Changing Society pour World Business Dialogue

Abstract

There are some cases of urbanites coming back to rural life –however, the main trend is the direct opposite. People are used to living in the anonymity of our modern cities. Sociologists have shown that this zeitgeist of fractured and anonymous urban communities is determental to human development. There are many indicators of this, such as the expanding consumption of anti-depressants. Peter Drucker’s essay has a nostalgic tone, it puts the stress on the role of non-profit organisations as a solution to The Modern Condition. This essay will adopt an optimistic tone, emphasizing the role of non-profit organisations but will also consider the role of corporations, governments and, above all, the role of individuals. To illustrate this idea, the stories of two young men will frame the roles the different organizations can play.


Essay


The first story is that of Obatala. He comes from a little village in Nigeria, the most populated country of Africa. He had seen the women of his village struggling to survive, when they received the financial help from the special Governmental Food Security Program; with the scant resourses they had, they opened their eyes and found an opportunity to transform the loan into viable businesses. Obatala, did not complete the requirements to obtain the loan and his elder brothers were already trying to work on their parents’ farm. He opened his eyes but could not find a role in the village, so he decided to follow the trend and go to the city. So he goes to Lagos, with his savings in his pocket and his will.

Marco comes from San Francisco in Assisi, Italy. where he used to play tambourine in the village band every Sunday in front of the Basilica. At eighteen He moved Torino, where he studied economics. here he joined the student community and was a member of clubs such as Lista SINISTRA@UNITO, promoting change in society through students’ protagonism. For his last year, he went to London in an exchange program and now has his first job in the City with a small consultancy.

Peter Drucker says :“The business enterprise is clearly (…) a "society" rather than a "community."” This is true if we only focus on the first goal of the firm, but if you consider it as the pretext for a working place, a gathering place for people who have the same goal, then it has the potential to form communities. Most firms have a department dedicated to creating links between the employees. They broadcast the same information amongst them, and try to organize social events. More and more companies include these ideas in their social responsibility. They started by organizing sports days or trips. Now community involvement’s days are the preferred option. The design of the working space is also crucial. Open spaces, in reasonable measures, do enable the creation of synergies. Management is also a variable of the equation for its role is to set the etiquettes between the employees. These practices have been of benefit to all the parties: The firm has created a more collaborative atmosphere, and the people feel better related to their environment, part of a community. But of course, management cannot be too intrusive into people’s lives because for some of them, working for the firm is just a way to earn their living. Then the problem is time. Everyone acknowledges that getting up at 5 am and being back home at 10pm is not a life…but how many people have this kind of life? Then why not have two people instead of one working on those positions that require so much presence? Is it possible to set a limit to cost killing? To stop job cuts for profit?

But the consultancy where Marco works is too small to have a dedicated person to organize the company’s social life. He does not feel like making friends of his colleagues although now he is living in a new area and needs to make new ones.

What can NGO’s or associations do for Marco? By definition, those structures enable people to gather around a common interest. They can also be created with the aim of enabling social linking or fostering of better relationships. A major city like London has a website dedicated to a time bank organization that “directs you to an assortment of organisations and projects around London, who are in need of volunteers. London offers a variety of opportunities, ranging from mentoring refugees to media training young people, helping children to read to regenerating your local environment”. The program “Changing streets” appeals to him. It is about provoking change in your local environment. The program was deemed to be genuinely effective by TimeBank and BBC London. Marco contacts the organisation in order to receive the package and instructions.

Meanwhile Obatala is thinking of his strategy to find a position in his home. …Hometown associations?…But he wants to enjoy the new freedom of being in a city , without the strings of his heritage, simply being himself. If he did not manage to get a work by himself, then he could go and see this association. These associations support members’ welfare, invest in developmental projects, organize the hometown’s celebrations among the diasporas and/or provide support through relief materials in time of need.

Grand Ma was always talking about the action of destiny in our lives. She believed in something higher that ruled over human beings. Obatala had dreamt he was driving a car on the seaside when he suddenly lost its control in a curve. The car drove off the cliff into the ocean. He was still in the car but did not know where – was he stuck on a rock? Was he floating on a calm sea? – until two new characters appear. He remembered well the relief of seeing other human beings. Obatala interpreted this dream as a message putting the stress on the importance of relying on people. After long hours walking in the city in search of job offers, he sits in a café. A man is smiling at him. Obatala engages the conversation. The guy is working for the Ministry of Environment. He exposes to Obatala all the job opportunities that exist in this new sector, bound to develop, supported by the government.

Governments in developing countries still suffer from bad reputation, and are commonly accused of corruption. If the sums they dedicate to development programs are not optimal, the programs still exist.

