How To Start a Permacomputing Collective
This is a guide brewed from conversations with initiatives in London (UK), Berlin (DE), Prague (CZ), Philadelphia (USA), Rotterdam (NL), Vienna (AT), Lutruwtia (Tas/AU), County Mayo (IE) and a community from Middle America gathering on servers. This text can support you when starting a permacomputing collective. We use fermenting as a metaphor. It isn’t a strict recipe but more of a loose framework that can be freely modified to suit local tastes and conditions. Many actions are cyclical and can be seen as opportunities to revisit or re-purpose later.
Fermenting as a model for collective action
On why we like to think of starting collectives as a brewing/fermentation process
Fermentation is a method, a slow, interde…
How To Start a Permacomputing Collective
This is a guide brewed from conversations with initiatives in London (UK), Berlin (DE), Prague (CZ), Philadelphia (USA), Rotterdam (NL), Vienna (AT), Lutruwtia (Tas/AU), County Mayo (IE) and a community from Middle America gathering on servers. This text can support you when starting a permacomputing collective. We use fermenting as a metaphor. It isn’t a strict recipe but more of a loose framework that can be freely modified to suit local tastes and conditions. Many actions are cyclical and can be seen as opportunities to revisit or re-purpose later.
Fermenting as a model for collective action
On why we like to think of starting collectives as a brewing/fermentation process
Fermentation is a method, a slow, interdependent process shaped by invisible collaborators. Like microbes that preserve and transform, our work ferments beneath the surface, unfolding, unfinished.
Fermentation starts spontaneously. Until the 19th century invention of industrial yeast, most ferments were based on ambient yeasts already present in the environment. When it comes to organising, there is no need for years of planning or institutional support to get a community started. We just need a little bit of initiative. 1.
Fermentation is a multiplying process. A tiny bit of yeast, when fed properly, can take over a huge vat. A nourished community can develop and grow. 1.
Fermentation has momentum. Once you get it going, all you have to do is keep the conditions right. Groups and collectives caring for the right conditions, a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere and a code of conduct for example, keep their momentum. 1.
Fermentation can go dormant and be restarted. When energy levels temporarily dwindle, the group activity slows until a new impulse arrives. 1.
Fermentation is symbiotic - aim for accessibility and intersectionality - connect with other groups and welcome people with related interests and politics, yet with varying backgrounds and perspectives.
Like a fermentation process, this guide invites interaction and transformation. Apply it in parts or as a whole, start where it feels right.
Don’t panic, organise!
Start where it makes sense for you.