Successful Sharing: August Open Forum follow up

Sustainable Living Armidale chose to practise rather than preach the topic of “Sharing Resources in a Sustainable Community” at their monthly forum at Kent House on 4 Aug.  The main focus was a shared meal, and the atmosphere resembled that of a happy family reunion or Christmas – kids running in and out of doors, adults jostling over the stove in the kitchen, different generations jamming together (with a double bass, various guitars, recorder and pan-pipes all heard at different times) and plenty of ideas being exchanged around the food and display tables.

The organisers were delighted with the contributions and obvious enjoyment of the 40 people who attended.  The group included several new faces and many children, whose laughter and occasional incursions into the main room enhanced the “village” atmosphere considerably.

“We decided it was time to give members more opportunities to connect with each other than is usually available at our monthly forums, so the evening was fairly relaxed” explained Cathie Lamont (MC for the evening).  “We wanted to provide some opportunities for people to share ideas without interrupting the party atmosphere too much, and we’ll be posting some of the ideas on the website to share with those who couldn’t attend”.

“It was almost a shame to have to interrupt the laughter to open the discussion” said Cathie, “but it did raise some useful ideas, particularly for the two individuals who are now planning to take up the suggestion of sharing chooks.”

A number of people commented that they enjoyed the format, so such get-togethers could become a regular feature in the SLA calendar.  For the September forum, Hadley White and Jarra Hicks will be giving a short presentation on “Carbon Jury.  Sorting the facts from the fiction”, followed by a discussion on the vexed issue of carbon pricing.