Waves Community Café: An Act of Community
If you'd like to be part of a global community of changemakers, discover what's happening around the world, share inspiration and offer mutual support, we'd love to welcome you at the Community Café.
What happens when we create a little more space for people to connect, share what they're passionate about and inspire one another?
That was the intention behind the Waves Community Café: to create a space where connection, mutual support and shared inspiration can blossom. It was also an experiment. Could hosting a café once a month, with people from all over the world, through a digital platform, lead to deeper connections and unexpected possibilities within a loosely connected global community?
The cafés are open only to people who are members of the Community Waves platform with the intention of creating more familiarity and connection in the digital space and opening up possibilities for inspiration and emergence.
A café shaped by feedback
One of the most beautiful aspects of the café has been watching it grow and evolve through the ideas and feedback of the people who show up.
At the end of each gathering, we ask participants whether they feel the café is worth continuing. The response has been unanimously been: YES! Often accompanied by lots of appreciation.
The format has also evolved along the way. We recently shifted from having two presentations at each café to just one, creating more spaciousness and time to connect and hear from everyone.
Another recent idea, which came out of our October café, was to record the short 10–15 minute presentations (rather than the more personal group discussions). This means projects and ideas can be shared more widely, and presenters can use the recordings as resources in other spaces and communities. We will start doing this at the Nov 23rd café.
It's been a lovely example of a living experiment, with the community itself helping shape what it becomes.
Seven cafés, so many inspiring projects
With this latest shift towards sharing presentations more widely, it felt like a good moment to look back and celebrate the incredible people and projects that have already been presented.
Across our first six Community Cafés, we've heard about an incredible range of projects, initiatives and experiments from people working towards positive change around the world.
Each offers a glimpse into something happening somewhere: a new idea taking shape, a community responding to a challenge, or people finding creative ways to work and learn together to creatively meet the times we are in.
Below, you'll find a collection of the projects shared across these first six cafés, along with short descriptions and links to learn more.
If something sparks your curiosity, we encourage you to reach out! You can connect with many of these people through Community Waves or through their publicly shared contact information.
Projects featured in the Waves Community Café
Bulemba Rwenzori Ecovillage – Bikeke Saimon
Based in Uganda's Rwenzori region, Bulemba Rwenzori Ecovillage is a community-led initiative combining permaculture, reforestation, community education and ecotourism to regenerate ecosystems and strengthen local livelihoods. Learn more about Bulemba Rwenzori Ecovillage.
When I Sing Project – Renia Tyminski
Renia Tyminski, Ph.D., is helping spearhead When I Sing, an international, intergenerational music collaboration connected to Canada's women's choir community and Shout Sister! Choir. Explore the project through this community update and this recorded conversation.
HearthQuest Permaculture – Dr. Pete Jeffs
HearthQuest Permaculture brings together small, self-sustaining groups across the UK and Turtle Island through a 16-week learning journey, building local resilience while growing an international mycelial network of mutual support and collective regeneration. Explore HearthQuest and its permaculture work.
Restoring Nature, Sustaining Peace – Micah Opondo
Micah is working at the intersection of ecological restoration and peacebuilding, with initiatives focused on tree planting, nurseries, regenerative agriculture, youth empowerment and climate resilience. More about Micah.Portals – Sara El-Sayeh
Sara shared Portals, an emerging micro-residency concept, and invited the community to help explore, develop and find pathways to bring the idea to life. Explore the Portals concept.
The Liberation Club – Nicola Hearn
The Liberation Club is an inclusive members' club designed to empower people to become active citizens, connect with progressive ideas and turn inspiration into action towards a more just and sustainable future. Visit The Liberation Club.
Join us at the next Community Café!
Community Waves offers an opportunity to connect with people doing inspiring work in all sorts of places and contexts.
If you'd like to be part of a global community of changemakers, discover what's happening around the world, share inspiration and offer mutual support, we'd love to welcome you.
Perhaps you also have a project, an idea or an experiment of your own that you'd like to share at an upcoming café!
Community Waves is completely free, and everyone is welcome.
Come, join the conversation.