In developed countries, such a centralized entity cannot really initiate local links. Government can foster local initiatives with preferential taxation, or other economic rewards. Some of the initiatives that should be supported: organic farming and community supported agriculture, co-housing but also systems such as time banking or local currency systems, sustainable tourism and charitable organizations.

Whether it is in a developing or in a developed country, Government can also play a major role in the way people conceive the world, through education. The clear goals of education in a country have to be commonly agreed. School is supposed to train individuals for the different roles they will have to play in the society; that is to say, today, in their roles as:

- A link of the chain (how the individual relates to each other; “interdependence”)
- An agent for the evolution of societies structures,
- An agent for the evolution our species
- A citizen of a country and a citizen of the world
- A member of a family
- A worker
- A consumer

Educational programs at the time Obatala and Marco, in their respective countries, were studying did not teach about all these roles. Of course, they could have arrived in those towns and remain by themselves, but, by chance, they both had learnt through experience that one is nothing without others. If the two characters of this story do not fall into depression and loneliness, it is thanks to their greater awareness enabling them to go towards others and interact. All the private or public organisations in the world cannot do anything for a person that is not aware of his/her interdependence on others.

Thanks to his conversation with the man in the Café, Obatala is now in charge of finding new clients for a waste management company. He learns allot in his new job and is now able to send back money to his village. Thanks to colleagues he has found a room in a family’s apartment. Marco has read the instructions he received and has been attending meetings. He has started applying the guidance and found new milestones in his new community. And he is now thinking of applying those principles in his workplace.

The first step always comes from the individual. Once adults, let’s forget the formula our parents taught us and we teach our children: “Don’t talk to unknowns”. Let’s talk to unknowns and reveal all the opportunities of Exchange.


Sources


The essay is also a product of a thinking process started with the writing of the research paper on Corporate social Responsibility. This explains that a lot of sources could quoted but we limited it to the most recent and important readings.

Books:
L’éloge de la fuite, Henri Laborit
La nouvelle grille, Henri Laborit
L’ère du verseau, Marylin Ferguson
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
International Forum on Globalization: Alternatives à la mondialisation économique.

Websites:
Rural-urban migration in Nigeria: consequences on housing, health-care and employment. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://pripode.cicred.org/TEAMS/SUMMARY/NG1.htm
http://iussp2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=50208: Migration dynamics and changing rural-urban linkages in Nigeria
Reports of the French Economic Mission in Nigeria
www.fao.org
www.wikipedia.org
http://www.jeuneafrique.com/pays/nigeria
http://www.nigerianembassy.nl
http://london.timebank.org.uk

Experience de la Femme squelette

Il était une fois et il n'etait pas une fois, une petite fille, qui parce qu'elle avait mal agi selon son père, fut jetée du haut de la falaise. (La petite fille n'est plus). les légendes se tissèrent et les pêcheurs ne s'approchaient jamais de l'endroit ou son père avait jeté le corps car ils avaient peur. un jour, un jeune pêcheur, qui n'était pas de la région, s'aventura dans cette zone et y lança sa canne. Il espérait pêcher un gros poisson, peut être une truite fario...who knows, en tout cas, un bon gros poisson qui le nourrirait tres longtemps..Tout à coup, il sentit une touche...Tant qu'il ne sait pas ce qu'il y a sous l'eau, le pêcheur espere, reve qu'il s'agit du gros poisson tant attendu...Mais la réalité le rattrape: du fin fond des océans, il fait émerger la femme squelette. Horreur! Au lieu du poisson de ses rêves, il a trouvé un monstre qui sommeillait sous la surface calme de l'eau.
Le pêcheur prend ses jambes à son coup et court, court court..toujours plus loin..il s'est approché mais maintenant il fuit..il fuit car il ne veut pas voir la réalité. Mais la femme squelette est accrochée a ses filets et il a beau courirr, elle est derrriere lui. Enfin, chez lui, porte fermée dans sa cabane de pêcheur..mais elle est là face à lui toute emmelée ds ses filets. le pêcheur la voit enfin à la lueur de sa bougie et démèle ses os..il la contemple, elle nose pas parlée, nue devant lui qui l'accueille finalement. Il se pose sur son lit et s'endort (apaisement). elle le regarde encore, sapproche a son tour. le pecheur dort et rêve. une larme coule sur sa joue.la femme squelette est prise d'une soif immense.elle ramasse la larme sur la joue du pecheur et boit comme un ocean..
Elle s'endort au bord du lit pres du pecheur..et elle se met a chanter "chair, chair, chair"..et sa chair recouvre peu a peu son squelette..
Ellle embrasse alors le pêcheur et s'unit a lui tout le long de la nuit.
Voila comment naît l'amour...On peut s'approcher, jeter la canne a peche, mais si l'on a peur de voir ce qui se cache sous l'eau, alors il faut lacher prise avant de sortir la femme squelette de l'eau.
Et aimer veut dire accepter que l'amour n'est pas que beauté car le monde n'est pas que beauté. Aimer veut dire accepter le laid chez l'autre, et l'accepter en soi.
Il est normal de fuir un temps, mais cela ne peut durer éternellement.
les contes sont des expressions du paleocéphale, les vestiges des instincts qui en l'homme parlaient plus autrefois que la raison. Les contes sont l'expression de l'instinct, de la nature, que la raison aujourd'hui nous permet de saisir..mais ses histoires s'écoutent au travers d'une autre grille que celle de la raison: celle des sentiments, de ce que l'on ressent, de cette énergie qui nous parcourt des pieds, à la tête, des racines aux nuages, de la source à l'océan.

