Goals
Gain insight on how people work together to help build a sustainable community project in the future.
Encourage self-empowerment and an holistic approach to life by guiding people to locate their particular skill/passion/talent/networking..
OBREDIMET
Observations
By observing Weaving The Web gatherings I identified 2 needs:
1.A requirement for a technique to aid self-empowerment.
There appeared to be a wealth of skills and different talents, which were not being utilized because of self-sabotage on various levels.
2.A need for direction in life all the tools and resources were there but with no definitive direction or goals.
If community based groups are going to work on any level they need to start with the individual.
By researching ways of assisting these individuals to take responsibility for them selves they can then bring to the community a much stronger element, self assured clear on their goals and where they are going.
With this in mind I set about devising a structured program to help people gain insight to where changes needed to occur.
By asking the right questions I mapped the area (see questionnaires) I was able to;
1.find out where the balance was out
2.Identify what their goals were
3.what their skills and interests were
The people that I Permacultured were very open and honest with me. .By talking through the questionnaire they were able to identify patterns emerging these were often-destructive ones.
Boundaries
Ascertain what their limitations are
Identify what is holding them back from achieving their goals
Identify destructive behaviour and help them to unlearn it.
Explore energy levels, look at diet and exercise.
Their time constraints
Money constraints
Location
Resources
Identify resources that could be used to help them achieve their goals
1.Their skills
2.Networks of people
3.Location where they live/ what resources they have access to near them
4.Identyfy if there are any extra skills required to accomplish their goals.
Money
Assess how much money is needed to reach their goals
Ways to obtain money needed to reach goals
Energy
Check that their health Is at a realistic level to be able to pursue their goals
suggest help to boost it if not.
Motivation
Suggest self-help techniques to help with the unlearning old patterns and move forward.
Time
Help them with time management to reach the desired outcomes, present a realistic time line
They were amazed when everything was put down on paper especially mind maps how many resources they actually had at their Disposal.
Evaluate
Conduct research among the Weaving the Web gathering people by talking to them to see if there is requirement for this project and if so would people use it.
Feedback was positive and it became clear there was a need for this project.
Devise a structured format to gather information from the client.
Draw up a questionnaire of structured questions relating to Permaculture principles and ethics
Research an easy to use and understand self-help technique.
Check in with the client on a 2 weekly basis that the initial permaculture design was what they envisaged and give me a chance to tweak or change it before I did a hard copy.
It is important that the client feels that they can be honest with you if they don’t agree with a step of the design and that it can be revaluated together.
Design
I set about devising a structured project to help people gain insight to where changes needed to occur.
Devise a questionnaire based on a holistic approach to locate where the balance was out in their lives.
Draw up a mind map to quickly locate areas of skills, interests and resources with information gained from the questionnaire.
Locate and high light the areas where repeated patterns occur to stop them from moving forward.
Locate a self-help technique which was readily available to assist in the transition from unhelpful patterns which block the individual from achieving their goals.
I did some research to find a technique that could be used by the individual that would work quickly and go beyond the conscious
Most of my designs were done through mind maps, as this was a simple and quick way of mapping the design and presenting it to the client.
Implementation
Click on link to go to implementation documents
Ben and Carole were both keen to try this project so I visited Ben first explaining the initial concept to him a few weeks before at one of the Weaving The Web Gatherings.
I had previously typed up and printed out a questionnaire using word on the computer covering the basic questions.
I went through these with Ben he was very honest with me and we could start to see a pattern emerging it was clear because he wasn’t taking a holistic approach to his life that things were not working.
I identified the areas that needed attention one was his current job working with troubled children, which was to demanding both in terms of emotional, and physically energy.
He also had patterns of giving too much of himself then becoming exhausted mentally and physically and taking long breaks from work which was taking a toll on his body and mind.
He also wasn’t fulfilling his potential and was clearly frustrated by this; his first love is juggling a long-term hobby for over 20 years.
The initial meeting was 2 hours in which time Ben cooked me a meal so that my energy needs were also met.
I took the questionnaire away and typed it up on the computer and also did a holistic chart to locate the areas that were unbalanced.
I redrew the mind map and devised a goals map for Ben to follow.
This is the tricky part once the initial design has been presented it is up to the individual to pursue the suggestions, I found that a 2 weekly check in worked well as I was also able to offer support and suggest slightly different routes as in Ben’s case he was offered two circus jobs and didn’t know which one to go for, he decided to go for the slightly larger of the two in the end and include working with animals ,he also has the opportunity to do some home schooling so can continue working with children.
Part of my goal for this project was encouraging self empowerment this goes hand in hand with confidence and self esteem and with back ground support emails txt and phone calls if needed the individual can be coached to take responsibility and move forward.
