A vision of the Sumac Centre as a centre for local resistance to the global onslaught, as a catalyst for the greening of Forest Fields and a springboard for direct action.

This discussion document is just what it says, it is a vision. It isn’t a blueprint for the future nor a formula for how we behave now. I’m also aware that getting this place together has been extremely hard work and we can’t jump straight to anyone’s idealised version of what the Sumac Centre should be. But I also don’t believe that it is pie in the sky fantasy and the actions we take now will affect what kind of space we create in the future.

For this project to work we, the tired and almost burnt out, need more community involvement in the centre. This means both a greater use of the space when it is open to the public (the bar and the café), but also a greater ownership and involvement of the people around us in the running of this space. I don’t think we do this by toning down our politics but by being more upfront about them. Now I’m not suggesting we have pictures of riots and tortured cats on the wall, I still want this to be a nice space to use, but we need to be more open and honest as to why we do this, how we work and what we believe. It is our greatest hook. It is what distinguishes us from other bars and cafes and why people chose to eat or drink here over other places, that are often more exciting or better decorated. It is also the reason why we work here, and so it is probably fair to assume it is why other people might too. Why would you give up your Saturday to work unpaid in a café unless you saw it as part of a bigger plan?

We also need to become more relevant to the community around us, and to be seen by them as a benefit to them. People, apart from the mad few, tend not to get involved in a project unless they can see how it will benefit them or their area. In the long term, I would like to see this space as a place that helps to breakdown the local community’s dependence on the institutions that oppress and coerce us all, by providing them with alternatives. As an organising space for mutual aid and co-operation. As a space for the creation and the promotion of the alternative economy. As a space where local needs are identified and then provided for. Where we can pass on skills we have developed to other people. Then we truly would be a centre of resistance.

The best example of this currently happening here is the local credit union. Hopefully the Eco-teams idea may well be something similar. But we need to look at what already happens here and how we can extend this out to benefit more people. Lembas deliver here once a week, so why don’t we have a wholefood co-op. We understand how co-ops work, so why don’t we provide training on setting up both housing and workers co-ops. If we get sources of cheap renewable energy for the outbuildings, why not provide it for immediate neighbours. We have been involved in LETs schemes in the past, so why not set up a useful Forest Fields centred LETs scheme. We have the greenest garden in the area, and have friends with lots of gardening skills, so why not provide training on growing your own food in a small space or urban gardens. We could probably take cuttings from our more established bushes and plants, or collect seeds from our self-seeders and give them away for donations. We certainly could produce enough compost here to set up a local community-composting scheme.

The last couple of ideas brings me onto another important thing for us to be involved in, the greening of Forest Fields. Forest Fields is one of the most ecologically deprived areas of Nottingham. There are few trees in the streets; most people have small yards with few if any plants growing in them. All of which alienates people from the natural world. As a group of people, who tend to have a love of wilderness, green spaces and even small ecological niches, we should be doing our best to break down this alienation. Our garden could be a way to do this. The garden should be an area we concentrate on, not only in making it as productive, wildlife sensitive and pretty as possible, but also in terms of getting other people involved in its creation. Once we have done this and, hopefully, inspired other people then we can start to outreach, by providing training, compost and hopefully plants.

Lastly I think this centre should be a springboard for direct action. This means inspiring more people to take direct action, passing on the skills that are necessary and supporting people that do this. There are many ways we can do this, and some we are already doing. The availability of propaganda is one thing we are already doing and is probably the best outreach we have done in Nottingham for a long time.

The centre should be used for more political meetings, with a space for advertising political events that are happening here. More gatherings should take place here, we are ideally located geographically for this, and have the great use of this space and NED’s to enable this to happen. These gatherings should be well advertised locally to increase local participation in some of the more exciting things that happen here.

A lot of the activists involved in the centre have a whole host of direct actions skills, which could be passed on to others by activists training days. Which as well as introducing people to the concept of direct action will make people feel more comfortable with taking it. This could be in conjunction with the idea of a Sumac monthly action. If the action for this month were an office occupation, an afternoon spent talking through things you can do on an office occupation would be extremely valuable. If it’s a blockade, then a couple of hours practising tripods in the yard, will enable people to feel more secure in doing this. I’m really excited by the concept of a once a month open Sumac action and hope that it will provide energy to burnt out activists and inspire more people to take direct action.

The centre also could play an extremely important role in supporting direct action. This will become easier when the resource centre is open, but we do have a quite extensive library, up to date information on a lot of issues and are linked in to a wider network. We need to find ways to make this information more easily available. We could also be extremely useful in being a place where people create leaflets, websites and campaign materials. if our facilities improved and were not so much like swimming through glue. We need to apply for funding so we have a working photocopier, printers and scanners. We also need a computer network that is up and running and doesn’t keep on crashing, which will require more people becoming involved in the computer group.

In short this centre could be a really positive space run for the benefit of the local community, a space to encourage more growing and a space which inspires and helps people take direct action. The main thing we need to do is to remember this and be honest and upfront, that this is what we are trying to do.

Note:

This 'vision' was prepared for the Sumac Visioning Meeting held in September 2003.

Bring your ideas to the Visioning Meeting to be held at the Sumac Centre on Saturday 18th December 2010