MARKET GARDEN

In this document, we will give a definition of Market Garden, describe how this system works, describe some case studies, identify key success factors and look briefly at the market in the UK.

Intro

Definition

+>How it works

• Community of individuals

• Community's farm

• Mutual support and share of the risks and benefits of food production between growers and consumers

• Shareholders pay in advance to cover the expenses of the farm and receive/ collect throughout the year weekly boxes of vegetables and fruit

• The 3 possible status:

  1. Industrial and provident society

  2. Limited Company

  3. Charity

• The possible (and preferable) transfer of the principles of cooperative organizations as an ideological basis for CSA (p.5, PDF guide Organisation):

  1. Voluntary and open membership

  2. Democratic member control

  3. Member economic participation

  4. Autonomy and independence

  5. Education, training and information

  6. Co operation among co-operatives

  7. Concern for community

• Options:

  1. Including alternative currencies such as LETS and Time Banking (see New Economics Foundation website)

  2. Opportunity of employing volunteers (WWOOFERs: Willing Workers On Organic Farms)

  3. Integration of people with low income

     1. Accepting payments on a long-term instalment plan

     2. Offering a sliding scale share free

     3. Having a revolving loan fund

     4. Offering free shares, which are usually paid for by members or by organizations who donate a share or by members who agree to pay more for their share, with the provision that extra funds will go towards the free shares

     5. Allowing members to work for some or all of a share, either through farm labour or through administrative and distribution work

     6. Savings groups

     7. Include in the budget a number of shares which are free or subsidised

     8. Get better off members to pay for one or more harvest shares for low income members.

  4. Four activities the farmer can organize:

     1. Open days, festivals and celebrations

     2. Workshops

     3. Conservation work

     4. Visitors on the farm

  5. Pick-Up option: Three ways for people to acquire the harvest:

     1. Collection from the farm

     2. Drop off points

     3. Home delivery

• In the UK, one hectare (2,5 acres): 60 boxes per week

• The quantity of boxes to produce to guarantee a good income for one person: 100 boxes per week

+>Benefits for the Farmer

• Better prices for their crops,

• Gain some financial security

• Relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

+>Benefits for the shareholders

• Reconnection to the land

• Freshness, Quality

• Better prices

• Community building

+>Benefits for the environment

• Less transport

• Less packaging

• Better farming methods

HISTORY

=>Past

• First appeared in Japan 1960’s-1970’s under the name of “Teikei”,

• Spread in Switzerland and Germany.

• 1985, an American brought back the innovation he had discovered to the United States ==> “Community supported Agriculture” (CSA).

• 1990’s: the concept spread in the UK and in Canada.

• 2001: first Community supported farm in France

• 2004: First CSA International Meeting. At the beginning of 2004, there were between 500 and 1000 CSA farms in Japan, 1700 in the United states, 90 in the UK, 60 in Canada and 50 in France. Similar organizations have been found in about 15 countries worldwide.

• Campaigns of associations and NGOs with GM food==>Increased awareness of people on themes related to food.

+>Improvement in UK trends

• In the UK, the organic market has grown rapidly over the last decade; in 2005 retail sales of organic products were worth an estimated £1.6 billion, an increase of 30% on the previous year. Retail sales made through producer owned outlets, such as box schemes, mail order, shops and farmers markets, increased by approximately 11% to £125 million in 2005 (Soil association). But retail sales of organic products through non-producer owned box schemes, mail order and shops grew more rapidly.

