Outreach: Assume Support, Keep It Simple
When canvassing, it's a general rule to assume support rather than trying to convince with details and arguments as a first strategy.
When canvassing a neighborhood for Backyard Organics, don't ask what a property owner wants in exchange for the ability to harvest lavender or apples or to plant a 60 sq ft plot of lettuce. This encourages complicated negotiation. Assume support by asking "Can we harvest your lavender?" If the answer is, as it usually will be, "Sure, go ahead", great, and move on. If there are any concerns, let them know that we'll always leave enough for them, and we'll do everything with style (we won't butcher your rosemary, rather we'll leave it looking better than before.)
Keep records about quantity and quality, but don't tie compensation for the property owner in any explicit way to these records. This gives Backyard Organics the flexibility to manage distribution according to supply, and more cushion to keep from running a deficit and having to rely on RSOP (Regional Sustainability Organizing Project) support by not committing to any particular compensation. Of course, there will be plenty to go around, and barring other specific agreements, Backyard Organics will be dropping off "Thank You" packages or making them available for pickup to those community members allowing Backyard Organics to have access to their resources to show appreciation beyond simply spreading the wealth.
Also consider that property owners may be scared by membership in Backyard Organics or RSOP initially, and compliated harvest sharing agreements wouldn't help that at all, but if participation is made easy and the benefits become appearant over time, then either Backyard Organics or full RSOP membership won't seem so foreign or risky when it is later presented as an option. Of course, some community members will be totally gung-ho from the beginning and will join the RSOP the first time you knock on their door, but this is a 1 in 100 scenario, and for the other 30-40 out of 100 who may be stepped gradually into participation assuming support and just asking if its okay to harvest something is the way to go.
Finally, by encouraging a sort of informal Backyard Organics membership period, we keep the participating membership limited to those with some time with the organization. This will help meetings to be more productive, and work commitments will be more reliable, and most importantly relationships will be more likely to succeed and become stable between members and gardeners. Having signed membership agreements with only half or so of participating residents is probably a healthy ratio to shoot for over time, though after 20 years say that ratio would be much closer to 1 as the program matures.
When canvassing a neighborhood for Backyard Organics, don't ask what a property owner wants in exchange for the ability to harvest lavender or apples or to plant a 60 sq ft plot of lettuce. This encourages complicated negotiation. Assume support by asking "Can we harvest your lavender?" If the answer is, as it usually will be, "Sure, go ahead", great, and move on. If there are any concerns, let them know that we'll always leave enough for them, and we'll do everything with style (we won't butcher your rosemary, rather we'll leave it looking better than before.)
Keep records about quantity and quality, but don't tie compensation for the property owner in any explicit way to these records. This gives Backyard Organics the flexibility to manage distribution according to supply, and more cushion to keep from running a deficit and having to rely on RSOP (Regional Sustainability Organizing Project) support by not committing to any particular compensation. Of course, there will be plenty to go around, and barring other specific agreements, Backyard Organics will be dropping off "Thank You" packages or making them available for pickup to those community members allowing Backyard Organics to have access to their resources to show appreciation beyond simply spreading the wealth.
Also consider that property owners may be scared by membership in Backyard Organics or RSOP initially, and compliated harvest sharing agreements wouldn't help that at all, but if participation is made easy and the benefits become appearant over time, then either Backyard Organics or full RSOP membership won't seem so foreign or risky when it is later presented as an option. Of course, some community members will be totally gung-ho from the beginning and will join the RSOP the first time you knock on their door, but this is a 1 in 100 scenario, and for the other 30-40 out of 100 who may be stepped gradually into participation assuming support and just asking if its okay to harvest something is the way to go.
Finally, by encouraging a sort of informal Backyard Organics membership period, we keep the participating membership limited to those with some time with the organization. This will help meetings to be more productive, and work commitments will be more reliable, and most importantly relationships will be more likely to succeed and become stable between members and gardeners. Having signed membership agreements with only half or so of participating residents is probably a healthy ratio to shoot for over time, though after 20 years say that ratio would be much closer to 1 as the program matures.
Labels: Backyard Organics, outreach, skills, strategy
posted by Jeff Goddin at 7:45 PM
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