As shared in prior podcasts; the Anti-Fragile approach begins with a virtual community as a low-cost, light-weight method for establishing a beachhead, and leverages revenues generated as well as community engagement to accelerate the acquisition of any physical amenities that the community may define as necessary to community growth.

And consistent with Anti-Fragile best practices: community engagement itself is accelerated through activation of various forms of soft capital (as briefly illustrated in this short video), inclusive to time, attention, relationship, and trust capitals, which reduces the necessity to secure upfront hard capital to “buy” people’s time and engagement.

The result is a low-cost entry that begins virtually, designed to reach those who are in a state of outrage, so they might transition into lasting stewardship, through step-by-step action.

Kent Dahlgren (of 214 Alpha) created this brief introductory video about Bene Esse to share the story, we also discuss it on the most recent podcast and in this Medium article written by Kent. An added bonus is that both Ruth Glendinning's company (Future Story Lab) and 214 Alpha have developed a 'copy and paste' franchise model that can be customized to the land owner's existing revenue streams, as illustrated in this brief “behind the scenes” video.

Existing landowners stand to gain the following benefits:

• Recurring revenue with minimal liability
• Mobile and portable; a minimal dependency upon fixed infrastructure
• Reduction in costs (such as tax breaks)
• Greater power autonomy and improved soil quality
• Creating a legacy of opportunity for others

In this manner, a small disciplined team of community activists might negotiate with existing landowners to address the root conditions of generational poverty and trauma by delivering upon a mutually-beneficial model designed to both elevate the value of existing land while creating the basis of growing generational wealth, which strengthens our connections to our roots.

The reason for creating this very podcast is to discuss the creation of a playbook that would help people apply Anti-Fragile principles to community design, so they might realize benefits in a manner inversely proportional to declining conditions.

The worse things become, the more an Anti-Fragile solution realizes benefit.

The book is centered around the creation and launch of a living laboratory in the same community where Ruth Glendinning and Kent Dahlgren reside, and that community is calibrated to the local watershed, which is named Tannehill.

The team has used the Community Activation and Launch Methodology on themselves, and the team have navigated the first six steps, which has brought them to "launch."

And so as the Tannehill living laboratory begins socializing its vision and its plan, as well as enlisting participants, the Anti-Fragile team has been able to pivot to discussing how anti-fragile principles might be of benefit to related domains.

In this podcast Ruth and Kent discuss a product Ruth designed called S.P.R.O.U.T., as well as a application of the S.P.R.O.U.T. product called "Bene Esse," which is Latin for "well being."

The S.P.R.O.U.T. Anti-Fragile plan for real estate ownership aspires to deliver benefit to the property owner, relative to declining economic and ecological conditions, consistent with the principles of Anti-Fragility.

Sound product design follows this same framework:

• Who is the target?
• Why does this matter to them?
• What is the solution?
• How does it work?
  

In this podcast Ruth and Kent discuss "who" might be interested in this plan (property owners and public policymakers), and "why" it matters to them.

They introduced a few key performance indicators (KPIs) which would help quantify and qualify their progress, as well as "what" elements are critical to the plan, and they follow up with a couple of high-level examples of "how" the plan works, which will be elaborated upon further in a future episode.

This podcast discusses how the activists responsible for the Anti-Fragile “living laboratory” (the Austin-based “Tannehill Marketville Collective”) were able to make significant progress through the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas/Chanukah, and New Years, and without funding, through the daily stresses of financial challenges, COVID illness, and attrition from within the team.

It’s now mid-February, and the small, unfunded activist committee responsible for delivering the Anti-Fragile “living laboratory” is on the cusp of announcing their vision and plan to the community (a formal “launch”), and through the holidays was able to define and deliver upon a professional and capable “go to market plan.”

In this podcast episode, Ruth Glendinning and Kent Dahlgren discuss attributes of what Kent once called the “hive mind operating system” for activating a sustained collective effort, and with creative continuity, through periods of hardship and attrition, and without formal modes of compensation.

The “hive mind operating system” (later known as “org,” for “organizational competency” as it was tuned through on-the-streets activism, and now known as the 214 Community Activation and Launch Methodology, or C.A.L.M.) is a step-by-step program for guiding activists from a state of outrage to sustained stewardship, through action.

It’s at this precise intersection that Ruth and Kent have merged their respective visions for, as Ruth calls it: “transacting transformation,” or as Kent elaborates (borrowing from the domain of interaction / user experience design): constructing a series of transactions / interactions to bring about transformational change, relying entirely upon soft capital (gift economy) for compensation.

The following tactile deliverables were creatively defined and delivered by a small, unfunded group of committed volunteers. Through the holidays, through COVID, and through inevitable attrition:

(Visual identity / Branding)

• A newly-created logo, icon, and style guide, ensuring consistent and professional brand presentation across all materials and online platforms.

(Audience)

• Defined audience engagement categories of “sellers” and “members,” which mixes the benefits for "buyers" and "community"
• Defined “what’s in it for me?” options for "members"

(Materials)

• Draft informational email
• Informational video
• Definition for "engagement packages" (defined as Seed, Root, Grow, Sustain, and Flourish
• Logos for “Seed, Root, Grow, Sustain, and Flourish” are done and added to materials
• Brief presentation for those who want more info (vision and step-by-step plan)
• New handout flier design: messaging and logos

(Operations)

• Corporate / Co-op structure
• Governance and operational decisions regarding financials