TWEAKING
Some of the initial sessions took too long and were pretty intense although part of the project is to get to know the client well enough to offer guidance in the areas of their lives that require change this was achieved by interlinking the sessions in to a social aspect over a meal or coffee.
I now have a set procedure to go through with clients and would limit the initial first meeting to 2 hours.
I then evaluate and draw up a goals map and any supporting evidence at home.
Present the information to the client, go through and explain the goals to them and get their input on how they want to approach it, check to see if they want to make changes or think something wont work for them.
This happened with Carole some of the ideas I put forward she blocked as she wasn’t ready to unlearn some of her destructive patterns. I left the concept with her and returned at a later date and suggested a self-help technique.
Part of self-empowerment is being self-motivated to follow through so I found by initially suggesting routes to follow and then doing the research myself that this route was unproductive for the client.
Instead I suggested routes to follow and asked them to research them thus encouraging taking on responsibility for them selves.
Maintaining
Ben has now left for the circus but is keeping in touch by email and txt and is also keeping a journal so that I can keep him on track and also update my project and track his journey towards his goal.
Over all the 2 projects have been on going for 2 and half months.
Check in with the client on a 2 weekly basis that the initial permaculture design was what they envisaged and give me a chance to tweak or change it before I did a hard copy.
It is important that the client feels that they can be honest with you if they don’t agree with a step of the design and that it can be revaluated together Some of the initial sessions took too long and were pretty intense although part of the project is to get to know the client well enough to offer guidance in the areas of their lives that require change this was achieved by interlinking the sessions in to a social aspect over a meal or coffee.
I now have a set procedure to go through with clients and would limit the initial first meeting to 2 hours.
I then evaluate and draw up a goals map and any supporting evidence at home.
Present the information to the client, go through and explain the goals to them and get their input on how they want to approach it, check to see if they want to make changes or think something wont work for them.
EVULATE
The project worked well and I found the people that I worked with were open and honest about them selves, when I could see blockages that they couldn't they were willing to work through them in order to open up more oportunity for them selves.
As this is a process to encourage self-empowerment it is important to offer support to maintain self motivation for the client,quite often I only had do a mind map
to show how much progress had been made in order to boost motivation.
I have repeated this process several times with different people and have found the format works well once the blocks are worked with and successfully removed
people look at their lives from a different perspective and are open to pushing their boundries.
Click on link to go to Permaculture principles
Encourage self-empowerment and an holistic approach to life by guiding people to locate their particular skill/passion/talent/networking..
OBREDIMET
Observations
By observing Weaving The Web gatherings I identified 2 needs:
1.A requirement for a technique to aid self-empowerment.
There appeared to be a wealth of skills and different talents, which were not being utilized because of self-sabotage on various levels.
2.A need for direction in life all the tools and resources were there but with no definitive direction or goals.
If community based groups are going to work on any level they need to start with the individual.
By researching ways of assisting these individuals to take responsibility for them selves they can then bring to the community a much stronger element, self assured clear on their goals and where they are going.
With this in mind I set about devising a structured program to help people gain insight to where changes needed to occur.
By asking the right questions I mapped the area (see questionnaires) I was able to;
1.find out where the balance was out
2.Identify what their goals were
3.what their skills and interests were
The people that I Permacultured were very open and honest with me. .By talking through the questionnaire they were able to identify patterns emerging these were often-destructive ones.
Boundaries
Ascertain what their limitations are
Identify what is holding them back from achieving their goals
Identify destructive behaviour and help them to unlearn it.
Explore energy levels, look at diet and exercise.
Their time constraints
Money constraints
Location
Resources
Identify resources that could be used to help them achieve their goals
1.Their skills
2.Networks of people
3.Location where they live/ what resources they have access to near them
4.Identyfy if there are any extra skills required to accomplish their goals.
Money
Assess how much money is needed to reach their goals
Ways to obtain money needed to reach goals
Energy
Check that their health Is at a realistic level to be able to pursue their goals
suggest help to boost it if not.
Motivation
Suggest self-help techniques to help with the unlearning old patterns and move forward.
Time
Help them with time management to reach the desired outcomes, present a realistic time line
They were amazed when everything was put down on paper especially mind maps how many resources they actually had at their Disposal.
Evaluate
Conduct research among the Weaving the Web gathering people by talking to them to see if there is requirement for this project and if so would people use it.
Feedback was positive and it became clear there was a need for this project.
Devise a structured format to gather information from the client.
Draw up a questionnaire of structured questions relating to Permaculture principles and ethics
Research an easy to use and understand self-help technique.
Check in with the client on a 2 weekly basis that the initial permaculture design was what they envisaged and give me a chance to tweak or change it before I did a hard copy.