• Nearly one in three shoppers knowingly buys organic food, with four out of ten people buying organic food at least once a month

• A clear majority of consumers would prefer to buy a local non-organic option rather than an imported organic one. Reasons given included supporting local producers and reducing 'food miles'. Among those buying organic food everyday support for local producers was still strong but the proportion preferring the imported organic option was almost four times higher than for the sample as a whole. Health was the biggest reason given (cited by 52%) by those who prefer to buy imported organic rather than local non-organic produce.

+> Focus on South West Market

Key problems identified by the Soil Association in 2004 :

• Declining returns to producers and rationalization of the supply base

• Lack of comprehensive and up-to-date market intelligence

• Low consumer awareness

• Lack of producer cooperation

• Lack of alternative markets

• Poor in store presentation of organic products

• Availability of labour

In 2006, the market has evolved but the problems still remain and new challenges appear.

There have been progress in:

• Public awareness

• Availability of organic & regional products

• Prices of organic milk and beef

• Expansion of direct sales

• Number of abattoirs and meat plants available to service local and direct organic sellers

• Alternative markets

There are new threats related to:

• The fact that the price of inputs is increasing more than the selling price

• Rationalisation of supply base, mainly seen in supermarket chain

• The fact that there has been no progress in market intelligence, cooperation and labour supply.

+>Controversy

• At the same time, a study performed by the French General Direction to Health and Food, published in November 2006, shows that pesticides residuals in food are increasing in Europe. They found that 47% of European food contained pesticides residuals, among which 5% are not in compliance with legislation (MLR: Maximal Limit of residuals).

KEY ACTORS IN THE FIELD

+>A key actor in Farming: the Soil Association

Leading environmental association, The Soil Association offers assistance and information for anyone considering going organic. As a charity, they offer some support free of charge. However, by becoming a food and farming member one can benefit from a full range of services. They also organize training sessions.

There are two websites made by The Soil Association of great interest for a CSA farm:

• http://www.soilassociation.org/foodandfarming: where reports on economic trends are available.

• www.cuco.org.uk: official website for CSA networking.

+> CUCO: CUltivating COmmunities

Cultivating Communities supports the development of novel arrangements between farmers and those who eat the food they produce based upon a relationship of mutual support.

The website contains a dynamic guide on how to build a CSA farm.

A part of the key information of that document has been included in the definition section, the other part says:

• The four essential elements of CSA:

  1. Group capable of motivating CSA members

  2. Producer willing and capable of working with public

  3. Informed consumers

  4. Accessible Land

• The list of all the possible sources for funding (PDF 6 financing CSA)

• The alternative to acquiring a land or renting it: The Land Heritage trust

• The Farm tenancy with County Councils (advertised in local and regional press, and in Farmers Weekly)

• The need for Crop Planning and the available sources of information:

  1. The HDRA Cooks Garden planner

  2. The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association website

• The fact that a CSA is more likely to be successful if the members feel they are involved and taking some responsibility for the way they acquire their food

• Potential supports/partnerships:

  1. Council for the Protection of Rural England: www.cpre.org.uk

  2. Community Action Network: www.can-online.org.uk

  3. Common Ground: www.commonground.org.uk

  4. Countryside Agency: www.countryside.gov.uk

  5. DEFRA: ww.defra.gov.fr

  6. Federation of city farmls and community garden: www;farmgarden.org.uk

  7. Farm retail association: fra@farmshopping.com

  8. Farming and wildlife Advisory Group: www.fwag.org.uk

  9. Food poverty Network: www.sustainweb.org/poverty_index.shtm

  10. Friends of the Earth: www.foe.co.uk

  11. HDRA: www.hdra.org.uk

  12. The national association of farmers market: www.farmersmarkets.net

  13. See appendices for more…

+> DEFRA: “Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food: Facing the Future”

Since 2002, the government tries to foster a more sustainable development of farming aware of the problems the sector has to face and aware of the fact that future must be different. In the leaflet they wrote for farmers (http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/policy/sustain/strategy.htm) they said they were ready to spend £500m to improve farming and help existing businesses changing their working methods. The next table gives a good overview of what their strategy is made of, and of the expected outcomes of each policy. (Source: Economic and Statistical Analysis)

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

• Information : Ability to gather a network and to animate it

• Planning: Ability to adapt crop planning efficiently according to the workforce, finance, size of the network and land available

CASE STUDIES

Findhorn/Cullerne and Earthshare

History

In 1994 a community supported agriculture scheme called EarthShare was established to increase the use of local produce as well as to enhance the quality of the food. Currently it provides more than 70% of the community's fresh food requirements

Production

Fruit and vegetable

Organic milk, cheeses, eggs and meat are produced by Wester Lawrenceton farm which covers a 95-acre area overlooking Findhorn bay and the Moray firth

Farming Methods

Organic and bio-dynamic

Network

200 individual households

Resources

15 acres

CSA Scheme

Sustainable relationship : Membership is for a minimum of one year. People may also choose to have a six-month trial period.

