Commonwealth Communities

Sponsored and Certified by Ogallala Commons

Throughout the vast Great Plains region, rural communities struggle with the same problem: how to survive. The conventional response to survival is to seek industrial recruitment and natural resource extraction to produce raw commodities. During the past century, such development resulted in temporary boom cycles, but mostly in decline of the ecological, economic, and social foundations of our communities. In this new century, communities that seek long-term survival and vitality must choose a different path. In order to thrive, we can not seriously degrade or destroy the essential building blocks of life. In the philosophy of Ogallala Commons, we regard these building blocks as commonwealths. These commonwealths belong to all the community, and if nourished and cultivated, they create widespread, enduring wealth; rather than prosperity for a few and impoverishment for many. We identify the commonwealths as: the water cycle, soil & mineral cycle, renewable energy, education, health, leisure & recreation, the arts, history, a sense of place, wildlife and the natural world, the foodshed, and spirituality. Though we manage these entities mainly as private property, there must be a greater value that regards these gifts as part of the common good. These twelve foundations are not simply resources to extract or exploit; instead they are essential endowments that must be carefully invested to create thriving ecological, social, and economic life in the Great Plains region.

A basic tenet held by Ogallala Commons is that there cannot be significant improvement in the overall economic, environmental, and social conditions of the Great Plains communities without a unified, holistic approach to community development... a set of strategies that link business development, educational institutions, heritage and cultural assets into practices that enhance and increase the commonwealths so vital to life. It is with this understanding that Ogallala Commons proposes a practical pathway of development called Commonwealth Communities.

Step One: Conducting a Community Futures Forum

To become a Commonwealth Community, prospective communities will conduct a Community Futures Forum. This gathering will allow citizens to speak about and identify their future (using the Rapid Rural Appraisal method), and move toward solutions guided by the 12 Commonwealths designated by Ogallala Commons, or through similar tools outlined in the HTC framework. Besides community engagement and awareness, another key outcome of the community meeting would be a selection of local citizens to serve as a Core Team.

Services Rendered by Ogallala Commons during this Step:
Technical support, facilitation and organization training, coaching, Core Team recruiting and training support

Step Two: Joining a Regional Cluster with Training/Learning Days

In addition to a Community Futures Forum, a prospective community or County will join one of Ogallala Commons' Regional Clusters, and members of the Core Team (plus other recruits) will attend five Training/Learning Days that focus on tools to invigorate the 12 Commonwealths or the HTC pillars in a community. These sessions would be a joint project of the communities that invest in the Regional Cluster. The meetings will be moved from town to town, greatly increasing opportunities for hands-on, site-based learning and community networking. Each Training/Learning Day will be accompanied by some type of meeting held back in each community to share learning and to carry out "planning homework" assigned at the regional cluster meeting.

Cost: $1,500 (invested communities can send up to 15 representatives to each Meeting, but would also be required to host one of the meetings and assume all financial and logistics responsibilities)

Services Rendered by Ogallala Commons:
Organizing and coordination of Regional Clusters, faculty for Training/Learning Days, coordination for "planning homework" meetings, facilitation of communication and shared learning between communities

Step Three: Action Plans & Community Outcomes

A perspective community is increasingly equipped and empowered to organize working groups/focus groups that pertain to a particular commonwealth or pillar, creating action plans that lead to short and long-term practical outcomes. Since it is impossible to treat all the areas of need at once, an action plan will be developed that addresses commonwealths or pillars in which a particular community already has assets or capacities, thereby enhancing the possibility of both short-term successes and long-term outcomes. Potential areas of action are:

• a Community-wide Clean-up or Beautification Day
• a Strategic Plan for your community and a Landscape Plan
• increasing Youth Involvement & Place-Based Learning
• a Youth Entrepreneurship Fair and a Community Business Fair
• a Community Leadership Training Program
• a local Business Incubation Center
• a long-range Water Plan
• a long-range Agricultural Diversification, leading to Community & Regional Food Systems
• establishing Endowments through a Community Foundation
• incubating local Arts & Cultural activities

Services Rendered by Ogallala Commons during this Step:
Technical support, facilitation and organization training, coaching, Core Team recruiting and training support

For more information about becoming a Commonwealth Community, contact Darryl Birkenfeld, Executive Director, Ogalllala Commons at 806-945-2255 or darrylb@amaonline.com