Soft Infrastructure, Schumacher College, directions and approaches

I interviewed  Jill Tomlin, a Totnes Town councillor, a month or two ago, and she spoke a phrase that is tickling me still- that of a place such as a town being viewed in terms of its 'soft infrastructure'.

According to Planetzen "Soft infrastructure relates to networking, communications technology, and other Internet-enabled systems. When overlaid over places and cities, the physical world takes on a new and powerful character."

Wiki begins

"Infrastructure is basic physical and organisational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected structural elements that provide framework supporting an entire structure of development."

 and continues

 "hard" infrastructure refers to the large physical networks necessary for the functioning of a modern industrial nation, whereas "soft" infrastructure refers to all the institutions which are required to maintain the economic, health, and cultural and social standards of a country, such as the financial system, the education system, the health care system, the system of government, and law enforcement, as well as emergency services."

I am interested in soft infrastructure-  the area which lies behind, supports and facilitates the harder more concrete manifestations of human organisation. I am interested in the review and re-creation of those systems- as they say, if something is broke, fix it. (This ties to TQ9's Rushbrook project- soft infrastructure = public assets and services, in theory at least.... soft-rot infrastructure =  bureaucracy, lousy preferred providers, tax wasted on maintaining a useless status quo...) So- it occurs to me, to go back to do some postgrad education- before its totally beyond my £££££ means- and study these things further, with a mind to developing skills by which to 1) pay the rent and 2) contribute to social solutions. Sounds great! where to study tho? (and even, is it amoral to join institutions which by their administration compound the roots of the very problems they 'study'?- essentially, problems caused by lack of education and opportunity..)

 “If still more education is to save us, it would have to be education of a different kind: an education that takes us into the depth of things” E.F. Schumacher

 Schumacher College is just down the road- and the 'first in the world' to offer a postgraduate programme in Economics for Transition' (put in italics because claiming 'first in the world', especially about a organic group of ideas, is rather silly...)  'Economics For Transition' is obviously more than its title tho-. The website blurbs thus :

Never has there been a more important time for a new approach to economics.

There is an urgent need for a radical rethink of our economic system. We need a new model that recognises the challenges we face now, rather than following the thinking from previous centuries.

This model would mitigate the impacts and adapt to the crises converging on our society which include climate change, the peaking in fossil fuel energy supplies, financial instability, food security and poverty.

It would recognise the absolute need for equity and social justice right at its heart.

For 20 years, key thinkers and practitioners have been developing alternative economic ideas, models and experiments that were once considered radical and marginal.

As we turn to face a new economic dawn, these theories and practises are now moving to centre stage.

hmmmm  sounds a lot like a like a ' Revisioning Soft Infrastructure For The Future' movie trailer - but I like it!!!!

Education is a funny thing. Practise is more valuable because the learning you do can be measured directly against its effect. I am going to learn as much as possible around this subject through practise - not having the dollar to spend calls for innovation :-) (there are burseries of course but still...). I will be taking advantage of Schumacher Colleges' open evening talk series, - and seek books and online resources to try to open out this subject for myself (I wonder if the Schumacher college library is open to public members?). To my mind, transitional economics begins with soft infrastructure, and to me that means, firstly, responsible and innovative use of hyperlocal media- that which joins up societies' dots, and by its nature, attempts to be both educational and accessable :-)

Soundart Radio- Extraordinary!

A email received today, posted to the membership of Soundart Radio 102.5 fm

Dear All,

I would like to invite you to attend an Extraordinary General Meeting, at Soundart Radio on Tuesday 5th June, 4-6pm.

If there has ever been a time for as many members and supporters of the station as possible to come together, to plan the future, and to bring what they can to that future, it is now. Our funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has now ended, and we have now heard that it will not be renewed. Though we believe the station has a long and healthy future, this future will depend entirely on the energy, creativity, enthusiasm and good will of volunteers.
We are operating in a climate of very limited funding for the arts, and there is fierce competition for any grant. The station, like all community radio stations, has fairly significant core costs to cover each year. We need to raise these in ever more inventive ways, whilst remaining true to our aims and ideals.
I believe that we, as a radio community, are uniquely and wonderfully creative, and still have an awful lot to achieve together. For this to happen, we need to meet in person all those voices we've heard on air, put our heads together, and be brilliant.

