10 Community Projects that Build Social Capital

Image by a.prakharevich via Flickr

I've just gotten back from the fantastic Small Towns Conference in Kaiapoi. One of the speakers was Peter Kenyon - a social capitalist and community enthusiast from Australia. He had some incredibly inspiring stories about successful small town development, I am so excited about helping to put some of his ideas into action in Mataura.

If you are looking for some great projects to get your community humming take a look at this awesome list from Peter's Bank of I.D.E.A.S website:

1. Establish a Community Garden
2. Establish a Community Newspaper focusing on local assets, people, and positive and inspiring stories
3. Create a local project fund where 3 or more neighbours can apply for street/neighbourhood projects/events
4. Hold a Community Reflection Day to give residents an opportunity to think about where they have come from and where they want to go
5. Encourage local organisations to adopt a street or flowerbed and to care for its beautification and apprearance
6. Instigate a local business awards programme to highlight and celebrate local businesses
7. Establish a Community Bank with all profits going back to community projects
8. Start up a Community Physical Fitness Programme eg. 'Push Ups in the Park'
9. Support local schools to discover, study and write about local history
10. Establish a Community Cultural Foundation that encourages locals to contribute and become 'Friends of the Foundation' to develop arts and culture within the community

For the full list of 128 projects visit Bank of I.D.E.A.S