Red Pepper » Guerrilla guides

How to avoid burnout

admin — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 12:59:30 +0000

We all know the warning signs. There’s a crucial opportunity, some amazing ideas and only a handful of people to do a lot of work. You carry on regardless, you’re committed people, you’ll make it happen, no matter how exhausted you get. The highs immediately after finishing a project or having a win are regularly followed by a quick, sharp comedown combined with the feeling that you need to hibernate for . . . ever?
Burnout can also involve the more subtle equation of ongoing workload and destructive attitudes and behaviours, regardless of whether everything’s kicking off. It is important to ask how can we work sustainably, both individually and collectively.
Support each other
Take time to hear how others in your group are doing. While people might react by claiming they ‘don’t have time to discuss feelings, with so many things to do’ it’s important to know how your co-conspirators are doing. What’s going on in the rest of their lives that may affect their behaviour in the group? How are they feeling about the direction of a campaign? If the size of the task you’ve set yourselves seems insurmountable, or your group’s had a setback, it can help to share these feelings, hear that others are feeling the same way and find ways to support each other. Doing things socially with others in your group can also be a good way to avoid isolation.
Be realistic
Don’t take on everything. Take the time to plan, try to do it as far in advance as possible and consider whether ideas are truly realistic with the timescale and organisers you have. Is it actually going to be possible to overthrow global capitalism by the end of the year? If you know organisers’ availability and individual time limits, from the start to the finish of a project, you can decide whether to scale it back or try to get more people involved if necessary.
Identify group members’ skills, knowledge and ways of working
Getting a sense of the skills, strengths, weaknesses and gaps in your group can help you be aware of your limitations. If only one person knows how to do a specific task it can soon become a burden. Build skill sharing into roles and action points, so a job can be rotated. Learning new skills can be an empowering way for people to get involved.
Know your own limits
Trust your instincts and know your capacity. When an action point is left hanging in protracted silence, the person who takes it on is often the individual who finds that situation most uncomfortable, rather than the person with any capacity to get the task done. It’s okay for your response to be ‘no’ instead of assuming you’ll just cope on five hours sleep instead of six. If some members of a group are happy saying ‘no’ in meetings this makes it easier for everyone to be realistic about their own time. Within your group ensure people know their choices will be respected and supported and that they won’t be judged by others even if they don’t have much capacity. If no one can take on a crucial action point maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the scale of the project and/or make a concerted effort to recruit more organisers.
Do and learn, do and learn, etc
Making the same mistakes is demoralising and de-motivating – feelings that are closely associated with burnout. The best way to make sure this doesn’t happen is to learn from your mistakes. Put time into debriefing after events and actions. Discuss what worked well and what didn’t and identify things to change for next time. Then make sure you use this information in future plans; important insights are too often left languishing on carefully folded pieces of flipchart paper. This process can be really useful for groups to stay energised and inspired.
Do what you love
Don’t underestimate the importance of taking personal motivations into account when thinking about your group’s strategy. No matter how much someone ‘believes in the cause’, it’s much more likely that they’ll stick around if the things they get to do are the things they are passionate about. If your time is continually occupied with tasks you don’t enjoy, why wouldn’t you end up bitter, bored and indifferent? At times we all have to do things we don’t like doing, but make sure those aren’t the only things someone does. Doing what you love also applies to taking time for yourself and remembering it’s important to have a life outside activism!
London Roots Collective is a new workshops, training and facilitation collective working with grassroots community and activist groups. One of the workshops it offers is on working sustainably and avoiding burnout. Illustration by Cressida Knapp