…I think there’s no finer community station in the UK than Soundart (there’s definitely not one I’ve found). I love the inclusiveness, the invention and the merry chaos I hear when I listen to you guys. Geoff McQueen

Hope to see you on Tuesday,

Lucinda  (Soundart Radio founder and Director)


OH! Its a sign of the times that a station that is so committed to making ground-breaking community radio is having difficulty keeping afloat - actually not a unusual situation for a community radio station either! ( Part of the licence agreement is no commercial advertising, which has to be counted as a good thing for the listener, but makes revenue generation tricky...)

Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded the assessment and the writing of the business plan through the first half of 2012. It is a very impressive document- a realistic business plan means a degree of honest critique - the document is not pie in the sky or bravado but offers some thing for Soundart Radio to grow into, something just as unique, but with a more definite commitment to resilience: something leaner, more market savvy, a radio station that will play stronger to the strengths of its community. Paul Hamlyn have invested several times to date in Soundart Radio- we know we have their support and best wishes, if not their financial backing this time.

Tuesday's meeting, in the middle of the afternoon, at the studio in Dartington, will be an opportunity to address some of the issues that have been holding Soundart Radio back, and to move forward . Its not lack of quality creativity, its never even been a delivery issue. I feel Soundart Radio - the membership- the volunteers and skilled radio makers -need to step up and become more capable of blowing their own trumpets :

“That's where Soundart Radio, a community and arts radio station for Dartington and Totnes in Devon, is so cheering: its setting couldn't be further from urban cool – you can often hear birdsong in the background –and yet its output is resolutely challenging.
I've been hooked for quite a while, relishing its oddness, its risk-taking –anyone can volunteer for the station – and its blend of the highly local and impressively far-reaching.”

 Elizabeth Mahoney, Radio Critic, The Guardian

Our 'business' of making collaborative, innovative and revolutionary radio just has to become more 'business like'? Wish us luck- keep tuning in- and come to the meeting if you can- the more voices / ears the better!

Non-school Education : wednesday

Maths - purchasing a picnic, clock face time-telling
Politics - a family outing :-O
Geography - OS map of the Dart Valley
PE - paddling, rowing and wading
Natural Sciences - river currents, tides, erosion, water cycles, water side creature identification
Botany - potting violets, classifying mint varieties
Media and IT -  photo documentation of river trip
Home Economics - Shepardess' pie and salad
History - Waynes' World on DVD

EXCELLENT

one town, 2 stations, 32,000+ lucky ears...

a unpublished press release to the Totnes Times, upon the news of another licensed community radio station for the area:


Soundart Radio welcomes another radio station to the FM airwaves

Soundart Radio 102.5fm staff and programme makers welcomed this week's news that soon there will be another FM licenced station for the Totnes area with enthusiasm.

Ofcom, the independent regulator for the UK communications industries, has licensed four more community licensed stations in the South West.  Soundart Radio would like to congratulate and welcome these four stations to the airwaves; Totnes FM, CHBN serving Truro, Penwith Radio in Penzance, and Redruth Radio in Cornwall. 

The OFCOM community license competition is always very stiff- very few new licences are awarded per year- and it is an amazing testament to Totnes' vibrant culture that the town can support two stations making community radio.

Soundart Radio would like to congratulate all the hard work of volunteers at the newly licensed stations as, well they know, community radio is held together by the hard work of devoted volunteers in many roles such producers, programme makers, journalists, coordinators, fund raisers and listeners.

Jenny Wellwood, who produces Soundart Radio's Town Crier programme and the Totnes Town Council public meeting broadcasts said “Congratulations to all the programme makers at Totnes Fm. Soundart Radio has great relations with community radio stations in Falmouth, London, and internationally- and its really great to have a new community radio neighbour just down the road!"

This is a another wonderful opportunity for people of Totnes and the surrounding villages to engage and participate in local media and embrace FM radio broadcast by neighbours, friends and family. 

