Rugby kids tackle dog mess!

You can be polite and call it “dirt” you can call it “mess” you can call it “poo” – but when you get it on your shoe it is definitely “Sh!t!”

Whatever you call it the leavings of local pooches are always high on the agenda of any community “hate” list. No matter how you broach the subject it will come up as a definite deficit for an area. So in adopting an ABCD approach how do communities change this whilst focusing on their assets? This blog will tell the story of how a group brought together around a love of rugby could set their agenda to make positive change in their community.

Despite having the obligatory (and tiny) “No Dog Fouling!” signs and a large, purpose-build bin as an obvious receptacle for the offensive substance, the area is absolutely covered in dog mess. The green-space was certainly first choice for ‘head coach’ Stuart, wanting to use his passion for working with kids and his love of rugby to good use in the community. So before kick-off the first task was to tool-up with “poop-bags” in hand and scour the grass for the odious objects, making the space more suitable for young kids to be running and chasing and sliding and falling and laughing – ie what the space was intended for!

Many poop-bags were collected along with the other debris that had accumulated in the space and heaped beside the bench for later disposal. Despite combined efforts the whole green couldn’t be covered, so the section that was clear for the kids to play on was coned off.

However, with over twenty kids tearing about the grass in a full-on touch rugby session, staying within the “safe” area was proving difficult and Stuart had to appoint some of the adults who had gathered as “touch-judges” to shepherd the kids back into the coned section. Well beyond the regular duties of a touch judge were the necessary screams of “watch the dog mess” and “you’ll get poop on your shoe!” Although the families found an immediate work-around it was quite obvious this would require more than just coning-off an area to put things right!

So as the night drew to a close coach pulled in the squad for a post-match debrief. The group agreed on Stuart’s suggestion to get some ‘clear up after your dog’ posters ready for the next session that could be tied to the benches surrounding this make-shift rugby pitch.

From a Community Builders viewpoint, we did not at any point raise the dog mess as an “issue” or point for conversation, or ask if people wanted to do anything about it. The grassy area was no longer just an empty space with some benches randomly placed – it was now a rugby training facility used by two dozen local children. The focus was not on the dog mess as a deficit to the area but on how it’s removal would improve the green-space as a positive community asset.

We’ll keep you up to date with how this unfolds….

THE PRODUCERS

I love the movie, ‘The Producers,’ especially the original by Mel Brooks.  It seems crazy to link my work to what is a riotous, anarchic and very funny movie.  But, interestingly, the analogy works well in exposing the nooks and crannies of the role of Community Builder.

The role is somewhat new and has a pioneering touch, style and flavour about it.  The unknown element constantly confronts me as I endeavour to map my way through the uncharted waters of what makes for community by interpreting the language, traditions, culture and values.  Not being able to compare your work against a known standard is all at once frightening and liberating!  Consequently, having a visual cue or hook by which to help inform and understand what it is that I am doing is vitally important.

The role of the Producer is to create the opportunity: to set the scene by taking a story to produce a dramatic activity: a play, musical or film. This will involve funding the project, bringing people together with specific talents, gifts and skills (director, scriptwriter, camera crew, set designers, actors, etc.)  The most crucial aspect of their work is to ensure that all of the artistic talents come together as an efficient group or ‘community of talents.’  When I think about it the two roles are virtually identical!  I bring people together with similar gifts and passions.  I provide funding if necessary and replicate this approach across the area to build resilient, empowered communities.

The film artfully captures the craziness and anarchy that unravels on their rumbustious, creative romp of a journey when building their community of talents.  The net result of their efforts: the musical extravaganza: ‘Spring Time For Hitler’ somehow works!

The important lesson that I take from this is that often what emerges is infinitely better because it’s the journey that people experience when coming together that creates the magic.  I believe that this is what my colleagues and I have learned when working in Ayrshire.  People make things happen when you create the context: set the scene.  They don’t need to be led, they will come up with zany ideas and perhaps go and do things that might seem the wrong thing to do, but actually that’s what makes it work.

The Producers is an ode to the joy of theatre.  Somehow, by working together the ‘hotchpotch’ that emerges magically works out in the end!  Like the best soups whatever the recipe, it’s in the cooking process: the melding together, which produces the magic: taste heaven!  As Community Builders when we bring people together and nurture their creative talents that magical ingredient produces resilient, empowered communities.

It’s important as builders that we recognise that we create opportunity but that it’s the people who shape the story.  It might not have been what we thought it could be but by giving them the opportunity and by purposefully not leading, somehow ‘Spring Time For Hitler’ becomes more than the sum of its parts because of that magical ingredient to make it a thing of joy.

And that’s how it should be.

Stop ‘communicating’; have conversations!

Growing up in Newcastle, I cringed every time my mum or gran struck up a lengthy conversation with strangers about something that seemed small – at the checkout, at the bus stop, on the Metro. Living and working in the West of Scotland has however, reminded me of the crucial part this way of communicating plays in people’s lives.

Whether you call it patter, craic, or banter, you can see and feel the theatre of these little verbal dances. We all share a deep oral tradition, of song and performance; especially in these little conversations that used to embarrass me so much –  watch people, the back and forth, the performance.

“Oooooh the banter” – Chewin’ the Fat’s famous sketch

So what does this mean in terms of our role? When we consider the role of community building there is an inescapable emphasis on having ‘Learning Conversations’ with members of the community: to discover passions, gifts, talents and skills, which can be shared with others in the neighbourhood. The tricky part for the inexperienced community builder is how to begin.

A recent ABCD mentoring session hammered this home, where it was suggested that an ‘elegant community builder doesn’t even mention Asset Based Community Development’ (or something to that effect – funnily enough it was spoken, not written!). So we don’t arrive on the community’s doorsteps trying to start conversations about ABCD, but conversations begin more organically.

Maybe we might start by noticing something unique about someone, asking how they are doing today, offering help with bags, joking about the price of food shopping, or how long it takes for buses, or speaking to their dogs! Firstly we need to learn to enjoy the back and forth, and from there who knows what will happen! Act fast and you might be able to introduce yourself and ask them about the community, or see if you can pop round for a cup of tea.

A recent example of this? On Whitletts Road in Ayr there is a little gem of a bakers. Not because it is the best baker I’ve ever been to, but because there are a couple of tables people stop at while waiting for their order. On a recent rainy day I noticed a guy who came in wearing shorts. I remarked that he was brave going out in shorts, and he joked about me and my woolly hat. In the end he told me he stayed just round the corner so there was no need to wrap up as he’d be back in the house in a minute. When I asked him where about that was, I introduced myself as his community builder and he told me his house number invited me to knock on his door.

Though as community builders our agenda is clear in the conversations – the flow of these conversations should never be staid or formulaic. Just as we don’t look to impose structures on community, we should celebrate the unique nature of each conversation. As we all learn to become more confident in our ability to converse with people in this way, we might want to spend a little time at the pubs, butchers, or bakers and observe the way the community talks to each other…and watch our mums next time they are at the shops.