Starting a workers’ co-op

admin — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 10:00:54 +0000

Taking control of our own lives is the first step in the fight against the massive injustices and ecological devastation facing the world. Big companies and unaccountable governments may rule the planet but it doesn’t have to be this way. Workers’ co-ops give us a chance to change a small but significant part of how things are. They’re one way to take back an important part of our lives and gain control over how we work, not to mention the impact our work has on others and our environment.
Workers’ co-ops are part of the co-operative family – democratic, member-owned enterprises set up for the benefit of the members and the wider community. In a workers’ co-op only people working in the organisation can be members, so it’s the people doing the work who have the say.
Starting a workers’ co-op is exciting and rewarding but also full of challenges. It’s like setting up any other business, except you’re doing it as a collective. Don’t underestimate the huge amounts of time, commitment and learning that setting up a business can take! The steps below will give you a guide to what work you need to do to get your co-op up and running.
1. Your idea and the group
The first thing to do is to work on the foundations that your co-op will be built on. Develop and test your aims and business ideas; work out whether a co-op is the right way of working together, and how you’re going to make decisions together. Will you make decisions by consensus or will you vote? One of the hardest parts is to get together the people with the right skills and attitude – get this bit right and you’ll have a great collective ready to face the exciting but uncertain year ahead.
2. Your business plan
You’ll need to put your business head on, and it’s a good idea to seek advice on your business planning and legal stuff. Do your market research. How much can you sell for how much? How will you market your products or service? Where will you make and sell it? What about working conditions: pay, hours, holidays? Will you have a committee or collective management? Do the financial planning, so you know how much start up capital you’ll need and when you can expect to start breaking even.
3. Money and paperwork
You’ll need to choose a name and register your co-op. There are organisations that can help you do this, such as Radical Routes, Co-operatives UK and the Co-operative Enterprise Hub. They can also help you sort out your finance – ask them about loan stock, and where to get loans. Make sure you’ve got your start up money in your new bank account, that premises and equipment are ready and the insurance sorted. You’ll need to tell HMRC when you’ve started trading and that you are employing people, and if relevant, register for VAT. Double check all the paperwork: membership, employment, accounting etc.
4. Launching your co-op
So now you officially exist and can start doing what you set out to do, whether that’s baking bread, mending bikes or installing IT infrastructure. Get out there and spread the word! You can make a virtue of the fact you’re a workers’ co-operative in your marketing and encourage people to support the solidarity economy. And don’t forget to buy services and supplies from other co‑operatives where you can.
5. At the end of the first year
When you’ve survived a year of trading, and hopefully things are settling down, you’ll have a good idea of whether things are going to work out well. At the end of the first year you’ll need to prepare your accounts and send them with your tax return to HMRC and your annual return to your regulator (Companies House or the FCA). Fill in all the employment related forms (PAYE and NI) and send them off to HMRC too. And last but definitely not least – open a few bottles and celebrate
Find out more
If you’re planning to set up a workers’ co‑op then you may find the Radical Routes handbook How to Set Up a Workers’ Co-op useful. More information about all the above is in the handbook, and you can download it for free from www.seedsforchange.org.uk, or order it for £7 (including p&p) from www.radicalroutes.org.uk. It includes information on ways of making decisions, legal forms, effective co-operation, dealing with bureaucracy and much more.
Radical Routes’ Trading Co-ops Network can also provide advice, as can the Co-operative Enterprise Hub.

Guerrilla guide: Boycott, divestment, sanctions

admin — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 10:00:46 +0000

An action against Israeli goods being sold in a branch of Waitrose. Photo: War on Want
Israel’s apartheid wall is planned to span 790 kilometres and utilise three million metres of barbed wire. Its construction is an attempt to annex Palestinian land through the forced displacement of families from their homes and farms. The International Court of Justice issued an advisory ruling in 2004 that the wall was illegal. But governments did not take action to prevent companies profiting from the building of the wall – and did not exclude Israel from international organisations or stop the flow of military aid.
In response to this inaction, in 2005 a coalition of Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups called on people around the world to implement boycotts, run divestment campaigns and press for sanctions against Israel.
This boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) strategy allows ordinary people to take action in their communities and workplaces and be a part of the popular struggle for freedom in Palestine.
In April the European parliament ended a contract with G4S over concerns about the role the company plays in equipping Israeli prisons where Palestinian political prisoners are held. Meanwhile, the Co-op announced it would extend its existing boycott of goods from Israeli settlements to all companies exporting from Israeli settlements.
This progress is undoubtedly due to the work of Palestinian rights activists. Here’s how you can get involved:
1 Don’t buy Israeli goods
The simplest action you can take is as a consumer. Refuse to buy Israeli goods and tell the retailers that you are doing it. You are most likely to see Israeli goods on sale at the supermarket, as all of the major supermarkets sell fruit, vegetables and herbs from Israel. Additionally, Delta-Galil Israeli textiles are sold at Marks and Spencer, while plastic products manufactured by Keter plastics, a company that owns a factory in the settlement industrial zone of Barkan, are sold at B&Q, Robert Dyas, Toys R Us and Argos. Barclays is the high street bank with the most significant investments in Israeli companies.
2 Take direct action
Direct action is another effective tool. In 2004 campaigners blockaded the Middlesex depot of Carmel-Agrexco, the Israeli state-owned fruit and vegetable exporter. This was the first of a series of direct actions that mushroomed into a Europe-wide consumer boycott campaign. In 2011 the company announced losses of €33 billion and was ordered into liquidation.
3 Organise in your workplace
In Norway and Sweden, campaigners have successfully pressured pension schemes to divest from companies such as Elbit, the Israeli arms manufacturer. In the UK, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), covering most academic staff at pre-1992 universities, invests in arms companies supplying weapons to Israel and companies operating in Israel’s settlements, whose activities are illegal under international law. Local government pension schemes, in which many public sector workers’ pensions are invested, hold similarly dodgy investments. These schemes need to be called to account.
4 Find out who is providing your public services
Companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, militarism and occupation provide services to local councils, universities and the NHS. For example, Veolia, a French multinational involved in the consortium building the Jerusalem light rail tramline in occupied East Jerusalem, has contracts with councils all over the UK. ISS, which provides services to West Bank settlements, holds contracts with London Underground and the NHS, while G4S (see above) holds contracts with local councils and the Home Office. Why not start a campaign in your area aimed at excluding these companies from tendering for contracts?
5 Don’t give up
This is a long-term struggle. The Palestinian call for boycott is aimed at connecting people all over the world – and everyone reading this – to the popular struggle for justice in Palestine. We have a lot to do. n
Tom Anderson is a researcher for Corporate Watch and the co-author of Targeting Israeli Apartheid: a boycott divestment and sanctions handbook. The book is available for £9 from Corporate Watch or can be downloaded at www.corporatewatch.org