"I feel very excited by how enriching and rewarding it is to be part of community radio - its something anybody can try, and for some people something clicks, and there starts the love affair."  said Sarah co-presenter of Soundart Radio's morning radio show, In Bed With Sarah And John. "There is now even more room for creativity in radio broadcasting for our local community!" 

Good luck to all at Totnes FM!

Business planning? I should co-co....

I went to a cool little workshop on business planning this afternoon, run by Jay Tompt, for Transition Town Totnes. 2 hours of planning a business plan- how to make a idea into a developable project. I don't think I impressed with the "sell it to me! You have 20 seconds in a lift with Richard Branson, whats your angle? whats your product?!" exercise- I arrived with too a loose concept (and a tricky subject to boot) and was unable to be able to answer that question succinctly- but I did leave with a good idea of what i need to do take my proposal to the next stage...

The Transition movement is looking to create a business incubator in Totnes to encourage and support the development of 'green' and social enterprise businesses- 'Social, sustainable, regenerative, resilient – new companies that create meaningful livelihoods and contribute to the community in positive ways'. 

Focusing on local resources, local talent, green investment and a long view makes business a part of balanced community. I think recognising national or local social needs (or social lacks) and developing businesses which (experiment with solutions?) seek to address these issues is in there too- sprouts and bicycles are totally awesome, but not essential.

My idea is ...   ha! well, that would be telling! but i can say the intelligent, mature (in attitude if not all in years), professional, sassy women I ran the idea past squealed with delight and saw the point instantly.... My mother didn't like it tho- which is also often a sign I'm on to a winner....

Jay said there would be a future follow-up session to get feedback on our plans- and supplied us with PDF's of pertinant and useful further reading. The business ideas we presented were diverse, but the advice given was applicable and useful to each one. Its good to feel a part of a business network- taking these innitial steps under some supervision really helps focus one's creative energies.

Richard Branson? I'll write that business plan, but it'll likely make sense to a more imaginative investor ;-)

THE Town Crier

Its Tuesday- and in Totnes, in the summer, that means...  Elizabethan Market Day.


The first ever (Setptember 2011) Town Cryer programme I made (included a spelling mistake in its title for the first 3 shows?) included a interview with Totnes' very own actual Elizabethan Crier, Don. Don dresses in traditional regalia, with the tricorn hat and bell, and attends the Tuesday charity craft Markets through summer. He opens any ceremonies, such as the Grove Primary Schools Elizabethan dance performances, and proclaims Elizabethan market and town news. The market is especially popular with tourists and coach tour parties. Don's voice is as loud as one would expect when he is Crying- (no need for a megaphone there) but he was kind enough to talk to me conversationally and explain his work and a little about how he came to be in such a position.

The interview set a direction for the shows ahead. Don spoke frankly about his enjoyment of his voluntary work- he also drives for Totnes Caring- and his engagement with the elderly community in general, and how, when his wife and he first visited Totnes coming over the old bridge, they knew it was the place for them. I was really touched by the genuineness of the interaction.

I had thought of that interview as a courtesy visit, and I had worried he might be protective of his 'Town Crier' title and challenge me to a public Cry-Off, or be unwilling to talk to a sightly tatty looking arts student. But it was friendly, and it highlighted something to me about community radio.

When one makes radio- as with any kind of performance- you can plan, practise, assemble, and use a script. It is safer. Less risks. It can be daunting to make room for chance encounters, (human) mistakes, and maybe allow for unassociated associations to meet. If you go to take a interview, usually you take some suppositions and prejudices with you.

Would Don have minded being on a show sandwiched between rap music and folk music, or a review of European herbal medicine legislation, or a critique of Dartingtons' Interrogate Festival (where he was to be later that month, proclaiming at the 'Speakers Corner')? Are people only willing to participate in something they are going to get 'value' from- a radio show supporting their own particular project? I don't think so. Don was warm, engaging and willing to share his passion for Elizabethan Town Crying without pretencion.  'Community', 'community radio' and a simple conversation even, is often the most engaging, productive, and enigmatic when it is inclusive, and allows for a meeting of strangers.

