Our current economic system is part of the problem, so the Lifeboat Academy is creating a modern legal alternative to give life to commons based on Fair Share principles and Elinor Ostrom’s rules for the commons. It is a social enterprise that “earns its keep” while at the same time caring for the land and those who depend on it.
The project models financial resilience by incorporating lean methodology and multiple income streams including farmstays, food production, value-added food services, online learners, and special events and workshops. Profits are re-invested in farm / community infrastructure.
Our commitment to creating social benefits is built into our Rules of Association and our status as a community services cooperative.
Stakeholders, Shares and Legal Structure
As a multi-stakeholder cooperative, we are structured to balance the needs and contributions of diverse groups of partners, all needed to make the project work. Our innovative share structure recognizes and respects the different “stakes” in the game by creating twinned share types that represent the legal and financial stake in the game AND the “boots on the ground” stake. We tie this to the idea of the fair share footprint and a belief that care of the land is a responsibility of “ownership.” It allows us to recognize the different needs and concerns of each stakeholder.
Sociocracy, Circle Process, and Restorative Governance
We govern ourselves the same way we ask land and people to relate to each other: through consent, not control. Decisions move through circles organized around specific areas of the work, with an Interim Stewardship Council holding the whole picture during this founding phase. When there’s conflict or disagreement, we lean on restorative process rather than formal grievance procedures — the aim is repair and continued relationship, not a winner and a loser.
Commitment Pools
Commitment Pooling is a time-based accounting system, adapted from a model pioneered by Will Rudnick in Kenya. We track the hours members put into producing goods and services for a shared pool, with each contribution valued by the time it took to make it. Members draw from the pool as they need to; non-members can buy in at market rates, and that income feeds a shared fund. At the end of each cycle, we settle up — draw more than you put in, and you make up the difference; put in more than you draw, and you get a share of the fund. The ideal homesteader comes out roughly even. It’s a clear, fair way to account for who’s contributed what. None of it works, though, without the trust our governance holds underneath it.
If you’re curious for more details, check out the Nitty-Gritty or schedule a one-on-one meeting to talk it thru.
Support the Lifeboat Academy
We are committed to transition economics and attempt to avoid capitalist market entanglements as much as possible, preferring self-reliance, barter, and mutual aid networks. As part of this commitment, all our work is freely offered, and we ask that folks consider paying it forward – that if you feel you’ve benefited benefit from our lifeboat building support, and you have the means, you donate an amount that feels appropriate to our Pay-It-Forward Fund. This helps us pay our bills and continue to offer support and resources.
Thanks for your reciprocity!