Micro-communities are small groups of men and women focused on deep emotional support and guidance. Reintroducing the experience of small communities of our past, where your friends are more than a passing wave or a Facebook comment. These micro-communities bring back what is missing.

We are continuing to build on our history of creating powerful men’s groups. Because men have traditionally focused on work more and on interpersonal skills (such as empathy) less, we see the biggest gain with men’s groups. With the convergence of the recession, a new generation of men more attuned to communication, and the energy behind such developments as the Occupy Movement, men are more receptive than ever to learning and healing with other men.

Men join these groups for many reasons – they stay for the new community they co-created. These groups not only teach men skills they never got to learn; they give men a place to just be a man. When a man has a place of weekly renewal, he is a better partner, father and contributor to the greater community.

We have assisted women in creating women’s groups and have seen success using a similar model with co-ed groups. The strength of these micro-communities comes from simple principles and proven protocols. We are activating a forgotten instinctual need and teaching what wasn’t taught.

Problema

We won’t have a healthy planet without real communities. More than ever, we need connection. It’s in our genes from our ancestors who lived in tribes. We have an instinctive need to have someone watch your back. It’s in our history to live with people who accept us the way we are. In our urban lifestyle of always being on the go and always being “on,” we rarely have a dedicated time and space to be with people beyond a social gathering. When was the last time you had a group of friends who were your confidants and champions, willing to come right over when they get your 3 AM emergency call? We had our childhood friends, our school friends, our college friends… then things changed. You may have a partner and a close friend or two. Do you have a group that meets weekly with the only purpose to advocate for your greatness? Do you have a micro-community that might not have started as the friends you would have picked, but are now the men or women you want at your side in battle?

Solución

Unlearn – • Family and cultural limiting interaction patterns • That you don’t matter • You must do it alone Teach skills of – • Empathy • Interpersonal communication • Community development skills – how to succeed in a close community • Interdependence Become better parents – • “Re-parenting” of old beliefs and behavior occur from the natural interaction as a group member • Have the support of other parents • Have the guidance from your peers Experience a safe place to - • Be seen and heard for who you are • Try new behaviors and make mistakes • Develop close friendships The procedure: It’s simple. The man or woman who wants to start a group downloads the free guides. The guides walk the reader through asking the first member to join, to running the ongoing meetings. Each group/micro-community is autonomous. There is no requirement to run the group in a particular way, in fact we encourage each group to adapt the protocol for their needs. From our experiences, we make suggestions on what has worked best for us. Groups are encouraged to sponsor new groups and collaborate with the greater community of groups. As a grass roots movement, local individuals sponsor others in their greater community to start their own groups.

Ejemplo

Stage 1 - Providing the instruction We provide a proven protocol to create one of these groups. We learned that the key to success is establishing a safe space for everyone to learn skills they never had taught to them as children or young adults. Without a set of principles, and guidance on how to use the principles, developing one of these micro-communities can be difficult. With the support of Men Corps a man (or a woman) can take what we provide and quickly develop a group of deep support. Stage 2 - Enrolling Educating people to the benefits and the how to’s is required. We have generations who haven’t experienced the depth one of these micro-communities. Much of the promoting can certainly be done through the Internet. Because we are creating interpersonal groups, having live events is a huge advantage to enrolling others in creating their own groups. Stage 3 – Occupying a non-occupied space We have venues where we hang out, play, drink and spend time with friends– we don’t have a place to just be. At first, only a few people appreciate the benefits of these micro-communities. But as others see the change in the group’s members, interest grows. People start creating these micro-communities within larger communities, strengthening the social fabric of that community. Stage 4 – Developing the micro-community movement Evolving the collective experience of the individual groups into a movement for micro-communities, where every community has several of these micro-communities, is the ultimate goal. Then a loose larger community, resembling an open source software system where everyone contributes to the micro-community development, is formed. This organization of groups and individuals supports each other and continues to refine how to create and run a group.

Mercado

Unfortunately there is no real competition other than ignorance. There are no organizations promoting micro-communities. There are two nonprofits that indirectly promote their men’s groups: the ManKind Project and MDI. We are affiliated with them.