Our Mission
We work with our clients to build more compassionate, just, and productive communities that reflect their shared values and interests. We work mainly with Indigenous organizations and governments and focus on the unique history, context and opportunities they face.
Human beings are social by nature. We live, learn and work in communities. The character of our communities becomes the character of our lives.
While communities vary in terms of their purpose, composition, duration and size, they all have common characteristics and patterns based on the human nature of their members. By observing and analyzing the social nature of human beings, we can intentionally build communities that achieve specific goals on behalf of their members.
CONNECTIONS
A connection is a link or bond that establishes a relationship. For many thousands of years, connections within Indigenous communities were sustained through culture, ceremony, language and land use.
We work with clients to re-establish and revitalize connections among their people, and to the wider community.
CAPACITY
Capacity is the ability to get something done. The capacity of a group is built upon the knowledge and skills of it’s members, and the degree to which the group can set a direction and make decisions. This is the collaborative capacity of the group.
We work with our clients to build collaborative capacity.
CONDITIONS
A condition is something that needs to be put in place in order for something else to become possible. When we put the right conditions in place, humans will naturally attach to a group, contribute and relate well to each other.
We work with our clients to establish conditions that foster compassionate, just and productive communities.
Our Building Blocks
CONNECTIONS IN ACTION
Lateral Violence Workshops
Within all of our training programs, we focus as much on connecting participants with each other as we do on delivering content. Our purpose is to build communities of practice, healing and empowerment.
We incorporate key elements of the traditional talking circle with interactive, free-flowing dialogue in a way that deeply connects people to each other, and the broader mission of building Indigenous communities. This significantly increases the amount of learning and growth that takes place.
CONDITIONS IN ACTION
The Tiny Houses Carpentry Apprenticeship Project
When we started the Tiny Houses Carpentry Apprenticeship Project, we invited everyone involved to form a community of equals to build and manage the project together. This included apprentices, instructors, staff, funders, and families.
This invitation allowed everyone to form relationships based on empowerment, respect and accountability. Many years later, those who were involved in this project continue to see themselves as part of the Tiny Houses Crew.
CAPACITY IN ACTION
Peacemaking Circle Training Program
The citizens of C/TFN had the motivation, knowledge and resources to establish a Peacemaking Circle Training Program. What they needed was help to build a group to get the work done.
We helped them create a Task Group that grew to the point where they were able to successfully launch, oversee and evaluate the program.
What are compassionate, just and productive communities?
A community is a unified group of people, connected through common experience and culture, working together to realize collective interests.
A COMPASSIONATE community feels a deep concern for those within it who experience hardship, accompanied by an equally strong desire to alleviate that hardship.
A JUST community distributes power and resources among members in a way that is fair and open.
A PRODUCTIVE community uses resources and capacity efficiently to produce an abundance of what members want and need.