I like the idea of The Big Lunch. Sitting down for a simple meal with your neigbours, talking, listening and learning. It looks like a cool, interesting way of connecting with your community. I intend to make something happen in our neighbourhood for The Big Lunch 2010 and I’ll keep you posted as plans take shape. Meanwhile here’s a quick snapshot of Big Lunch 2009 – there’s loads more on YouTube.
Along similar lines, I was interested to hear about the people of Fintry on last night’s Panorama. In Fintry the locals have got together to do something about resource scarcity and climate change. They have bought a wind turbine, a biggie. Last year it generated electricity which the village sold back to the grid for over £60,000. The villagers are using this money to fit state of the art insulation to their properties to conserve heat, save money, and further help to reduce emissions. A great piece of community connectedness. On a directly related subject my attention has been drawn to this interesting idea about transition towns. It’s basically more of what Fintry is doing, and with the option of taking community action global.
I think a sense of local connectedness is an important part of wellbeing, which can be used to enhance and refresh you, your neighbours and your colleagues. It doesn’t have to be either at home or at work, it can be both.
I’m keen to learn about other similar ideas, particularly anything in the workplace that is used to promote connectedness, togetherness. If you’ve spotted anything interesting, please share it here.