Edible treasures: foraging for food

admin — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 12:33:02 +0000

Their names won’t exactly make your taste buds tingle: chicken of the woods, hairy bittercress, beefsteak fungus, giant puffball, shaggy ink cap, white dead nettle and jelly ears (which are shaped like a human ear). But give them half a chance, and their unconventional flavours will certainly earn your respect – and a special place at your table.
Foraging is the age-old process of gathering food from nature. Almost the whole year round, in woodland, fields, on hedgerows and oozing from cracks in trees, you can find a surprising range of wild fungi, leaves, fruit, nuts and berries.
It wasn’t long ago that gathering wild food was a normal part of British culture. During the second world war, rosehips were commercially gathered because of their high vitamin C content. Now we’re seeing a ‘real food’ renaissance, including a resurgence in the number of allotment holders, people growing their own food at home, and more and more people interested in foraging and wild food.
1 Get to know your inner hunter‑gatherer
Foraging for your dinner will make you see the world with new eyes. The inner hunter-gatherer is alive and kicking when you collect food directly from the earth. Grubbing under hedgerows, rummaging among fallen leaves, and using your instincts and knowledge of how the earth, weather and seasons interconnect to find a tasty morsel can be very rewarding.
2 Start nearby
Wild food is not just for people with access to countryside – even in cemented cities, it appears in the most unexpected locations: edible greens poking from the edge of car parks; morels soldiering up through wood-chipped soil beds, even pavement mushrooms defiantly bursting through the tarmac. And the scraggly weeds in your garden could actually be an edible treasure trove – look out for things like goose grass, dandelions, nettles and wild garlic.
3 Follow the seasons
Spring is the start of the wild food year. It is the time to look for ramsons (an edible green that tastes mildly of garlic) and to keep an eye out for oyster mushrooms and morels, which are the ‘holy grail’ of the foraging world. It is also when young leaves from certain trees, such as beech and common lime, are edible. In summer, the highlight is St George’s mushroom, as well as mousserons (fairy ring mushrooms) and chicken of the woods: a bright-yellow bracket fungus that oozes like lava out of trees. In autumn there are hundreds of wild mushrooms, and mountains of fruit, nuts and berries to be found. In winter, there’s less on offer, but you can find things such as chanterelles, which can take freezing and defrosting.