Workshifts: Earthshare encourage its members to participate to labour-intensive tasks. People so far have enjoyed helping and it seems that without that participation, growing 100% organically would not be achieved. Members participating to workshifts are given a discount on the total amount they pay.

The harvest is equally shared between members, and if there is surplus, the surplus is also equally shared. This could be seen as the equivalent for stock-options in companies as it can be a way to motivate people to help at the production.

Choice: Members have the choice between two formats of boxes (small are for two people, standard for a family), and if they want or not to participate to the workshifts.

Transport : For the collection of the production in small or standard boxes at Forres, Findhorn or Elgin, members have organized a shared collection rota, which enables to reduce the environmental cost of the transportation and participates to the creation of social link.

Packaging: The boxes are supposed to be returned to the farmer once the harvest has been delivered.

Information: The contact with the farmer enables people to get information on the food they are eating. The website is an essential element too: it is easier to suscribe to a network through the internet. People can get information on how the production is going and if it is suffering unpredicted event….

Also, a website is more efficient for it enables to reduce printing.

Recipes: If the farm tries to diversify its production, it can also be useful to display recipes for people to know how they use their harvest.

Stroud Community Agriculture Ltd

History

In 2002, when a local organic farm was threatened with failure, a public meeting was called to consider how to support principled agriculture and Stroud Community Agriculture emerged from this meeting.

Production

Fruit and vegetable

Farming methods

Organic and bio-dynamic

Network

110 members

Resources

2 workers for 23 acres

CSA Scheme particularities

Community Co-operative

Stroud Community Agriculture Ltd is incorporated as Community Co-operative, dedicated to promote community supported agriculture.

Another benefit of the Community Co-operative is that it is possible to raise capital by shares, should they wish to, by allowing investment with a return for investors as a profit-sharing organisation. Although this is not likely to happen, it does mean that it would be possible, for example, to raise money to buy land to set up a land trust.”

Consensus building

“Every member has a vote, which puts everyone on an equal basis. Membership spreads the costs and risks involved in business.

Members hold quarterly planning meetings to set the direction for the farm. At an annual general meeting members elect a core group of (currently 8) volunteers to act on the plans set at members meetings.

Decisions are usually reached by consensus. The farm business is owned and controlled by the members, who employ the farmers. The farmers are members too, and sit on the core group, although they cannot take decisions about their own pay.

Community building

• Newsletter

• Leaflets

• Meetings with other groups, associations

• Writing of articles for the press

• Visits of the farm for interested parties and proactively invited groups.

• Work with Hawkwood College who owns the land

Dragon Orchad CSA

History

This is a good example of how CSA can enable a farm to survive and thrive again; But,in this farm situated in West Midlands, near Ledbury.

Norman and Ann Stanier returned to the family fruit farm in 1993 to take over the running of the orchard from Norman's parents. Whilst the growing practices have remained much the same, the markets for the fruit have changed hugely in recent years due to the dominance of supermarkets and imported fruit from around the world.

Production

Apple and pears

Farming methods

Traditional farming methods,

Use of pesticides with parsimony

Network

Resources

CSA Scheme particularities

The interesting elements of that example are:

• Public is varied: 0-95, families, retired, single people…

• Even with a unique product (diversified but unique), the system works.

Sponsoring a tree option

• Tree Sponsorship= £50
  • Planting, staking and rabbit-proofing a fruit tree
  • An annotated orchard plan with your tree marked
  • A visit to Dragon Orchard in Spring 2005 to see the new trees and the opportunity to visit on an Annual Open Day over the next 5 years
  • An information pack with details of the varieties to be planted

Les Jardins de Cocagne, Switzerland, Geneva

Created in 1978 in Geneva, those gardens employ currently 2 full-time and 3 part-time market gardeners on 45 ha for organic production. A thousand people in Geneva are called collaborators, being members of the network. Vegetables belong to the consumers. They are harvested once a week and equally shared in boxes and delivered in about 40 selling points.

At the beginning of the year, the collaborators buy their share, paying an annual fee (which amount is established partly according to the incomes of the collaborator). With a standard share, the collaborator is liable for 4 working days in the farm, 3 for the smallest share.

The members meet in various occasions from AG to gardening. A committee is elected to help the farmers with administration, planning and other issues. This committee meets up every month.

A contract is set up with the named “collaborators”.

