OANM attendees sharing their thoughts and reflections
“I had all my needs met in just this group” - Mama Atiba Jones
On Day 3 of our 9th Annual Black Sustainability Summit, members were able to gather together in a shared space to hold an in-person Offers and Needs Market. An Offers and Needs Market (OANM) is a manner of facilitating community resource sharing in a human-centered and life-centered way. These practices create space for connections that are mutually beneficial, rather than isolated and extractive. Our network has hosted OANM's internally and wanted to extend this opportunity to our BSS2024 attendees. To ensure the session reached a broad audience, Black Sustainability, Inc. and the Metro Atlanta Mutual Aid Fund collaborated to host a brunch at The BAF Kemet Club on the final day of our summit with presenter and facilitator, Mike Tekh Strode of Kola Nut Collaborative in Chicago, IL.
“This was my first time participating in an offers & needs market! I was really impressed by the outline of the sessions and I enjoyed the information that was shared. Our facilitator, Mike Tekh Strode, brought a wealth of knowledge from the Post Growth Institute that can be applied to future offers and needs markets that our team hosts as well as events participants attend in the future.” - Lauriel Stewart, Black Sustainability, Inc.
Attendees packed the Kemet Club, ate a unique meal prepared by Kings Apron and enjoyed learning how to have more direct conversations about skills they are passionate about and asking for what they need. Summit participants were surprised by how fun it was to talk to others about their passions and to learn about other people’s inspirations as well. This brunch was an excellent opportunity for members to exchange current community projects, deepening awareness of how they show up in the world. The room was consistently full of excitement and there was a shared energy of eagerness to learn and grow outside of one’s comfort zone. Everyone left the event with next steps on how to engage with the connections they made - fulfilling offers and needs.
“I didn’t realize I was this *^$@ing cool!” -Nic Clark, Georgia Conservation Voters
The first question attendees were asked is “What are you passionate about that you do not get paid for?” This encouraged people to look into the gifts they have that are not always explicitly profitable. It helped people realize the gifts that they live with and can access every day, as expressed by Nic Clark, who attended representing the Georgia Conservation Voters. Nic was able to provide many offerings that were outside of her job description but were passions that she is very good at. It brought her into awareness and appreciation of those talents.
OANM attendees collectively action planning
Community members walked away from this experience with a deeper understanding of their purpose and how to implement what they’ve learned through networking conversations. Those who are community builders were excited to learn more about what people are building and identifying shared interests and goals for growth.
OANM attendees sharing their passions and goals
There were a handful of few people in the room who had received facilitator training through the Post Growth Institute but the majority of attendees. Black Sustainability looks forward to hosting more OANMs in the future for their members both virtually and in person.
Amazing!