4 Forage sustainably
Environmentalists warn that hundreds of varieties of wild mushroom could be wiped out if the popularity of foraging continues. So never pick more than you need (it’s illegal in the UK to forage for commercial gain, under the 1968 Theft Act). One key foraging philosophy is if you see something once, keep walking – if you see it again, it’s okay to stop and pick it. Always cut mushrooms at the base rather than ripping them up, which damages the underground web of mycelium.
5 Identify wild food thoroughly
Hospital admissions for people with suspected mushroom poisoning doubled last year, as foraging became more popular, so get a good identification guide and follow it methodically. If you confuse the leaves of Fat Hen with Good King Henry, it’s not a disaster, as they’re both edible. But there are around ten deadly wild mushrooms in the UK, and others can make you feel very unwell. Even things listed as edible can affect some people – 10 per cent of the population has a violent allergic reaction to chicken of the woods fungi for example. Always start off by trying just a small amount.
6 Make it social
In France, Spain and many countries in eastern Europe foraging is still the norm, especially when it comes to mushrooms. In autumn, whole families go to the local woods to pick mushrooms to last the year. Why not get some friends together, and make finding and eating wild foods a social activity?
7 Banish the bland
It’s worth remembering that wild food tastes totally different to domesticated varieties. Watercress from the supermarket is bland in comparison with its wild-grown sister; and while authentic wild strawberries may be about an eighth of the size of their supermarket cousins, their taste really packs a punch. So find recipes online that bring out the flavours. Try www.eatweeds.co.uk

Surviving the royal wedding

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:53:50 +0000

On April 29, we are all supposed to forget for a moment the class war being quietly waged against us in austerity Britain. We are meant to dig deep into our rapidly decreasing bank accounts and shell out for some bunting – for an all-out celebration of the aristocracy.
Ah, the aristocracy. Just like any endangered species, those that are left are the most adaptable and have the strongest survival instinct. Royalty continues to thrive, absolving itself from existential threats by occasionally doing something with such mind-boggling extremes of pomp and ceremony that its importance is re-asserted in a jumble of glitz, red carpets and sycophantic commentary.

Of course, in pulling these stunts they also fulfil their only real function of somehow diluting the fact that the country is entirely run by different, but no less objectionable, group of unelected millionaires. The looming royal wedding is no exception – and with the cuts in full swing the timing is impeccable.

The media will suspend its (already temperamental) newsworthiness gauge, and plough out enough wedding-related drivel to make the average person feel like a battering ram’s being taken to their armour of rational thought and sense of perspective. No wonder one artist has been producing royal wedding themed sick bags.

To make matters worse, who’s paying for this expensive, spectacular event? Mainly us. Although most people would see a £5 million security bill as a hint to scale down their plans, it’s probably not so important when you’re not personally coughing up.

While the newspapers moan about the cost of policing those who exercise their democratic right to protest, flushing funds down the gilded royal toilet bowl is seen as just fine.

Here are a few things you could do to make the day more bearable.

1 Party like a republican

If you’ve got a day off work, you may as well make the most of it. Anti-monarchist campaigners Republic are already organising their ‘Not the Royal Wedding’ street party, but you can throw your own.
Play Crass and the Sex Pistols, boycott the Queen’s money and eat cake (but not Victoria sponge). Providing an alternative for your local community will be an interesting experiment to see who actually gives a crap about the royals and who’s just out for the beer and barbecue.

2 Read the small print

As the national newspapers devote not only the first few pages but an entire keepsake supplement to the royal do, it will be the perfect time for the government to push out some controversial bill or other safe in the knowledge that, at best, it’ll make page six. Spin doctors will assume we’re either too busy celebrating the nuptials of two bland, over-privileged strangers to notice, or else studiously avoiding all media outlets until it’s over. Don’t be fooled.

3 Place your bets now!

Sometimes, like a piece of forgotten commemorative china, romance loses its sparkle. When do you think the divorce papers will be served?
Cynical? Yes. But it’s also rather uncertain. On the one hand, there’s so far been no ambiguous blonde circling Will’s polo matches like a cross between a horse and a bird of prey. On the other, there’s the much-hyped fact that Middleton is a ‘commoner’ and, therefore, it can only be a matter of time before she runs screaming from the palace.

Another flutter could be: how long until Harry makes a fool of himself at the reception? Odds currently on three minutes or less.

4 Re-enact the Putney debates

The last serious entertaining of the idea of abolishing the monarchy took place way back in 1647. While it may leave something to be desired in the way of historical accuracy, discussing the nature of inherited privilege and democracy in your own living room, with plenty of pint-waving and shouts of ‘hear hear!’, is one way to stick two fingers up at the whole circus.

The Putney debates were said to have concluded in the preservation of the monarchy, in part for fear that dissolution of the old power structures would result in anarchy. That’s a debate worth revisiting.