They buy a share according to the income of the people benefiting from the box.

Ideally, they are supposed to buy 4 more social shares in the following years.

They have to work for the farm an agreed number of days according to the size of the box they receive. Hosting a selling point compensates for half a working day.

Each member is responsible for coming to an agreed delivery point and taking his/her box.

Each collaborator is invited to attend the General Assembly.

The production is ecological, seasonal and diversified.

Against all the drifts of the agriculture being pressured by globalization and industrialization, the association wants to be “a living alternative to the existing main economical schemes”.

Sources

http://www.stroudcommunityagriculture.org/principles.php

Education Sustainable dev UK

Intro
Every course that teaches you how to use what you have in your garden or any resources unused and available to you to make things instead of buying them is a “sustainable related course”. a/ Through what you have learnt, you’re able to act for sustainable development, b/ Once you have understood this action, you start thinking of other actions you could implement.

But, there are lots and lots of courses of that kind. For the only West Dean College, there are maybe a hundred courses under those general categories: Art, books paper and lettering, Creative Wrinting, Decorative arts for interior, Glass and Mosaic, metal working and jewellery,Music, Photography, pottery and ceramics, sculptures, textiles and tapestry, woodworking, furniture and instrument making and gardening that could be classified as « sustainable related courses ».

Those courses can also be considered somewhat remote from the core subject. In order not to be overwhelmed by the quantity of information available, we’ll try to concentrate on those courses explicitly related to sustainable development: environment related courses or personal development related courses (introduction to specific technologies, methods, principles).

We’ll try to differentiate the courses according to their different targets:
private (General Public, students, public)
professionals: corporate, public sector

Short definition
Sustainable development is a general concept made of three dimensions: People/Planet/Profit
Community building requires courses on the three aspects of sustainable development:
Social aspect
Environmental aspect
Economic aspect
Some courses will tackle the three aspects with an holistic vision, the others will focus on one aspect.




The courses aim at:

• Making people understand why they should act (and motivate them)
• With the general concept, and case studies for professionals
• With the general concept, or through methods driving people to understand that general concept intuitively

• Giving practical ways of action to people
• In a particular field for individuals
• With the general concept , or with techniques on a special field for professionals

We said before that we would not talk about those courses indirectly related to sustainable development. The document focuses on courses giving practical ways of action to people.

Market: private/professionals
There are two different markets:
Private
Professional

+> Characteristics of the courses for the private market:

• One-day to one-week programs (some one-month programs exist)
• Average Group Number: 15
• One teacher
• Packaged offer with accommodation and food
• Theoretical and practical courses
• Subjects: Community Building, Healthy lifestyles, sustainable environment, Social enterprise.
• Healthy lifestyles = Health, alternative medicine, Arts, Psychology, Consensus building, Healthy relationship, community organization, creative ageing.
• Sustainable environment = Re-use, Recycling, Renewable energy, Organic farming, traditional skills
• Social enterprise = Sustainable economics, time sharing…
• No specific skills required in general
• Possible funding
• Price depends on the income (High-waged, waged, non-waged)
• Location: centres/ Community centres

+> Characteristics of the courses for the professionals market

• One-day to three-day programs
• In general, more than one speaker
• Theoretical Courses- Conferences or Workshops
• More specialised subjects, business related (Healthy lifestyles, sustainable environment, Social enterprise)
• Healthy lifestyles: exercises for better concentration, yoga, consensus building, team building
• Sustainable environment: standards, renewable energies, eco-design
• Social enterprise: Corporate social responsibility. (Social enterprise: Social Enterprise Coalition; Social Enterprise London; Community Action Network)
• Unique pricing
• Location: Universities/ Congress centres; Community sometimes.

Who: organization/description

• CAT

Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee; Charity no. 265239; company no.1090006, registered in Wales; registered office: Llwyngwern, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ.

CAT started as a community dedicated to eco-friendly principles and a 'test bed' for new ideas and technologies in the 1970’s. The learning centre only opens a few years later. CAT is now said to be the European leading learning centre for alternative technologies. It receives 65,000 visitors a year for a staff of 90 people (among which volunteers).
The centre is located in Mid Wales and includes:
A green shop
A Consultancy ( Eco building, Environmental Energy advice, environmentally friendly sanitation systems, creating an ecocentre, capability statement)
The learning centre
Eco-lodge (Accommodation will be either on the main site or in the Eco Cabins, in simply furnished rooms which contain 2 - 5 beds. Single rooms available. Total: 67 beds
Wholefood vegetarian restaurant
A living place
A vegetarian Fair Trade café in the town centre
A wholefood store, called the Quarry Shop in the town centre.

