we need each other. that's the point.

what is the village?

A village is the web of people around us whose wellbeing is bound up with our own. A few generations ago, most of our relatives lived this way: they shared tools, watched each other’s kids, and showed up when someone got sick, because survival depended on the people nearby.

Capitalism pulled that apart on purpose. It taught us we each need our own drill, our own car, our own house, and that our neighbors, poor people and immigrants are the ones taking our piece of the pie. When we stop needing each other, we stop having a stake in each other. Along the way, whole groups were pushed out: disabled people, queer people, people with mental illness, people caught in the prison system, elders and houseless neighbors. Rebuilding the village means bringing them back in, because everyone deserves care and everyone has something to offer.

People who know each other can move faster than any institution, as Minnesota proved when neighbors who already had each other’s numbers delivered groceries, covered rent and showed up for each other within minutes. Every relationship we build is a small reflection of the world we want: relationships become groups, groups become communities, and communities build the power to win. Voting is defense; organizing is offense. The village is where both begin, and it’s how we’ll weather the next crisis together instead of alone.

why does community matter right now?

The climate crisis isn't a future problem. It's drying up drinking water, displacing people, and breaking records for heat, drought, and fire. At the same time, we're living through the rise of fascism. That is not a coincidence. The people at the very top can see the disasters coming and are pulling every cent they can out of the hands of working people and out of the planet.

Know these things. But don't dwell on them. Now is the time for action and radical imagination.

what did we lose?

A few generations ago, most of our ancestors lived in ways that depended on the people right around them. Capitalism tries to convince us we don't need anyone else: we all need our own drills and mixers and cars and houses. When we don't need each other to survive, we stop having a stake in each other's wellbeing. Then we're told our neighbors, poor people, and immigrants are the ones taking our piece of the pie.

what is interdependence?

Interdependence is the understanding that our wellbeing is bound up with the people around us. It means relying on each other for care, skills, and resources, and acting when anyone in the community is not getting their needs met.

who has been pushed out of our villages?

Disabled people, mentally ill people, queer people, and people caught in the prison system have been taken from our villages. We can't rebuild interdependence without holding the people our society decided weren't worth care. Elders are our knowledge keepers. Service workers keep us fed and cared for. Houseless neighbors are people our communities failed.

why does small, local work matter for big problems?

adrienne maree brown writes about fractals in Emergent Strategy: small patterns that reflect the whole. It's hard to change the world. But you can build relationships that are small reflections of the world you want, and those relationships build groups, and groups build communities. This isn't instead of other political action. Voting is defense. Organizing is offense. We need both.

is hope naive?

As Mariame Kaba says, hope is not optimism. Hope is a discipline we practice every day. And as Ricardo Levins Morales put it, "If the asks aren't powerful, the work can't be life giving." Imagine big. Then build.