Cyber-activism

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 23:17:47 +0000

At the time of the anti-capitalist protests of the late 1990s, it seemed that the internet could start a new era of cross-border activist organising. Ten years later, the recent student demonstrations and tax avoidance protests have shown the potential for social media such as Facebook and Twitter to facilitate mass action.
However, the internet can be a double‑edged sword when it comes to activism. It’s a cheap and immediate way to get your message out to a wide audience, there is a vast pool of information at your fingertips for research, and it allows communication with others all around the world. But it can also eat up valuable time, and creating an online presence for your campaign can be yet another challenge.
So how can an activist make best use of the web?
1 Be topical: be part of the online news revolution
One of the biggest advantages of the internet is its accessibility: a website costs little to start and has a global reach. This has loosened the mainstream media’s grip on news production, a hugely important development.
Whatever your campaign is about, respond to mainstream news stories in real time on your blog or website. Producing information that is topical and contributes to reasoned debate not only makes the most of the democratising potential of the internet but should also bring you more readers.
Regular email newsletters to a mailing list are a good idea, as is submitting your material to alternative news portals and aggregators to reach a wider audience.
2 Facebook, Twitter, et al
The use of social networking sites was, until recently, often derided as the ultimate in ‘slacktivism’. Facebook groups sprung up for every cause, with little or no real-life impact. They are, however, a useful tool in releasing bite-size chunks of information and directing people to updates on your website. The last few months have also seen them used effectively to organise direct action.
The UK Uncut tax avoidance protests, which target stores of corporate tax dodgers such as Vodafone and the Arcadia Group, are testament to the power of the ‘tweet’. The campaign, which tapped into pre-existing anger at the cuts and proposed a direct and replicable way to express it, quickly went viral.
According to Chris Tobin, a UK Uncut spokesperson, using social media such as Twitter gives the movement a horizontal structure and keeps it true to its grassroots: ‘It’s not about central groups any more, or hierarchies or committees. There is a genuine sense of democracy.’
Tobin says the model can be repeated readily. He offers the advice: ‘Remember, it’s not that different from a normal campaign. You have to do your research, choose targets carefully and keep your message clear. The most important thing is to keep it decentralised and allow people to take autonomous action.’
3 Be careful with the law
If you are going to organise a direct action, or use another confrontational or potentially illegal tactic, the internet may not be the place to plan or discuss it. ‘The internet creates an electronic trail,’ warns Jo Makepeace from the direct action newssheet SchNEWS. ‘Evidence from computers and email accounts has been used in various conspiracy trials.’
He thinks the younger generation in particular can be naïve about how discussing their involvement in demonstrations and other forms of direct action online could land them in hot water: ‘I’m convinced a lot of people are going to get in trouble from Facebook.’
4 Don’t be an armchair activist
Perhaps the biggest danger with the internet is that you can spend hours surfing and typing, and end up with little to show for your efforts. Updating social media platforms and checking emails too often can be a distraction from more substantial work.
Don’t campaign online at the expense of ‘real-world’ activism. When you email a PDF file of your newsletter, ask supporters to print off a few and leave it in their local social centre or bookshop. If a campaign you follow asks readers to write a letter to lobby on their issue, do it. Chase up those contacts you make online and collaborate face to face.
And if you find yourself, boggle-eyed at 2am, hitting refresh on the Guardian’s ‘Comment is Free’ to continue your argument with ‘nationalistdave’, it’s probably time to step away from the computer…

Our right to reply

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:49:42 +0000

When groups like the Billboard Liberation Front and Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA UP) emerged in the 1970s, their handiwork took cigarette and alcohol promoters to task. Their subtle adjustments caused passersby to pause: ‘Marlbore Man’? It was the beginning of a tactic since developed by environmentalists, feminists and anti-capitalists: the subversion of advertising to remind us that we are being lied to.

Today advertising is everywhere and ad-free space is continuing to shrink. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to challenge the corporations and politicians creating this visual pollution. Parody is our weapon. Paper is our tool. We have a right to reply.

1 Select your target

The motivation to subvertise is generally straightforward: to challenge the promotion of mass-consumerism plastered before us. With so many misguided messages to be corrected, you need to decide where to start. The unethical behaviour of a particular brand? The negative impact of a whole industry? The casual misogyny in so many ads? Mass consumerism itself?
2 Choose your approach

Deciding this will help you choose your approach. Classic subvertisements seek to reply to or answer an advert’s message through subtle alteration. If there is no text to improve, you might want to reply directly by adding something entirely new. This might be a one-off, targeting a specific poster, or you might consider a more versatile approach, open to repeat application and forming part of a broader campaign. In the latter case, consider using a motif. Co-opt a logo or slogan and turn it on its head, or create your own.

3 Find the right words

Subvertisements should cause people to double-take, then think. They stick in the memory better if they are funny. Look for easy targets, as with McDonald’s ‘I’m loving it’, which transforms readily into ‘I’m sick of it’. Obscuring letters and parts of letters also works: ‘Starbucks Coffee’, anyone?

