Community 1st

Creating practical sustainbility projects (using the one planet living framework) around Bristol by bringing together graduates, communities and business (to fund the graduates) and mentors.

By creating the model which is similar to Teach First (UK's largest graduate recruiter) allows the development of community based projects at a speed that is desperately needed.

Examples of projects:

Street markets such as North Street Fayre or East Street Market.

Community asset mapping

Community energy projects

Food growing 

Skill sharing

One Planet Bristol projects

Bristol faces a big gap between the rich and the poor and needs some good things to show for Green Capital 2015  tackling Bristol's environmental challanges.

Graduates need to know that there's more to life than a desk job and to do something useful whilst learning lots in the process.

The transition movment showed there is a big demand to develop community based projects and Community 1st will create the framework and model to allow this to happen.

Community based projects are chosen due to several factors:

1. They provide the greatest value and impact both in terms of traditional return on investment and when using triple bottom line indicators compared to business or state solutions.

2. Motivate the local community to take on bigger challenges and responibsility for their area of the city.

3. Bring together a wide range of people which increases interdisciplinary projects, networking, and personal and collective growth and understanding.

4. Moves from power centric projects led by traditional business, local authority and often chairites to heart centric projects that are developed with the community and then passed over to them once they're up and running.

People have the skills and knowledge in their communities to be manifesting a lot more projects than are currently happening. 

Teach First is the largest graduate recruiter in the UK and so using their model to develop community projects is a good way to start.

The idea of community projects needs updating and developing and Community 1st is a way to do that. Let's go through each of the one planet living principles and see how it can be updated:

Local & Sustainable Food: Our food systems need updating. Where are all the aquaponics projects? Where's the Bristol Supermarket or online Bristol marketplace? Where are all the vertical farms?

Local & Sustainable Materials: Why don't we manufacture more useful things in Bristol... what about electric cars made in Bristol? How about open sourced models that create straw bale and compressed earth brick buildings? What about using shipping containers?

Sustainable transport Every year thousands more people could be cycling. Constant cycling promotion. Access to electric bikes and constant building of new and better cycle paths. The big one...trying to make sustainable transport fun! Where's the Bristol Oyster card? 

Sustainable Water. Why don't we make the harbour a natural oasis, wildlife hub and a place to swim in rather than a polluted wasteland. Creating new and amazing closed loop grey water systems for home appliances like washing machines and dishwashers rather than sending it miles to the sewage works?

Natural Habitats & Wildlife Why don't all buildings have green roofs? Bee and wildlife friendly gardens? All parks could have wildlife areas with ponds? More wildlife corridors?

Culture and heritage What about a Bristol carnival that tours the city. Every high street could have street markets. Close the M32 for the day for a Bristol street party! Zip wires across the Avon gorge?

Equity and Fairtrade Turning energy from corporate owned to community owned. Every community could have community owned shops? Why is it so hard to buy fairtrade clothing in Broadmead and Cabot Circus? 

Health & happiness City based on people's happiness and then economic growth. Everyone should have the ability to do a job that is useful and fills them with joy. Health could be active prevention like community based outdoor exercise skill sharing rather than waiting till people get ill.

That's just a few ideas the list is really endless!