I’ve found that town-level organizing is satisfying, and a scale where a small group of individuals can help make bigger change.

My town government agreed a few years ago to adopt the sustainablect.org framework, which has a bunch of green/sustainable elements I am really excited about.

Once the town agrees in principle to a framework, you can advocate for policies based on that framework, and mobilize people who are particularly interested in one issue (say, composting!) or another (sidewalk networks! green energy!)

The trick, I think, is to find a framework the town government is willing to support (in principle) with specific changes. The fact that there’s a certification program to go along with the framework that has prestige is really helpful. But really, the core of it all is to find a bunch of folks in your community that want to push things forward towards a goal with a shared vision. Which means that ultimately community organizing is what makes it possible, in my experience.

Start small but regularly.

“First friday of the month, we meet up to talk about the projectand see what we can do. Bring your friends.”

That’s how we started a hackerspace, at a pizzeria once in a month, showing off arduino project, discussing about possibilities. One day, we filled half the restaurant and knew we were ready to find a more permanent home". It took about a year to grow to that point.

Gently, I think. I like to focus on what we can do together, not on what they shouldn’t do. It’s a bit of a mind game, but phrasing things in terms of possibilities and community goes farther than discussing remedial actions-- what people need to stop doing before we face horrible consequences.

Granted once you’ve got them on board, we can discuss the harder subjects that might require we make less fun changes to our lifestyles.

I plan to indoctrinate introduce people in my neighbourhood to solarpunk and grassroots activism by sharing produce from my garden, as an example. Once I have a good rapport with them, it’ll be a lot easier to convince them to make changes. It’s a lot easier to listen to the nice person who gave you a basket of broccoli than it is the person who slashed the tires of your gas-guzzling car. Beyond that, I think just being an example of how solarpunk communities can work is convincing enough.

(Note: I don’t necessarily have an issue with more in-your-face protests like slashing tires, but I do think they serve a different purpose than getting people into a community)

“Think globally, act locally” - or, how do you eat an elephant? Answer; one bite at a time. You pick something you can get your hands around and get to work. You do what you can when you can and don’t second-guess yourself.

Not to speak solely in aphorisms, but Confucius said “If your plan is for a year, plant rice; if your plan is for a decade, plant trees; if your plan is for a century, educate children.” So educate others about your activities when you can and lead by example the rest of the time.