Subjects: land use, shelter, energy conservation and use, diet and health, waste management and recycling.
Target: Private individuals (children and adults), businesses, administrations.

The entry at the centre can be bought for one visit or for the entire season. For one visit, the price is up to £6. The seasonal ticket costs up to £20.



CAT is eventually working on a £6million project called “WISE” (Wales institute for Sustainable Education) that aims at creating a better centre for education (young people, Msc, Phd), courses (private individuals and public administrations), research.

• Redfield Community

Redfield Community has been working as a Fully Mutual Housing Co-operative, where members are both Landlord and Tenant since 1978.
The Redfield estate totals 6.9Ha, is located in North Buckinghamshire, it comprises :
- The main house (with 3-4 single sex rooms for visitors)
- A separate stable block
- A small, semi-derelict cottage,
- Tarmac car park areas which cover an area of about 1.7Ha.
- 2.8Ha of pastureland,
- 2.0Ha of woodland
- 0.4 Ha of cottage garden
- A green shop (products available online)
- the headquarters of a small company called World Tents

Redfield community organizes one-day visits with lunch included for £5, and “Living in the community” week-ends for £120 (or £75 with concessions). It also hosts the Low Impact Living Initiative, non-profit organization(registered in England -- co. ltd. by guarantee no: 4205021 -- VAT reg. no: 884 1212 30), whose mission is to help people reduce their impact on the environment, improve their quality of life, gain new skills, live in a healthier and more satisfying way, have fun, and save money.

All the courses last 3 days.

• Hockerton Housing Project

Hockerton is located in the Nottinghamshire. It took 4 years and a half (3 years of planning, 18 months of building) to realize the set of 5 eco-efficient houses which is one of the best zero energy residential system in the UK. To meet the growing demand for courses, an additive “Sustainable Resource Center”, with the same high quality standards, was completed at the end of 2004.
The HHP Trading Ltd1, a cooperative company, provides a unique real life experience of sustainable living and other services:

• Guided tours
• Workshops
• HHP Master Classes
• Consultancy services (for individuals or developers)
• School education visits
• Talks
• Publication of sustainable guides
• Venue for meetings & workshops

The offer for courses is not that extended as in the other centres we have seen until then. There is a one-day “Community building” program. This training day, including a vegetarian organic buffet, costs £60, £50 or £40 depending on the income.
There are also days for primary and secondary schools which price is not fixed.

The HHP team is eventually setting an online store for green products

• The Threshold centre

The Threshold centre is located in Cole street Farm, Gilligham. A small community of 6 adults lives in there. Being specialists of one field of sustainable living, they organize weekend courses.
Subjects: co-housing, community building and sustainable living
The price of the course, including lunch, is £90 for the weekend. Staying in Cole street farm is possible for £35.
The centre also offers relaxing weekends called “nurturing breaks” with therapy treatment and rest from £100.
And there are rooms to rent for receptions/ business meetings.

• Findhorn

Findhorn started as a spiritual community in the 1960’s. It rapidly grew and attracted people once it became famous for the relation of its founders with Nature. There are now about 400 members, 250 permanent residents and, each year, 4000 people visit the site, located in Scotland.
To head its numerous activities, Findhorn created the Findhorn Foundation. There are also an important (and increasing) number of businesses around Findhorn (an ethical investment fund, a real estate company, a green shop…).
Findhorn has:
45 ecological buildings
The Findhorn Foundation: learning centre
Lands dedicated to the farming program: Earthshare
Green shops (onsite and online)
Hotel (New Bold house)
Consultancy
Findhorn University ( 4-week or 6-month programs for students)
The Ecovillage Institute (R&D centre)
The Living machine Operator, a company specialized in water treatment
Duneland Limited, Real estate Company
Findhorn Bay Holiday Park (offering eco-friendly chalets, space for tents..)
Findhorn Press: publishers
Health centre

Gathering a great number of people with different backgrounds, Findhorn offers courses on many subjects from environmental practices to spirituality.
Findhorn works with local administration and the UN Habitat Department. The Findhorn Foundation offers courses for professionals as well as for private individuals.

Findhorn proposes a one-month ecovillage building training program, with the following key topics:
Ecological building and engineering,
Local organic food production,
Renewable energy systems,
Cooperative social economies,
Group building and global networking,
Deep ecology,
earth restoration
environmental art

There are three different types of pricing for workshops, courses and events:
Single price - a fixed price.
Dual price - where if the booking is made before a certain date you get a price discount.
Income Related Price - to ensure that the courses are accessible to people with diverse means and to assist with the upgrading of the guest facilities.

