Offerings
We can do a lot. Our toolbox is based on our long engagement with alternative, ecological, and personal growth practices for community building. Because of this, every engagement is tailor-made to the community we are working with. Scroll through our offerings below to get an idea of some of the ways we have worked in the past – and what we can do for you now.
Programs
Community festivals
Having hosted different community events around the world, we find them to be a great format to bring people together because a festival is so versatile – you can engage in conversation, games, sharing of food, and many other simple and joyous activities. This lowers the threshold for participation, making it accessible to all. Some of our events are done on a yearly basis, creating a set moment every year for your community to come together.
Sharing circles
Sometimes the most powerful way to connect is to share. We have hosted many sharing circles – spaces in which people come together, held by a facilitator, to exchange thoughts and ideas on a variety of topics. Because in the circle we listen and speak with attention, everyone can be heard and we have an opportunity to learn from each other.
Workshops
The facilitators of POP have a wide range of skills at their disposal and are happy to come and share these. We can guide you on wide-ranging topics from proper waste segregation and growing your own food, all the way to collective decision-making and compassionate communication. You can find a list of the topics we cover below.
Human library
Have you ever wondered what that interesting-looking lady in your locality is doing for a living? The Human Library helps you discover the stories that live right on your doorstep. This event invites the community to come together and read the ‘book’ of somebody else’s life. This helps a group of people to get to know each other and to challenge any stereotypes or judgments they might have about each other.
Potlucks and community food events
We do different experiments to bring people together around food, as it’s one of the easiest ways to come together. We help you host community potlucks – where everybody brings their own dish – or set up a food fair where you can exchange recipes and dishes.
Youth empowerment
Young minds are the most receptive minds. We talk to these young people about many things they might not learn at schools or home, on topics like curiosity, stereotyping, and happiness. We take them through different experiential learning activities and have them meet unsung heroes – social entrepreneurs, leading off-beat alternative lifestyles, and some committed to unique initiatives.
Retreats
Over the years, we have done a variety of retreats, depending on the needs of the group – connecting to nature, connecting to each other, reflecting on life, aging, and whatever else the participants want to discuss. Our retreats are usually set out in nature and combine fun and play with deep
Topics
We host talks and workshops on the below topics, so we will happily bring any of these into your community. If you want to set up an event around anything else, please reach out and we will explore if someone in our network has the knowledge and skills to make it happen!
Initiatives
Besides events – which usually happen once – we can also help you set up initiatives to grow your community in the long term. A few ideas can be found here:
Harmony Homes
Harmony Homes is a space for abundance – a space to reconnect to the richness of our lives. Instead of offering an anonymous hotel experience, people to get to know each other by sharing food, activities, and conversation. The place encourages open communication, shared experiences, and the opportunity to build relationships that extend beyond your stay. We currently run one Harmony Home in Bir, Himachal Pradesh. Harmony Homes is part of the gift economy – you contribute what feels right to you, no pressure.
Free Store
A Free Store is a local space where people can bring their unused goods – so that anybody else in the community can benefit, without cost, from another person’s plenty. The Free Store is an environmentally friendly initiative because it reduces waste and helps limit consumption. It also creates a sense of solidarity in the community and provides a platform for collective work in managing the Store.
Karma Café
At the Karma Café, you don’t pay! Instead, you pay it forward – while every bill amounts to zero, you are asked to contribute to the meal of the next person who drops by. The Karma Café helps us break out of society’s economic patterns by not just paying for goods and services, but instead, to contribute to another person’s experience, to whatever extent one can.
Saree library
In India, privileged women tend to have a large amount of sarees that they rarely wear. At the same time, all women are expected to spend a lot of money on sarees for the many events of daily life – marriages, birthdays, and burials. The Saree Library gives a space where underprivileged women can come and borrow beautiful sarees that would have otherwise gone unused, helping these women increase their social and economic capital.
Farmer’s Market
One of our concerns is to bring people closer to their local producers of food, as this helps reduce carbon emissions and brings greater connectivity into a neighborhood. A Farmer’s Market is a great way to bring producers and community together on a regular basis, to support agriculture near you, reduce emissions, and gather around the bounty of your locality.
Library of Things
We have so many things in our houses – and some of those, we only use every once in a while. The Library of Things is a place where you can take these objects ‘on loan’, and return them once you are done.
Setting up community spaces
Once a community has a dedicated space to gather, play, and connect, it tends to start filling that space with collective interests and projects. Having a place like that to manage and use together can make all the difference! We are happy to support you to set up a community space that makes sense to the needs of your community, so that everyone will feel welcome and invited.