Grassroots: A way to organize our efforts towards a better Pisco?

By: Rayna

We often hear the word grassroots when talking about environmental action, civil rights and political campaigning. In all honesty, many civil rights movements and environmental campaigns started at a grass roots level. Martin Luther King Jr., Eneresto (Che) Guevara, Mother Teresa, Ghandi, and Rosa Parks are all examples of people who used grassroots lobbying effectively. But what does grassroots mean anyway and where did it come from?

According to Dictionary.com, grassroots refers to people who come from the country or rural areas. Grassroots is defined as:

The common or ordinary people, especially as contrasted with the leadership or elite of a political party, social organization,etc.; the rank and file.

Therefore, grassroots movements begin with the people of the land as opposed to political power or the economically wealthy.

Ever since I started working, I have always worked for organizations that function as a hierarchy, from the top down. For example, my boss would explain my duties to me and the boss of my boss would explain his or her duties to him/her. Never in my working experience have I seen the the “entry worker” position make the calls. I have never seen a “grassroots” organization until I came to Pisco Sin Fronteras.

Pisco Sin Fronteras is entirely a volunteer-run organization. Yes, there are staff members that organize the volunteers, take care of finances, and maintain general order, but it is the volunteers that run the projects. Even the people in administrative positions began as volunteers and ended up as staff because they chose to stay longer and wanted to try being a staff member. Staff positions are non-paid, but do earn free room and board.

Volunteers have the opportunity to run the show at PSF. In fact, the volunteers are the only ones who run the show. Even if you have been at the organization for less than a week, you can take on a project as if you have been working there for years. For example, when PSF realized that their building efforts may not be able to withstand another earthquake, a volunteer came up with an idea to use a building technology that is more resistant to earthquakes: earthbags. PSF set up a team to build a wall out of earthbags. After seeing the success, PSF decided to build a community center out of earthbags. The volunteer who brought this idea to PSF was here for only two weeks.

I quickly realized that PSF has the labor to go forward with building the community center, but they do not have the money for the materials. Because of this kunundrum, my good friend Eduardo and I decided to throw a fundraiser in Lima. Not only did PSF fully support this idea, but also they organized a team of people to help pull it off. About 25 people showed up to attend and help run the event, which was 3 and a half hours away!

Now the community center construction is being carried out, and if it is successful, PSF is going to continue building homes with earthbags. This could change the face of construction in Pisco.

Volunteers have the ability to run a project as if they were one of the managers. It is amazing what can be accomplished because of the different skill-sets, experience, and perspectives of all the volunteers.

However, it is not always easy working with 60 other people who all have equal say in an organization. When changes need to be made, instead of one or two people making the decision, there are 60 different opinions on what is best to do. How do organizations get anything done when there are 60 different ideas about how to do something?

PSF attempts to curb this madness by having organized discussions such as the “all hands meeting.” This meeting is meant to be a venue where people can bring up ideas and others can offer their opinions on the matter. After about 10 to 15 minutes of discussing the issue, all the volunteers take a vote.

Although this does help organize volunteers thoughts, many ideas are brought up but never executed. To add to this lack of execution, a volunteer arrives at the organization and brings ideas with them but then leaves only to pass that idea onto someone else. Many important aspects of the project are lost in translation.

Everyday PSF has to struggle with this anarchy. However, even with all the disarray, PSF continues to do great work, and gives thousands of volunteers leadership opportunities that they could only dream to have after five years of working for the same corporation.

Discussion
What are some ways that grassroots organizations can improve?
Is grassroots the only way to run an organization based off of egalitarianism?