Our local community is a lot bigger than one might think. That becomes clear every time there is an emergency and the network is needed. I've never really thought about writing down my process and the concept, but maybe it's interesting for some folks, and maybe, just maybe, it might inspire someone. Help is always needed. Community is always needed.
I’m living in Cotacachi for over 10 years now, and in that time I established a vast network of contacts all over the place. The first and still core component is the expat community, as my style of baking initially catered principally to them. That has changed over the years. At the same time, I have and had many relationships with Ecuadorians as well as the local indigenous population, the Kichwa. That goes from work over friends to love. I’ve always been quite social, so to speak.
I’m a tad curious too and like to know a little more about people. A network alone is great, but it’s even more valuable when you know what those people can do, what they like – if you know the individual behind the face, even a little. What helped me a lot with that is being considerate – not falling for grumpy or rude behavior, being friendly even though the other isn’t, until they finally are.
Another important part is not to be overly political. I have my opinions, but I mostly listen. I found out that most people have a common utopia, that they really want the best for everyone – but very different ways of getting there, and that is generally what they fight over. And, this is important – when push comes to shove they all pull together, in the same direction.
Let’s say I know 100 people (I know a lot more…), and those know another 100 each. That makes my reach to be at least 10,000 people on the second level, though there is probably some overlap. Still, that means that I can quickly get in touch with the vast majority of people in Cotacachi. During emergencies, I generally use that network to distribute donations that mainly come from the expat community.
Since it's not our first rodeo, I had people reaching out to me asking how they could help even before I wrote a post. Some donated money to my bakery so we would convert it into soft buns for the elderly and other people in need. By the way, that’s in my opinion the best way to make the most of your donation – buy products from a local producer (who employs locals) and hand it to the people in need. The positive impact on your local economy is doubled by that. Anyway.
We produce the bread non-profit, meaning, we only charge the ingredients and the work of the baker, but I as an owner do not make any monetary profit – it helps to pay the bills and creates work, so I don’t make any loss, either.
I now reach out to the people I know in the communities. Or to people who know people in the communities. It usually doesn’t take long, and I have a list of many, many people in need of support, food wise. Example: A works for my friend B. A comes from the community XYZ, and additionally her sister works in the local hospital. I ask B if she could ask A to identify people in need in and around her community. A asks her sister, and the latter gives her a list of 50 names of people in dire conditions, reduced to either single mothers, elderly or many children. We prepare the bread, and B (who fortunately can transport that much) takes the bread to A, and A and her mother distribute.
I need to be as impartial as possible. Not only pretend to be, but have it in my mindset. The idea is to help humans for being in need, for being humans, disregarding their political stance or values or whatever is generally used to separate us. To effectively do so, I must be focused on just that. That is not easy at all, especially right now, where everyone is hyper-emotional and nobody seems to have the head space to think clearly. I try not to get into those vent-exchanges (can’t really call it discussion), especially not in public, as that could fall back negatively on both the ability to help or on me as a person and my business. If I write, I try to keep it focused on information, like in this post about some of the background of the current situation.
In that sense, the biggest thing I get out of helping is focusing on something good in all the mess that emergency situations usually are. Focusing on what I can do, the things that are within my power, and do them. Oh, and peas. I got a bag of freshly harvested peas, and hugs, and many thankful smiles.
It’s worth it.
(Click here for another post about how our community works)
What are your thoughts about this topic? How do you build community? How do you establish and work your network? Please feel free to engage in any original way, including dropping links to your posts on similar topics. I'm happy to read (and curate) any quality content that is not created by LLM/AI, as well as read your own experience and point of view, I love to learn!
