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ENGAGING COMMUNITY IN ENTERPRISE

ENGAGING COMMUNITY IN ENTERPRISE. A presentation by Jill Jordan for the Regional Initiatives Conference – Gippsland 2006 . BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE IN MALENY. Began in 1979 Already long history of cooperation

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ENGAGING COMMUNITY IN ENTERPRISE

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  1. ENGAGING COMMUNITY IN ENTERPRISE A presentation by Jill Jordan for the Regional Initiatives Conference – Gippsland 2006

  2. BRIEF HISTORY OF COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE IN MALENY • Began in 1979 • Already long history of cooperation • First group had little business experience – mostly process of trial and error • Began with enterprise for which there was a demonstrated need (Food Cooperative) • Built on success of first enterprise to start second, and so on

  3. RANGE OF COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE Caters for: • Food – Maple Street Cooperative (1979); • Money – Maleny Credit Union (1984) & LETSystem (1987); • Land-sharing cooperatives – Manduka Cooperative (1978), Crystal Waters Permaculture Village (1986), Prout Cooperative (1989), Cedarton Foresters (1991); • Environment – Barung Landcare (1991), Catchment Care Group (1998), Green Hills Fund (2000); • Education – Ananda Marga River School (1992); Booroobin Learning Centre (1995), Flexi-school (1999), Ghandi School (2002); • Employment – MENA (1991),LEED (1997), HBC (2004);

  4. RANGE OF COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE (2) • Culture – Peace of Green (1992), Maleny Film Society (1993), Waroo Arts (1994), Maleny Cooperative Club (1994), Spectrum (now COMA) (2001), Maleny Youth Theatre Ensemble (2005); • Social Welfare – Neighbourhood Centre (1997), FACE (1998); • Media – The Range News (1984), Hinterland FM Radio (2000); • Others – Wastebusters Cooperative (1989), Black Possum Publishing (1992), Mountain Fare (1989).

  5. PHASE TWO Next in the Maleny development process

  6. Phase 2 is characterised by: • Organisations have been developed which span the full range of “sectors” (except media) • Capacity to “auspice” most projects the community want to embark on – through existing organisations • Less energy spent in “bureaucracy” / developing organisational infrastructure (therefore more available for community projects) • More “cross-fertilisation” between organisations

  7. THE PROCESS ESSENTIALLY INVOLVES BUILDING A CULTURE OF INVOLVEMENT, AND ORGANISATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY

  8. THIS DEVELOPMENT IS: • A gradual (community development) process • Characterised by “steep learning curves” • Needs early success, which gives the community confidence in its ability to develop more enterprises • Is capable of providing a community with most of its needs • Produces an empowered community

  9. “GOLDEN RULES” • Start small…start from “where you are” • Start by assessing the most pressing need in the community, and developing an enterprise which addresses this need • Develop a clear vision and goals, which helps to retain focus • Make use of “role models” • Ensure there is a “driver”/coordinator in the core group

  10. MORE GOLDEN RULES • Publicise the initiative widely – promote open-ness and opportunity for involvement • Give the enterprise a public physical focus • “Head-hunt” for needed skills • Be prepared to work voluntarily at first – this changes as the enterprise brings in money • Research all potential sources of start-up capital eg LETSystem, CSA principle (pre-payment), etc (plus make use of community capital) • Develop a Business Plan, so those involved can see “light at the end of the tunnel”

  11. FOR SUCCESSIVE ENTERPRISES • “Hive off” some “old hands”, and team them with community members new to the process • Use people’s passions / skills (this is where their energy will be!) • Be prepared to train, train, and train some more - both in technical / enterprise skills, as well as in interpersonal skills (learning to work together)

  12. AND ABOVE ALL ENJOY YOURSELF – HAVE FUN!

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