces are limited, and our intention is to foster a deeper connection in an interactive space.

How? Together, we will create a gentle, virtual container. We will listen to what is alive for each of us. We will be welcoming the breadth and depth of our experiences. We will allow difference to co-exist. We will sometimes pause the outer conversation, and step into moments of silence.

Where: The call will be on zoom. Once you’ve registered, you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive the web-link for the zoom call in an email the day before the event.

Times of event are in UK time.

Fee: Given the times we are in coupled with the need to both encourage commitment, and cover expenses, this is a low cost event. The amount asked for is £3. The event is free for regular monthly WiN donors. If you are unwaged/cannot afford, please contact us as we have a couple of free places.

Arrival: Please aim to arrive on the call for the start time. To maintain coherence in the gathering, once we're 15 minutes into the session, entrance to the call will not be possible for anyone not already there.

Become a Regular Donor to grow WiN's work: We are in need of individuals who wish to become regular donors to help grow our work. Please visit here for info about how we use your funds if this might interest you. The above event is automatically free for monthly WiN donors!

Work more closely with Wisdom In Nature: If you're inspired by WiN's conscious approach, and are interested in aligning your energies with ours through working within our team, then we recommend visiting this webpage

Much Gratitude :)

Wisdom In Nature (WiN): Trainings: Islamic Ecology ~ Permaculture ~ Inclusive Leadership; and a Five Strand Activism model. Website: www.wisdominnature.org 
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