You don’t have to be subtle or high-tech, though. A spray-painted response can work wonders, while ‘Ad-Free Zone’ is a clear stamp of public opinion. Pick the approach that matches your aim.

4 Make overlays

Overlays are easy to make and paste onto ads. Try to match fonts and background colours and print out the letters you need. Don’t worry about looking perfect for small changes. Use a photocopier to enlarge the overlays, cutting the original into tiles first and reassembling the larger copies afterwards. Attach with wallpaper paste and a paint brush or broom for higher targets. Add PVA glues to the mix for quick setting and waterproofing.

New technologies are making it easier to replicate lettering or skilfully create whole pastiche posters. Some ads can be found online but photographing the target is another way to make matches – just don’t attract attention to yourself when doing it. For more intricate changes, put a high-res image in Photoshop or build a copy from scratch.

Stickers are another option, particularly for ongoing campaigns. Prepare a batch for quick hits on multiple street level targets. Blank speech bubble shapes are a perfect canvas for random advert improvement artists, bringing silent models to life whenever the inspiration hits them. Use a thick pen and beware of spelling and grammatical errors, which undermine even the wittiest effort. The same goes for spray can enhancers.

5 Be prepared

Safety and security are your main considerations, whatever size the target. Think about your approach and escape routes, and the number of people needed for the job. For larger ads/longer jobs, a lookout is vital. Never attempt climbs alone. Plan communication signals in advance. Keep yourself clean and don’t leave anything behind. Use cheap materials and test spray cans for duds.

While the cover of darkness is sometimes useful, it can also be dangerous. Look the part and you’ll get away with daylight work: put on some overalls, grab a ladder and look out for billboard maintenance vans as well as police.

Image from www.billboardliberation.com

6 Aim higher

Document and share your work, under your group name or personal pseudonym. Send photos to online communities for a wide audience, and celebrate what other artists and liberators are doing.

Remember that billboards are just one avenue for questionable promotions. Product placement, branding, sponsorships and giveaways allow consumerism to infiltrate our waking lives. In our branded clothing we become walking adverts for the things we are compelled to buy. We are the capitalists’ dream.

Turn their tools against them, however, and it’s a nightmare. Movements across the world are getting imaginative, creating parody events and promotional stunts. Fake newspapers, flyers and websites are tweaking brands’ styles and slogans into something far more honest. Over-enthusiastic company supporters are turning promotional events into embarrassing spectacles. Join in, and culture jam wherever you can.

Feminist parenting

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:27:35 +0000

1 Integrate

Feminists should confront all forms of oppression, exploitation and hierarchy. Parents, carers and children are often marginalised and discriminated against, even in radical political organising. Insist that childcare is provided at every event. Understand that ‘mothering’, ‘parenting’ and ‘childrearing’ have different connotations: the next generation needs people of all genders, races, classes, sexualities, ages and abilities to help it develop healthy attitudes to life. Involve children and treat them as equals worthy of respect.

2 Bin the box

Television only makes the gender divide worse. As a compromise, try using the set just to watch videos or DVDs. Until your kids are old enough to sneak in Ben 10 box sets under their jumpers, you can more or less censor what gets played, without any annoying adverts. However, if the electronic babysitter is your lifeline to parental sanity, then keep it on. TV provides a parent with a wealth of material that highlights the inequalities in society – and therefore gives lots of opportunities to talk constructively about the realities of patriarchy with your child.

3 Be honest

You may try to kid yourself that the media and peer pressure are the biggest influences on your child, but actually it’s you! The main parent or carer is a child’s most influential role-model. Are you sexist, racist, homophobic? What, not even a little bit? Children can subconsciously absorb even the most subtle of parental behaviours. It’s okay to make mistakes – no one is perfect. But it’s important to deconstruct our own words, actions and attitudes to ensure that we don’t inadvertently pass our own prejudices onto our children. Be honest with yourself and your kids. Talk openly about sex, relationships and sexuality. Encourage children to freely express all of their emotions – no matter how painful they are.

4 Express yourself

Creatively expressing the often intense feelings that come with parenthood can be a great emotional release – whether through art, writing, music or dance. Bringing up children can seem like a lonely business at times, but there are lots of parenting blogs, networks, groups and resources out there. If it’s more anger management therapy you need, then try this: find a magazine photo of the latest yummy-mummy female celebrity, stick it onto on a dartboard and get throwing those arrows! You will begin to see the cracks appear in the smooth airbrushed image of maternal perfection … and feel a devilish sense of satisfaction.

