community

Modeling community efforts to reduce childhood obesity

Why childhood obesity matters According to the latest data, childhood obesity affects nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States, a number which has more than tripled since the early 1970s. Children who have obesity are at a higher risk of many immediate health risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, type…

       




community

Modeling community efforts to reduce childhood obesity

Why childhood obesity matters According to the latest data, childhood obesity affects nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States, a number which has more than tripled since the early 1970s. Children who have obesity are at a higher risk of many immediate health risks such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, type…

       




community

5 ways to build community with food

Cooking for others and eating together bring people together like nothing else.




community

Micro-community of tiny homes flourishes on rehabilitated vacant lot

A group of tiny home owners have converted a formerly vacant lot into a small but vibrant place to demonstrate the possibilities of living happily with less.




community

This tiny house community aims to help veterans rebuild their lives (Video)

Entirely funded by donations, this project is hoping to provide veterans struggling with PTSD or homelessness free housing, counseling and an experience of the healing power of nature.




community

The Lucky Penny: A small home in one tiny co-housing community (Video)

The themes of this stunning little house are copper, lots of natural light, and participation within an intentional tiny co-housing community.




community

Green Co-Housing Community Development In Nubanusit

New Hampshire USA's first green co-housing community, Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, features renewable energy ready and energy efficiently designed residences. The 29 total units include 7 single-family homes, 7 duplex units, and 2 quad units on a




community

Community Supported Chicken Keeping for Backyard Coops (Video)

I may have once mused on the environmental impact of my backyard chickens, but I have no doubt that, overall, keeping them has been both a wonderful experience and a significant contribution to improving our family's




community

Exploring Community Resilience in Times of Rapid Change: Inspiring Animation (Video)

We live in turbulent times, but this beautiful animation offers a systemic approach to facing up to change.




community

Free the Jailed Hikers in Iran, Permaculture Community Pleads (Video)

From child labor in the cocoa industry to human rights issues in the oil industry, we've often reported on the intersect between environmentalism and social justice—but all too often environmentalism and human rights




community

A sense of community may be the best medicine

The English town of Frome has seen a significant drop in emergency hospital admissions since it began connecting ill residents with volunteers and support groups.




community

Curious? Rent this mini-earthship in a permaculture community (Video)

Interested in trying out a night or two in a hand-built earthship? Here's one you can rent, located in an "eco-preneur" and permaculture community in Quebec.




community

Master Plan for new community in Bergen is seriously low carbon

It's got all three: low transportation energy, low embodied carbon, low operating energy.




community

Community solar-plus-storage goes big in Massachusetts

Home owners are going solar, without having to put anything on their roof.




community

Transition City Bristol: Tackling Climate change and Peak Oil with Community Planning

The Transition Town concept, a community focused response to climate change and peak oil, which was pioneered by Rob Hopkins, and which we reported on here and here, is spreading even further. For the first time, it is being tried on a city-wide scale,




community

Transition City Bristol's Big Event: "Unleashing the Collective Genius of the Community"

Hailed by Rob Hopkins as "possibly the biggest peak oil/climate change/Transition event to take place in the UK", Bristol's Big Event looks set to be a huge collective exploration of the future for this city of 400,000 residents as fossil fuels




community

Community Supported Aquaponics Takes Off in the UK

Volunteers are trialling an urban fish farm allotment in Bristol, England. Could this help ensure food security in an uncertain future?




community

How Refugees are Cultivating a Garden and Growing Community

A community garden in Atlanta proviudes refugees from around the Globe a space to grow food, share their culture and to build community as a result.




community

Brooklyn's new community micro-grid will allow for peer-to-peer renewable energy sharing

Solar panels, distributed energy, resilient microgrids, and blockchain. Oh my!




community

Every cool town should have a hot community sauna like this one in Helsinki

The Lonna Sauna, designed by OOPEAA, warms my heart.




community

Join Authors Jarrett Walker and Darrin Nordahl for a Discussion of Public Transportation and Community

Whether urban, suburban, or rural, transportation systems dictate and define human interaction and community. Join BookHugger for a panel discussion of this phenomena.




community

Alabama Teen Fights Pollution in her Community

Cece Durden, a 17-year-old from Uniontown, Alabama, fights coal ash pollution in her hometown




community

Historic bank transformed into modern library & community hub

In rural Alabama, an existing landmark building is converted into a new community gathering spot, instead of being torn down.




community

Danish dome-sheltered community center is built with wood

Designed to reduce construction waste and with energy efficiency in mind, this new community gathering spot strikes an unconventional pose.




community

Meet the Earthship film examines off-grid living in a unique Taos community

The Earthship movement is more than just a bunch of dirty hippies living in a Mad Max-esque compound in the high desert of the American Southwest, as this short film illustrates.




community

More than half of students at U.S. community colleges say they're hungry

Food insecurity is a very real problem for many Americans, but who knew that it affected so many college students, too?




community

Salida, Colorado, will be the home of the largest tiny home community in the US

200 tiny homes, a community building, an exercise facility, a restaurant, and other amenities will be built along the Arkansas River in Salida.




community

The rise of the humble community cookbook

They tell us, "You are not alone. Others have been here before." That's exactly what we need these days.




community

Can a Starbucks become "a beloved community hub"?

Years ago, we used to fight to keep out these corporate invaders. Now we fight to save them?




community

Wood architecture meets nature in new community in Copenhagen

Henning Larsen's design for Fælledby is "a model for sustainable living."






community

Nominate your Community NOW for a Chance to Win a $25,000 Grant - Join State Farm Neighborhood Assist to help improve neighborhoods with a $25k grant

Join State Farm Neighborhood Assist to help improve neighborhoods with a $25k grant




community

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Announces Community Aces Challenge Winners - Five charities win a share of $50,000 in Isle of Capri Casinos’ Community Aces Challenge.