As we can see in the table below, there are different ranges of prices. In blue, are the prices per day. The majority of the courses are about personal development. The preferred duration for a training is 7 days although it ranges from 3 to 28 days.




Two cases out of the scope: The “spring cleaning park” week is an opportunity to discover the life in the ecovillage for those with low budgets, able to give an hand in the garden. It is not really a course. The youth experience week is for youngsters.

The average price for a training day (including food and accommodation) is £90 for High waged people, £ 74 for waged people, £64 for unwaged.





Course type
For private people, the courses can include:

• Theoretical sessions
• Discussions
• Practical exercise
• Visits

The most current formula is the workshop including theory and practical exercise. When the course takes place in a centre and is related to environment, a “guided tour” is included.

For professional, the courses include the same elements. But it’s more common to have conferences, with possibilities of discussions than practical elements.


Marketing
The analysis is organized around the targets. We will intend to look at the prices, the promotion (which arguments are used), the “place” ( where you find the information) for each target.

+> Service

The main idea is to provide quality services. Each organization puts the stress on the experience and notoriety of the teacher(s). More than teachers, they are pundits.

For the short courses (one or two days), there generally is only one teacher. For longer stays, there can be more than one teacher.

The teaching method generally includes: theoretical introduction, on site demonstration/ visit (if possible), implementation of the theory, and the possibility to ask questions and to talk with the teacher, to obtain advice from him/her. The “tailor-made”/ interactive aspect of the course is generally outlined.

As to the duration, it depends on the program…Or the program depends on the duration.
Centres that also have accommodation to offer, generally intend to sell more one-week programs.
For example, Findhorn does not offer one-day programs. There are mainly one-week programs and some weekend programs. The client has the choice between the whole package including accommodation, food and courses, or he may prefer taking an independent accommodation and only pay for courses and food.

=>One-day programs

• Potential clients live/work close to the center or are tourists in the region
• More accessible (easy to find one day to dedicate to training)
• A first contact with the center (to assess the quality of the service)
• Generally does not enable to keep people on site
• Can be short to really influence people behaviour

+>Week-end programs

• Potential clients live/work close to the center, are tourists in the region or come from far away, depending on the site’s accessibility.
• More accessible ( anybody can find one week-end. Something for children has to be foreseen)
• Greater chance that people remain on site.
• Greater chance that people become regular clients.
• Greater chance that the concepts are really understood

+> One-week programs
The zone including potential clients is greater, but unless funding is institutional, clients will have a certain level of income.
Less accessible ( People have to be motivated enough to spend one week of their holidays training)
Greater chance that people remain on site.
Greater chance that people become regular clients.
Greater chance that the concepts are really understood

Thus it seems important to offer the choice between the different formulas to the client and to have a certain repartition of this offer according to the interest for training in the zone, the potential of tourist visits, the location.

This event will be of particular interest to those interested in setting up, facilitating or joining a sustainable community. This includes individuals or groups with an interest in sustainable living/lifestyles, self-builders, landowners, and planners.

As an example, this is the way the Hockerton Housing Project promotes one of its courses

“The workshop will enable you to:
• Discover how you can have low impact housing without loss of amenity
• Understand current thinking on planning and what local authorities are doing to promote sustainable developments – How to get planning permission!
• Learn the pitfalls from a group that’s actually done it
• Dissolve some of the fears and apprehensions about communities
• Discuss ideas and plans that you have with experts in low energy housing, renewable energy systems and social structures
• Write a realistic action plan to further your ideas.”
Among the subjects that the centres often propose:
Biofuel
Solar system
Wind energy
Home & Energy
Herbal medicines

+> Pricing
The prices (for courses longer than one day) generally include accommodation and food. The minimum included is lunch.
Most of the time, there are 3 different prices depending on the income of the person.
For High-waged people, prices per day range from £60 to £90.
For waged people, minimum price is £50.
For unwaged people, minimum price is £ 40

There are also online resources for which access is free.

Demand
By Phone later.




Sources:
www.cat.org.uk
www.hockertonhousingproject.org.uk/
www.thresholdcenter.org
www.redfieldcommunity.org.uk
www.nef.org.uk
www.greenwoodcentre.org.uk
www.wholewoods.co.uk
http://www.strawbalefutures.org.uk/
www.findhorn.org
www.groundworkleicester.org.uk
www.westdean.org.uk
www.wholewoods.co.uk
http://www.cfsd.org.uk cfsd@surrart.ac.uk
http://www.themagdalenproject.org.uk
www.r-p-r.org.uk
www.Sustainablehousing.org.uk
www.Ciria.org.uk