It is important that the client feels that they can be honest with you if they don’t agree with a step of the design and that it can be revaluated together.
Design
I set about devising a structured project to help people gain insight to where changes needed to occur.
Devise a questionnaire based on a holistic approach to locate where the balance was out in their lives.
Draw up a mind map to quickly locate areas of skills, interests and resources with information gained from the questionnaire.
Locate and high light the areas where repeated patterns occur to stop them from moving forward.
Locate a self-help technique which was readily available to assist in the transition from unhelpful patterns which block the individual from achieving their goals.
I did some research to find a technique that could be used by the individual that would work quickly and go beyond the conscious
Most of my designs were done through mind maps, as this was a simple and quick way of mapping the design and presenting it to the client.
Implementation
Click on link to go to implementation documents
Ben and Carole were both keen to try this project so I visited Ben first explaining the initial concept to him a few weeks before at one of the Weaving The Web Gatherings.
I had previously typed up and printed out a questionnaire using word on the computer covering the basic questions.
I went through these with Ben he was very honest with me and we could start to see a pattern emerging it was clear because he wasn’t taking a holistic approach to his life that things were not working.
I identified the areas that needed attention one was his current job working with troubled children, which was to demanding both in terms of emotional, and physically energy.
He also had patterns of giving too much of himself then becoming exhausted mentally and physically and taking long breaks from work which was taking a toll on his body and mind.
He also wasn’t fulfilling his potential and was clearly frustrated by this; his first love is juggling a long-term hobby for over 20 years.
The initial meeting was 2 hours in which time Ben cooked me a meal so that my energy needs were also met.
I took the questionnaire away and typed it up on the computer and also did a holistic chart to locate the areas that were unbalanced.
I redrew the mind map and devised a goals map for Ben to follow.
This is the tricky part once the initial design has been presented it is up to the individual to pursue the suggestions, I found that a 2 weekly check in worked well as I was also able to offer support and suggest slightly different routes as in Ben’s case he was offered two circus jobs and didn’t know which one to go for, he decided to go for the slightly larger of the two in the end and include working with animals ,he also has the opportunity to do some home schooling so can continue working with children.
Part of my goal for this project was encouraging self empowerment this goes hand in hand with confidence and self esteem and with back ground support emails txt and phone calls if needed the individual can be coached to take responsibility and move forward.
TWEAKING
Some of the initial sessions took too long and were pretty intense although part of the project is to get to know the client well enough to offer guidance in the areas of their lives that require change this was achieved by interlinking the sessions in to a social aspect over a meal or coffee.
I now have a set procedure to go through with clients and would limit the initial first meeting to 2 hours.
I then evaluate and draw up a goals map and any supporting evidence at home.
Present the information to the client, go through and explain the goals to them and get their input on how they want to approach it, check to see if they want to make changes or think something wont work for them.
This happened with Carole some of the ideas I put forward she blocked as she wasn’t ready to unlearn some of her destructive patterns. I left the concept with her and returned at a later date and suggested a self-help technique.
Part of self-empowerment is being self-motivated to follow through so I found by initially suggesting routes to follow and then doing the research myself that this route was unproductive for the client.
Instead I suggested routes to follow and asked them to research them thus encouraging taking on responsibility for them selves.
Maintaining
Ben has now left for the circus but is keeping in touch by email and txt and is also keeping a journal so that I can keep him on track and also update my project and track his journey towards his goal.
Over all the 2 projects have been on going for 2 and half months.
Check in with the client on a 2 weekly basis that the initial permaculture design was what they envisaged and give me a chance to tweak or change it before I did a hard copy.
It is important that the client feels that they can be honest with you if they don’t agree with a step of the design and that it can be revaluated together Some of the initial sessions took too long and were pretty intense although part of the project is to get to know the client well enough to offer guidance in the areas of their lives that require change this was achieved by interlinking the sessions in to a social aspect over a meal or coffee.
I now have a set procedure to go through with clients and would limit the initial first meeting to 2 hours.
I then evaluate and draw up a goals map and any supporting evidence at home.
Present the information to the client, go through and explain the goals to them and get their input on how they want to approach it, check to see if they want to make changes or think something wont work for them.
EVULATE
The project worked well and I found the people that I worked with were open and honest about them selves, when I could see blockages that they couldn't they were willing to work through them in order to open up more oportunity for them selves.
As this is a process to encourage self-empowerment it is important to offer support to maintain self motivation for the client,quite often I only had do a mind map
to show how much progress had been made in order to boost motivation.
I have repeated this process several times with different people and have found the format works well once the blocks are worked with and successfully removed
people look at their lives from a different perspective and are open to pushing their boundries.
Click on link to go to Permaculture principles