Pop Gang

The job of running a hyper village is a rigorous one. Pretty much anyone who is willing to can take on an organizing or managerial responsibility.  There is a tremendous quantity of logistics and administrative work to keep this full service commune functioning. We have dozens of buildings in need of repair. There are half a dozen businesses which could all use more guidance and support.  Most weeks a 8 to 10 visitors some of whom want to live with us who have questions about how we do things and if their personal situation can be merged into ours. Add to this endless pocket dramas about romance, children, housing and other personal topics which frequent our little village and there is enough going on to hold almost anyones attention.

And as I have mentioned we are full. It is something like 3 years now we have had a waiting list (tho it has certainly thinned at points, it has never vanished in this time) and this means on top of the above described condition, we also have a space shortage and fewer degrees of freedom to relocate members when someone moves out. Pop Gang to the rescue!

Pop Gang is a group of members who are pulled from various community bodies (the planners, the membership team, recruiting, the room assignor and a member at large) to discuss things which can be done to make our crowded situation better. While this body is technically advisory, without any executive power in its collective state – what my experience of it is, is that when the Pop Gang agrees on a policy direction, the members take it back to their respective executive groups and make the change happen.

This can be something as simple as cleaning out the storage barn, so that things in residential public spaces can then move to the storage barn and there is more spaces in our housing. It can be as complicated as doing a survey on the communities attitude towards winter guests or growing the community, sequencing our pending building projects so housing is prioritized.  This particular survey is complicated both because there are lots of things which could be on it relating to our crowded situation and then you have all those mess inconccllusive results to deal with when the surveys come back.

As the long time co-manager or recruiting and room assigning, i am often on the pop gang when it is formed, as it has been recently.  I’ll keep you apprised of our progress.  Oh, and as always your brilliant ideas are welcome (but no suggestions for personal shelters please, that is not on the table for discussion).