5 Research the issues

Research the many conflicting feminist and parenting schools of thought. Natural parenting options may work for some, but others argue that it’s pushing more burdens upon the mother. For example, using washable nappies isn’t only the eco-option, it also increases parental autonomy and challenges the capitalist-consumption machine. But what about the extra housework that washable nappies can bring? Will it really be shared equally among family members? Work out what’s best for you and your family – a critical factor of feminist parenting is to stop pretending we are perfect parents.

6 Pick your battles

Constantly nagging your kids to over-analyse sexist books or toys will only push them further into the open arms of Mattel and co. Sometimes it’s best to accept minor defeat, in exchange for fostering a closer, mutually respectful parent-child relationship. Finding other ways to help build a child’s self-esteem or emotional intelligence may be more important in the long-run than bickering over Barbie.

7 Develop emergency tactics

As a last resort, when all else has failed and you find yourself in the depths of a feminist parenting emergency, nonviolent direct action can be deployed. Don’t be afraid to discretely dispose of the Action Man machine gun given by Uncle Bobby last Christmas, or the Bratz bikini set for your four-year-old from your so-called best mate. However, donating an offending item to a charity shop is only dumping the burden onto others!

8 Self-organise

Set up a childcare or home education collective, together with parents or friends who have similar ideals. Providing your own curriculum can be empowering for both adult and child, and give you much needed support. Or start a feminist children’s book club and swap revolutionary bedtime stories.

9 Raise some hell

Getting involved in activism is the best thing a feminist parent can do. If we want our children to live in a world free from oppression, then we need to actively work towards creating a world that is freer and fairer. Parents and carers will continue to be marginalised until we get out there, with our kids, to demand and organise for change. Set a good example. Show your children that they are worth fighting for, and instil in them the courage and confidence to stand up for themselves and their future.

Visit feministchildrearing.blogspot.com for links to related resources

Zine team

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:00:28 +0000

Zines have been around since the beginning of radical publishing. Popularised with the cut-and-paste fanzines of the 1970s, nowadays these non-commercial publications exist on any topic imaginable. Whether it’s poetry, personal stories, political theory, artwork or manifestos, zines are a great medium for sharing thoughts and creativity.

At its simplest, a zine can be a single sheet of paper with handwritten articles and drawings, reproduced cheaply on a photocopier. There’s also scope for more elaborate projects. What underscores it is one simple principle: zines are made for passion, not profit.

Every zine is unique and conveys the passion and interests of its makers. These lo-fi publications enable people to say what they like how they like, with no censorship. There are no rules – so there’s scope to engage in zine-making in any way that suits you.

This short guide offers some tips and tricks on becoming a DIY media maker.

1 Join the zine scene
Once you read a zine, you often end up making one yourself. Why not order some from an online distributor to start off the process? AK Press (www.akpress.org) privileges social movement-based zines; Marching Stars (www.marchingstars.co.uk) specialises in girl-made, personal zines; and Ricochet! Ricochet! covers the queer angle (www.ricochet-ricochet.co.uk). There are also several annual zine fairs, such as the London Zine Symposium and Brighton Zinefest.

2 Adopt a no-rules approach
Forget the idea that publishing is only for professionals and then start writing/drawing. Absolutely anything goes in terms of content: skill share guides, stick figure comics, vegan recipes, interviews with activists, book reviews, community histories and so on. Decide what you want to write about, whether you want other people to contribute and what name to give your zine.

3 Start simple
Once you’ve assembled your materials, make a blank page zine to stick your content into – this will be your original, which you will then photocopy. As a popular format, a sheet of A4 paper folded in half yields four A5 pages. Paste material on both sides and make sure you number your pages (this helps when photocopying and collating). Write an intro explaining the themes of your zine and include a means for people to get in contact.

4 Paper + pen + photocopier + stapler
Make sure any handwriting is legible and use a good black pen. Letter transfers always look awesome, as does typewritten and word-processored text. Remember to leave about a two-centimetre margin around each page – the photocopier will chop bits off. Don’t crowd your pages; leave white space. For graphics, create collages from old magazines, use ink stamps and stencils, borrow images from other sources, or badger mates who can draw. Check out creative tips at http://www.csdistro.com/re/ZineAnatomyFlats.pdf. Photocopying in bulk is cheaper per page. To staple A5-size zines, you’ll need a long arm stapler.