In the 6 shows that followed that one, I made a commitment to challenge myself to going outside of my comfort zone- to  make radiophonic connections where I had not before, and to make (non- sensationalist) features of what could be otherwise considered outside my remit. Maybe

ringing a bell, standing in a prominent position, shouting at the top of one's voice has become (through the passage of several hundred years and the wonder of modern technology) speaking into a mic, and working the faders at the local community radio station. But the message is still loud and clear- communication, news, and people caring makes the world go round.

I smile broadly as I pass the Tuesday Elizabethan Market - I'm very pleased to be part of a town where such active expressions of community abide.

Word on the street.... community engagement you say?

Who? Where? What? Why?

'Who' is me and you, and us, and them- we are all kinda in this together- starting with our individual agency, powered by our interest in community, and underlined by the urgency to develop strategies which will support the kind of society we want our grandkids to inherit.

'Where' is right here right now- like the Occupy movement, positive change grows for the grass roots up, and local focus offers a fertile ground for making a difference to the world in which we live.

'What' is what ever you want to make it-really-

'Why' is surely because at the end of the day it feels good!!!!!

My current interests run through physical space, intersect with art and politics, and are fortunate enough to bump into expressive platforms. 

I am making a series of radio programmes by which to gain a understanding of some of the  projects happening in Totnes. I have begun with the larger, higher-profile projects...

The public medium of radio is perfect for unfolding processes of the Town Council, the Atmos Project, and TRESOC. Each is taking ground-breaking steps in community centred organisation- TRESOC with its shares and plans for the areas' natural energy generating resources, Atmos with its proposed community consultation and shares in the development of a derelict dairy site, and the Town Council with its new approach to transparency and engagement. Each has a genuine commitment to community participation-  each is made up from members of the public that live in (and care about) this area.

I am passionate to make media that not only explores these kind of developments, but that can be considered part of the same push-  toward greater social cohesion, equality and community resilience. It is tricky keeping up with developments tho- but i hope the project will itself grow:

"Hear Ye!!!      Town Crier is a a hour of news, opinion, interviews and reporting that aims to elucidate local matters : with a focus on projects, developments, activities and events that are of public and social import.
 Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!
Civic journalism is a type of journalism that can be best described as place-specific, amateur, impassioned, and embedded in the community of which it speaks. Town Crier is based in Totnes, and on the airwaves of Soundart Radio : relevant, irreverent, focused, and broadcast with an invitation: if you would like to participate, with a news story, as a reporter, or in any other way please get in touch."

The 'please get in touch' is important. Not because I have the resources to run a newsdesk- I don't- not yet! but because the impulse behind community journalism is an open communication - two way or 2000 way- and the sharing of the (simple, lofi) resources to make open communication happen is what keeps it live and relevant.

At  the Emerging Mind of Community Journalism conference (see Lowrey, Wilson, Amanda Brozana, and Jenn B. Mackay .2008 "Toward a Measure of Community Journalism." Mass Communication & Society 11.3), participants created a list characterising community journalism: community journalism is intimate, caring, and personal; it reflects the community and it tells its stories.... 

If you want more of a definition, I'm afraid its like when someone asked Louie Armstrong for a definition of jazz. The Great Satchmo is reputed to have replied something like this: 'Man, if you have to ask, it ain't any good trying to explain." You know community journalism when you see it; it is the heartbeat of journalism, journalism in its neutral state-     Jock Lauterer

whats in a town? this one is : contemporary, traditional, predictable, contrary, falling to bits, beautiful, green, a retirement haven, a family bolthole, a employment blackspot, surprisingly conservative, a fiercely loved social experiment, privileged, hopeful, a river-side enigma....

Hey, Wiki, what you got (on) for us? 
Totnes ( /ˈtɒtnɨs/ or /tɒtˈnɛs/) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about 22 miles (35 km) south of the city of Exeter and is the administrative centre of the South Hams District Council.
Totnes has a long recorded history, dating back to AD 907 when its first castle was built; it was already an important market town by the 12th century. Indications of its former wealth and importance are given by the number of merchants' houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Today, the town, with its population of 7,444, is a thriving centre for music, art, theatre and natural health. It has a sizeable alternative and "New Age" community, and is known as a place where one can live a bohemian lifestyle.