I profoundly believe that the best solutions solve many problems at once.

We always asked the question: how can our project serve not just one but many goals? Can it be environment-friendly, serve the economy, be good for children, good for seniors, good for our health.

To promote one single goal at the expense of others’ equally important goals should no longer be acceptable.

Many of us are worried about the current state of our society, defined by fake news and extreme polarization. This state of affairs must change and the alternative is that we take collaboration seriously.

I believe that communities don’t just need great leaders and engaged participants, but also a key link between them - a great facilitator. These facilitators do not make decisions. Instead, they focus on the integrity of the process, encourage all to participate, create a climate of civility and respect, and keep track of time.

Collaborative democracy is the belief that diverse community members are capable of great creativity. For that to come forth, we need to create the right conditions. There are a set of tools we can use to accomplish this kind of community engagement. Read more in my book : The Case for Everyday Democracy or sign up for a Pomegranate Method Training.

During my time at Pomegranate Center, my vision was to reinvent the commons. We coined the term “Gathering Place” to encompass more than just a park that a city inserts without the input of the citizens. Our model was to involve community members from initial design to construction to eventual programming and stewardship. Our gathering places took into account the needs not just of the people, but the land around it. In our definition, a gathering place is one of “multiple victories” where each element solves not just one problem, but many.

Just like Habitat for Humanity involves people in construction of homes, we involved them in construction of the spaces between our homes — gathering places. Projects usually logged between 1,000 and 2,000 volunteer hours. This created pride and ownership. We promoted the generous use of hands, or things handmade. Whenever possible, we invited young people to work with us and, in the process, introduce them to topics as varied as participatory democracy and consensus processes, art, crafts, dignity of hands, etc.”

Our gathering places took into account the needs not just of the people, but the land around it. In our definition, a gathering space is one of “multiple victories” where each element solves not just one problem, but many.

For example, we used straw bale, round-wood (wood too small to cut into dimensional lumber), salvaged materials, nontoxic stains and paints, rocks and salvaged trees from the site, so instead of bringing materials in from elsewhere to create benches, we used the salvaged materials from the local site. So we had less waste, a connection to the history that came before the place, and a spot to sit! On top of that, by involving the folks who would be eventually using those benches, we were infusing them with ownership so they would be the stewards for the park and there would be less of a need to spend money on someone else looking after it.

Our gathering places model has seven principles, each one of which is essential to the making of multiple victories. We tested this model in a wide variety of settings between 1990 and 2017. Though not all of our projects embodied all elements of the model we tried to incorporate as many elements in every project as possible:

1. Involve the community in all phases of the project

2. Work with nature and make the project site-responsive

3. Make the process decisive and unbroken

4. Use many hands and volunteer-friendly materials

5. Design for all generations and many purposes

6. Use environmentally sound practices

7. “Sacred” space: capture identity and hope

Learn more about gathering places here.

Community-Based Planning involves consultancies and facilitations that help communities determine commonly agreed-upon goals. This leads to projects that maintain a sense of respect and ownership by community members. Usually the work is about parks, town centers, trails, pedestrian and bicycle plans, civic buildings, and such.

In my work, I’ve earned a reputation for turning contentious situations around and facilitating processes that result in a commonly held plan.

I was one of the founding members of Group OHO (a group of visual artists within a larger OHO movement) in the 1960s in Slovenia (what was then part of the Republic of Yugoslavia). We were a group of rebellious youths who decided to use our artistic inclinations to challenge the status quo of what we saw happening around us. You can find more on the group and our projects here.

Books can be purchased by clicking here.

Articles can be found here.

And to read more of my recent musings, have a look around my blog, Everyday Democracy.

My art can be viewed and purchased on a separate site - www.Milenko-Art.com

On that site, you can also find more information about my years with OHO, my recent gallery exhibit in Slovenia, and links to my music albums.

Contact me here,and I will gladly respond.