Strengthen the Tribe. Build Bridges.
I love our backyard! I have created an oasis that provides me multiple levels for entertaining and hosting, but because it is such a sanctuary when we are back there, no one knows we are there.
To combat the isolation of our own making, we have moved 2 chairs out to our front lawn and sometimes we will sit out there. Continue reading “Creating Opportunities to Say “Hello!””
Fall brings a ton of tomatoes and lots of reasons to gatherOur family has had success bringing people together around specific events. There are times when it makes sense to bring either friends or new acquaintances together to either celebrate or even create a community. Here are just two simple opportunities that have worked for us.
At a time when politics is polarized, conversation is via text, families are dispersed, and people live alone longer, Americans are at times lonely & without connections. The challenge is how to create connection opportunities. Amalgamated Amalgamations is an interactive community of people with ideas, experiences, and thoughts on creating and building connections with family, friends, and even strangers.
Continue reading “Our Vision”Potluck dinners scale. More people showing up = more food. Sharing food and conversation is the keystone tribal/family activity.
I started organizing potlucks my last few years in college. I’d make a huge pot of beans for veggie burritos. The only rule: no one could take leftovers home. We’d eat for the rest of the week.
Continue reading “10 Minutes a Month – Easy Tribal Potluck Dinners”
Planning a gathering can seem daunting. A potluck leans heavily on the ‘luck’ and that is good, but organizers can still worry about what is in the pot or on the table.
Some challenges can be avoided through good planning. We don’t want to make the organizing so tight that by the time the event arrives, the organizer is exhausted of it, waiting for it to be over. But some tools can help to know who is showing up, what they are expecting, and whether they are bringing anything to the gathering.
Continue reading “Potluck Disasters and Other Opportunities”
Why?
It’s a great way to build community. In addition, it has significant health benefits to everyone that joins in:
The smart move is to combine them all.
Continue reading “5 to 20 Minutes a Month – Organize Hikes: Walking and Talking”
I’ve always been interested in things that strengthen the community. That ranges from political organizing in my 20s (aimed at providing stable housing and keeping neighborhoods working as a communities) on to ongoing efforts to get folks together for potlucks, hikes, dance parties, family reunions and the like.
Recently I noticed that a variety of political and social commentators have names a strong network of friends as a key antidote to political craziness, social media manipulation, and even some negative health effects.
I agree and have argued the same. I’ve thought I’ve trying to add what I’ve learned to the pot.
What finally tipped this this website from concept to reality?
Continue reading “Introduction – What’s Here and Why”I’ve lived with groups of people my entire life. Currently (at age 65) my wife and I live in a house with another couple and the last of the three ‘kids’, our son, Griffin, in his early 20s. We bought the house together some 25 years ago. This is not two flats. It’s one house with one kitchen, 2 master bed rooms and 3 other bedrooms plus living room, dining room, family room, and library.
Living with groups of people can create some conflict…most often around household chores. Thirty five years ago we figured out The Chart. It was a break-through!
Continue reading “The Chart – Keeping the Peace in Group Households”
