How it works.

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Our local community is a lot bigger than one might think. That becomes clear every time there is an emergency and the network is needed. I've never really thought about writing down my process and the concept, but maybe it's interesting for some folks, and maybe, just maybe, it might inspire someone. Help is always needed. Community is always needed.

My friend A. lives in a community and is very involved there. She's the godmother of on of the children of the community president, so she was a perfect link in the network. They just loaded a little under 200 buns in the car.

Building the network

I’m living in Cotacachi for over 10 years now, and in that time I established a vast network of contacts all over the place. The first and still core component is the expat community, as my style of baking initially catered principally to them. That has changed over the years. At the same time, I have and had many relationships with Ecuadorians as well as the local indigenous population, the Kichwa. That goes from work over friends to love. I’ve always been quite social, so to speak.

I’m a tad curious too and like to know a little more about people. A network alone is great, but it’s even more valuable when you know what those people can do, what they like – if you know the individual behind the face, even a little. What helped me a lot with that is being considerate – not falling for grumpy or rude behavior, being friendly even though the other isn’t, until they finally are.

Another important part is not to be overly political. I have my opinions, but I mostly listen. I found out that most people have a common utopia, that they really want the best for everyone – but very different ways of getting there, and that is generally what they fight over. And, this is important – when push comes to shove they all pull together, in the same direction.

The soft buns. Made with fortified flour. Not a beacon of nutrition, but it's what people like and fills them at least somewhat. Many don't know what to do with our whole grain bread, nor do they like it. That, too is important - the help provided has to be adapted to the receiver.

When push comes to shove

Let’s say I know 100 people (I know a lot more…), and those know another 100 each. That makes my reach to be at least 10,000 people on the second level, though there is probably some overlap. Still, that means that I can quickly get in touch with the vast majority of people in Cotacachi. During emergencies, I generally use that network to distribute donations that mainly come from the expat community.

Since it's not our first rodeo, I had people reaching out to me asking how they could help even before I wrote a post. Some donated money to my bakery so we would convert it into soft buns for the elderly and other people in need. By the way, that’s in my opinion the best way to make the most of your donation – buy products from a local producer (who employs locals) and hand it to the people in need. The positive impact on your local economy is doubled by that. Anyway.

We produce the bread non-profit, meaning, we only charge the ingredients and the work of the baker, but I as an owner do not make any monetary profit – it helps to pay the bills and creates work, so I don’t make any loss, either.

I now reach out to the people I know in the communities. Or to people who know people in the communities. It usually doesn’t take long, and I have a list of many, many people in need of support, food wise. Example: A works for my friend B. A comes from the community XYZ, and additionally her sister works in the local hospital. I ask B if she could ask A to identify people in need in and around her community. A asks her sister, and the latter gives her a list of 50 names of people in dire conditions, reduced to either single mothers, elderly or many children. We prepare the bread, and B (who fortunately can transport that much) takes the bread to A, and A and her mother distribute.

B's husband, carrying a little over 100 buns to A on their electric scooter.

The politics

I need to be as impartial as possible. Not only pretend to be, but have it in my mindset. The idea is to help humans for being in need, for being humans, disregarding their political stance or values or whatever is generally used to separate us. To effectively do so, I must be focused on just that. That is not easy at all, especially right now, where everyone is hyper-emotional and nobody seems to have the head space to think clearly. I try not to get into those vent-exchanges (can’t really call it discussion), especially not in public, as that could fall back negatively on both the ability to help or on me as a person and my business. If I write, I try to keep it focused on information, like in this post about some of the background of the current situation.

In that sense, the biggest thing I get out of helping is focusing on something good in all the mess that emergency situations usually are. Focusing on what I can do, the things that are within my power, and do them. Oh, and peas. I got a bag of freshly harvested peas, and hugs, and many thankful smiles.

It’s worth it.

The peas. Because, why not. Pictures of peas are outrageously underrepresented on Hive.

(Click here for another post about how our community works)


What are your thoughts about this topic? How do you build community? How do you establish and work your network? Please feel free to engage in any original way, including dropping links to your posts on similar topics. I'm happy to read (and curate) any quality content that is not created by LLM/AI, as well as read your own experience and point of view, I love to learn!



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9 comments
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I have seen the bread 🍞 of life again 😳😳

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This is great!! Reminds me of my dad who's super outgoing. He knows the market vendors, school staff, neighbors, everyone. We always tease him that if he ran for politics, he’d win 😂 It’s amazing how having those connections makes helping and being helped in the community so much easier.

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(Edited)

It is kind of great. And it can go a long way when used for the good 😊

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I do find myself struggling to be impartial for those in need. I get it that everyone is human, but if I only have so much to give, I want it to make impact where it has the most chance of having knock-on impacts. It weighs on me.

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It's relatively easy here, as there is a huge amount of very poor people. But I know what you mean, I've struggled with that a few times, too.

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Is there a significant middle-class?

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You missed the key part at the end of this "linked in" post - and here's what it taught me about b2b sales.

Everyone has a point of view. Everyone has a motivator. Mostly, we just want to be happy and feel loved, and have our basic needs met.

People can have nothing and be happy. People can have everything and be miserable.

There is only so much time we all have the planet, and I feel that we should celebrate that time, not bicker over our differences.

Thanks for the thoughtful post. Stop posting pictures of bread, it makes me want carbs tho, like, entire vehicles full of them. "fortified bread" just gives me further justification that I should. ...

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(Edited)

I feel good helping. There are a lot more perks, of course. Building community this way also means that I'm able to rely on the community. During the pandemic, I was doing so much more than now. And Lily and her mom got stuck in Colombia. I was able to get them on one of the very few repatriation planes, and it cost me a lot of money - just that it didn't, someone out of my community paid for it. Just handed me an envelope with $500 in cash, hugged my like there was no tomorrow and told me to get my daughter back here. I still get wet eyes remembering that.

And that's just one way that I receive back. I got lucky enough to really get back tenfold what I give, not directly, but around 10 corners. I'm able to be happy.

And I'll start posting more pictures of peas now. They're a very healthy food, and well balanced in their nutritious value.

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