5 Create a tactile object
One of the delights of zines is that they are handcrafted objects made on a small scale. According to what you would like to convey, think about playing around with page size, binding and cover as you get more proficient. You can make zines in any shape and size, including single sheet accordion zines, zines in little envelopes, zines with screen-printed covers and zines bound with dental floss, rubber bands, or stitching. The more distinguished your zine is from the dominant media, the more people will be curious about it.

6 Getting your zine out there
Zines are too important to stay underground. Think of inventive ways to circulate them: trade with new friends, slip them into commercial magazines, leave them in public toilets. To help disseminate and promote your zine, join the social networking platform We Make Zines (http://wemakezines.ning.com).

7 Create paper trails
Add your zine to the historical record by turning scans into pdfs (http://zinelibrary.info/how-scan-zines-and-make-pdf-files) and uploading them to digital archives such as the Queer Zine Archive Project (www.qzap.org) and Zine Library (http://zinelibrary.info).

8 Pass it on
Zine-making is a powerful act, especially for marginalised groups. DIY publishing can become a means of self-representation. Zine-making workshops, especially with young people, are a really rewarding experience. For workshop facilitation tips, check out Grrrl Zines A Go Go (www.gzagg.org/diyworkshop.htm).

Red Chidgey is a DIY feminist activist and historian. She teaches ‘Zines and the Politics of Alternative Media’ at the University of Salzburg in Austria and facilitates zine-making workshops

Digging the dirt

admin — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 13:10:26 +0000

If you’re campaigning against a company, success or failure will depend on the information at your disposal. Whether you want to pay its offices a visit, target directors and shareholders, or produce a hard-hitting leaflet, you will need to know how to do your research first.

Know what you want

Before you start, be clear about what kind of information you need. If you don’t think it through, you might spend hours gathering reams of information that’s very interesting but of no real use.

Look around first

Start with a quick search of the web and library catalogues to see what work other researchers and campaigners have already conducted on your target. Asking other informed people for tips and suggestions is always helpful. At this point, you are looking more for leads than actual information: publications, websites, contacts – note everything down, you’ll come back to it.

Structure your research

Prioritise your leads and draw up a research plan. Think about how much time and effort you want to spend on each area, and what you expect to get.

Organise your sources

Your sources will vary in reliability, whether they are Wikipedia entries or specialist libraries. Always question your sources – don’t simply accept what they say. Broadly speaking, sources of information about a company can be grouped into the following categories: the company itself (annual reports, accounts); industry sources (trade journals, business directories and databases); government sources (relevant departments, regulators, parliamentary questions and reports); and the media (The Financial Times can be particularly useful). Relevant trade unions and NGOs might also have useful information or leads.

Follow your leads

Always check the source of your information and follow it up. For example, if the source is a newspaper article, talk to the journalist. The information might be outdated by the time you’ve found it, so always double check it!

Do interviews

Whether you’re interviewing the company’s manager, staff or clients, you should always be prepared. Know your facts and what information you’re looking for (not that you always have to ask directly for it) as well as your interviewee’s background. Being polite, friendly and respectful will yield better results.

Use freedom of information laws

The Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations are powerful tools, allowing access to a vast range of information held by public authorities. Although many government agencies are reluctant to reveal information about companies to protect their ‘commercial confidentiality’, freedom of information requests are still useful. For more on how to use the laws and appeal against withheld information, see yrtk.org and cfoi.org.uk

Get a basic overview of the company

Whatever you’re planning to do with your research, it’s a good idea to have a basic overview of your target company. This will mostly comprise publicly available information: industry sectors, market share, financial assets, owners, subsidiaries and so on. If you intend to use this information, make sure it’s up to date as these things change a great deal.

Find the company’s details

These include the company’s addresses and contact details, directors, shareholders, clients and so on. Getting some of this information might be as easy as simply checking what the company has filed with Companies House – or it might not be.

Dig the dirt

Good places to start finding out about a company’s wrongdoings are activist news websites such as Indymedia. Individuals or NGOs such as the Campaign Against the Arms Trade and CND might also be helpful. There are also a few dedicated anti-corporate research groups, such as Corporate Watch and Multinational Monitor – check them out and ask if they know anything. If no one else has done any research on your target company, things will be more difficult to find. But you’ll often find bits of information that might lead to interesting discoveries once you pull them together. Some researchers go as far as ransacking companies’ rubbish bins, but be careful – it can be illegal!

Information on lots of companies can be found at www.corporatewatch.org.uk