We’ve had three general meetings open to anyone interested in getting involved in our work. During this time we’ve started envisioning the work of the organization, discussed individual ideas and started to meld them into a group vision. We’ve had social time and we’ve had constructive dialog of what the next steps of our group are.

At our last meeting, I realized that maybe newcomers may get an odd sense of fluidity of the group. Which is primarily because we are absolutely fluid right now. The organizational formation is based on the participation of those who show up. Eventually, we’ll have membership requirements, set job duties and responsibilities, governance structures, and something we’ve called “the Plan” (instead of strategic or business). For now we’ve got idea sharing, research and proposals, amorphous dialog and really, an unclear future.

That’s because we are forming a worker’s cooperative, where the members are the owners. Where we grow food for our own consumption and to make a living for ourselves (by sharing profits). We will be values driven. We will have standards based on a shared set of values (environmental, social, economic and collaborative). We will be comfortable with what we’ve created because WE’VE collectively created it. And we’ll work collaboratively and democratically.

Soon enough, we’ll have membership requirements. Organizational structures and policies. Profit sharing schemes. Prices structures, etc. And they’ll all be based on the shared values of those organizing the group.

Ashley has recently joined us with an interest in assisting the organizing of the business systems. She has experience in government, which will be invaluable as we move forward. Policy and legal documents can be difficult to wade through and she is an example of someone who brings skills and know-how that are hugely appreciated.

She tagged the Seattle Farm Worker Cooperative’s work as “creating opportunity for Urban Farmers.” This is a perfect tag-line for our work going forward. We want to step outside the idea of gardening. We want to walk away from individual effort and towards shared responsibility as well as mutually beneficial relationships. We want to think of Seattle’s usable lands as potential space for collaboration with each other, our communities and our environment.

If you have a skill such as Ashley or just a passion for organizing and local food, feel free to meet up with us anywhere in the process. We meet every two weeks in a general community meeting and in between on Team Organizing meetings. Our next general meeting will be in the first week of the year, and we’ll be discussing Group Process, Dynamics and Decision Making.

Keep in touch!

Ryan Hawkes, potential SFWC Member-Owner

(next posting on our shared values as they’ve been expressed so far)