Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If the group composition is similar to the first meeting, have everyone quickly restate their name and the or-
ganization they represent (if any). If there are new participants, ask them to introduce themselves and, if ap-
plicable, their organization, and to give a brief overview of their interest in the garden.
ACTION ITEM(S)
The action item for this meeting is a two-part design charrette. You can either explain the charrette process to
the group, or distribute a handout with a description of the process, or both.
Charrette (pronounced
shuh-ret
) is French for “chariot,” and refers to a process in which a group designs
or creates something collaboratively. Using this process, it can take several meetings to come to consensus.
The heart of the idea is that small groups work on an element of the design and present it to the bigger group.
A successful charrette promotes joint ownership of solutions, and attempts to diffuse confrontational atti-
tudes that often arise when community assets are involved—in this case, shared garden space.
The process begins by organizing a visioning exercise with your community. Each of your gardeners and
participants will have a chance to present an image of their ideal garden, after which the community as a
whole can get down to brass tacks and make a plan for the garden—one that, hopefully, incorporates some
part of everyone's dreams!
RECAP
This was hard work! Congratulate everyone on their efforts. Encourage people to share comments and talk
about how this process made them feel.
NEXT STEPS
These will depend on where you wound up in your design process. You might be done with the design phase
after this meeting, you might need to have other meetings, or you might need to have a subgroup or a profes-
sional take the best elements of a few consensus-driven designs and incorporate those elements into one mas-
ter design. Only you will know the best approach at this juncture.
CALENDAR
Find a time for the next meeting or reiterate a predetermined date.
WRAP-UP
This is heavy-duty work. Chances are, people are tired. Recognize the work the group accomplished. If it
was tough, bring that up (never shy away from acknowledging what some might consider a challenging ex-
perience). If it was joyous, bring that up. Whatever vibe happened during this time, bring it up. This is also a
good time to look to the future. Sure, you may all be planning in a church basement in the dead of winter but
in three, six, or twelve months, the garden that you collectively dreamed up will be an asset to the commu-
nity. This is exciting stuff! And, as always, a heartfelt thank-you is in order. And, maybe, hugs all around!
HANG OUT
If you're not all exhausted and ready to get away from each other or go home and collapse, consider a de-
compression drink at a local gathering place. Or just hang for a few minutes, clean up, and see if anyone has
any comments.
DESIGN CHARRETTE BREAKOUT
