ONE|Boulder & The Domains

Activating Boulder's Soul Purpose

ONE|Boulder is a growing community of individuals and organizations who are collaboratively stewarding a commons for the benefit of all.

We've boldly gone beyond self-interest and are stepping into mutual aid as the foundation of how we live, work and play together, recognizing that a rising tide lifts all ships.

Current Action: Start an urban community center to study authentic relating, professional development, and emergent leadership and open a neighboring Urban Farm Stand to help people learn regenerative skills and turn their homesite into a homestead, one step at a time. Add to that a farm we started from seed, whose produce we prepare meals out of in our commercial kitchen, and you’re looking at the current state of ONE|Boulder.

Eventual Aim: radically increase the success rate of land based intentional community projects (ecovillages) around Boulder and prove a city of 100,000 has a real shot at localizing its essentials for living and thriving by strategically leveraging the production capacity of it's land and people for the benefit of all.

For the last several years we've been laying the foundations of an alliance to support mutual thriving at scale. Our first mission is to establish a resilient community of practice here in Boulder, one that meaningfully adapts to systemic change and bridges differing perspectives to bring people together and meet our common needs locally. Even more important than WHAT we do is HOW we do it, so we use techniques inspired by decades of authentic relating, intentional community building and regenerative culture to tend our relations. We also use over 40 years of wisdom developed in the emergency response community to support the effective coordination of our projects.

One of the things that sets us apart from other communities is a grounded balance between transformation and action. ONE|Boulder exists to localize our Essentials for Thriving (EFTs), to lay a solid foundation and connect directly to the source of what we need to survive and thrive in our daily lives. We aim to rewrite some core assumptions about money & power by investing in our local community and developing regenerative means of production. We call our efforts "EPICs" (shorthand for Events, Projects, Incidents & Campaigns) and use the EPIC Coordination System to support the development of EFT projects.

Domains

Ongoing EPICs are called Domains and ONE|Boulder currently consists of four:

ONE|Riverside - our home in the heart of the city, open to Members for co-working, collaboration & community events from 9am-5pm, Mondays through Fridays.

ONE|Corps - a unified service force, trained in the EPIC Coordination System, and providing professional services to ONE|Boulder and its Members. We help turn people's passions into their professions with a full team of business support.

The Urban Farm Stand - our regenerative storefront and one-stop shop for everything needed to turn urban homesites into urban homesteads. We host classes, events, and Saturday Block Parties.

The Farm - our little piece of heaven and home to thousands of plants we started from seed this spring. We are producing vegetables and medicine and offering it through our Meal Program and at The Urban Farm Stand.

We are currently at the front lines of transitioning business strategy into a new game, where success is predicated on the effective coordination and inspired participation of community members. Yes, it can be scary and complicated, but the promise of reaching the other side - a practical means to thrive in local communities and supporting conditions for ongoing survival on this planet - are so worth it. The other two businesses we are working with but are not fully part of ONE|Boulder (yet) are:

The Chefs Collective - a growing collective of chefs who operate out of the commercial kitchen in The Riverside Building and currently offer a daily meal program (available at a discount for ONE|Boulder Members) and a range of handmade snacks and treats at The Urban Farm Stand.

Riverside Events - the private events business (weddings, corporate events, special occasions) that has been the primary operations at The Riverside for the last several years and occupies the building on nights and weekends.

Starting A Domain

New Domains that expand The Game can be proposed by a Steward at any time. There are a few things that need to be in place, including a succession plan for their current domain, a proposed Management Team and additional elements, such as Staff, Space & Stipend, will need to be discussed. New Domains are created with Steward consent (see Decision Making Process for more information) and with input from Regenerators.

Launching A Project

New Projects that would benefit the community can be proposed by any Player on Cobudget at any time. This platform allows a Project Creator to set a minimum $USD (and/or Points) funding target to launch. The community then pledges as inspired until the project is fully funded at which point the project launches.

Everything we do is designed to mimic natural systems and integrate the supply chain. We are strong advocates of circular and regenerative systems. For example:

Over the past 3 months we have started thousands of seeds and planted them at a farm that will feed hundreds in the coming months. We are preparing meals in our commercial kitchen and are building a local distribution network to deliver to your door. Garden starter kits and consultations, as well as prepared foods, will be sold at The Stand. This will ensure easier and more affordable access to locally-grown, beyond organic food - one yard at a time.