Five charities win a share of $50,000 in Isle of Capri Casinos’ Community Aces Challenge.





community

Isle of Capri Casinos, Inc. Announces Community Aces Challenge Winners - Five charities win a share of $50,000 in Isle of Capri Casinos’ Community Aces Challenge.

Five charities win a share of $50,000 in Isle of Capri Casinos’ Community Aces Challenge.




community

Gillette launches Emojability keyboard for special needs community - Watch Emojability Video

Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare is launching Emojability. Learn more about this one-of-a-kind emoji keyboard app for Android and Apple.






community

Gillette launches Emojability keyboard for special needs community - Watch Emojability Video

Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare is launching Emojability. Learn more about this one-of-a-kind emoji keyboard app for Android and Apple.




community

California identifies nail salons as source of coronavirus community spread, Gov. Newsom says

Unlike some other states that have announced reopenings, California nail salons won't be allowed to reopen until the state's phase 3.




community

What we learned from Hank Green about building community online

Tech Exchange is a student exchange program between Google and 11 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). During the program, students spend a semester at Google’s Mountain View Campus, taking computer science courses and learning about professional development. With Tech Exchange students now learning from home, we brought in a speaker who has made a name for himself by engaging with people online: Hank Green, author and YouTube creator. 

Hank began his journey as a YouTube Creator in 2007 when he and his brother John decided to communicate with each other through video blogs every day for a year. As more people started watching the Vlogbrothers, Hank and John went on to create 32 YouTube channels including Crash Course and SciShow. In a virtual Q&A with Tech Exchange students, Hank shared his insights on how to build community online. Here’s what we learned.

Understand the problem that you’re trying to solve

Hank is often asked, “How does one become a YouTuber?” He says the first step is to understand the question you’re actually trying to solve. “Is it that I want to have a job where I get to be creative all day? Is it that I want to make a specific kind of content that I know is going to be high impact ? Is it that I want to have an audience or that I want to have influence?”

Once you actually know that answer, think about the first step on that path (this applies to content creation but also in everything in life!). It’s important to understand what tools you bring to the table. Put the problem that you’re trying to solve in a bucket with your tools and see what falls out. 

There are other people like you in the world, create for them.

Hank shared three strategies that he and John learned when building the Vlogbrothers community. The first is to find common values and interests. “You just have to say, ‘What is the stuff that I would like to see made in the world?’ There are other people who, it turns out, are somewhat like you in the world, and they will be there for it.” The second is to build a feeling of actual connection and the third piece is what I call the "touchstone," which is the YouTube creator building a relationship with the viewer. You have to make people feel like this person is worthy of being the nexus of a community.

Put the problem that you’re trying to solve in a bucket with your tools and see what falls out.

Create content that represents various perspectives

Through Hank’s channels, he hopes to put out more content that is representative of a variety of voices and perspectives. To do this, he says you have to find hosts who don’t all look the same. But you have to go beyond that too, and give them full ownership of the creative process. The writing, the editing, the style need to be informed culturally all the way through. 


For more tips on building community, check out YouTube Creator Academy and Hank’s YouTube Channel, Vlogbrothers.




community

Remembering Valentina Blackhorse, Beloved 28-Year-Old Navajo Community Activist Who Died of COVID-19

After New York and New Jersey, the next highest number of coronavirus infections per capita in the United States is in the Navajo Nation, the largest Indigenous reservation in the country. We go to Kayenta, Arizona, to speak with Robby Jones, a member of the Navajo Nation and the partner of one of those to die from the virus: 28-year-old Valentina Blackhorse, a beloved community leader who promoted Navajo culture and left behind a daughter named Poet.




community

Pagan Community Notes: PSG 2020 canceled, leadership change within Sacred Well, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar crosses Veil, and more!

In this week's Pagan Community Notes, Pagan Spirit Gathering has been canceled, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar joins the Ancestors, Sacred Well announces changes in leadership, and more!

Continue reading Pagan Community Notes: PSG 2020 canceled, leadership change within Sacred Well, indigenous shaman and actor Antonio Bolivar crosses Veil, and more! at The Wild Hunt.




community

Friday Polynews Roundup — Triad storyline on "The Connors," Black Poly Nation gets TV rep, loving polyfamily profiles, community dreams, and evangelical worry that this all hits too close to home



  • Friday Polynews Roundup
  • poly and christian
  • polyamory on TV
  • tabloids

community

Friday Polynews Roundup — Polyamory in the time of coronavirus, 'Trigonometry' and 'Open' begin on TV, research on ethics in the poly community, and more




community

Game Review: State of Decay 2 focuses on the importance of community

When the first State of Decay came out, it was unique in the way that it focused on the survival aspect of a zombie apocalypse rather than the all-out destruction and gore of killing countless zombies. With the new game, the developers have focused their attention on the community aspect of survival.

Right from the start, you get to choose two characters instead of one and each group and character has their own strengths, skills and background. Like the previous game, you can make your posse and build a base of operations complete with a farm and fortification. There are three open world maps — each the size of the map in the original game.

This huge world is littered with empty cabins, new places to build outposts and gather resources. Risky as it may be, the game forces you to explore resources simply because weapons break and you can run out of fuel, food and medical supplies. Venturing out also helps you meet new people to add to the community. State of Decay 2 really hits you home with all the death — losing a built-up human resource can be painful. You can die by getting killed in combat or by way of infection.

Dying in combat is also rare as the AI-controlled characters do a good job of handling themselves, while you take care of business. The only real time you are in danger is when you encounter morbidly obese super zombies that can tear you apart. These guys are tough, but they are the most fun combat you will face in the game, second only to running over zombies with a car, which could have been better if the cars handled better.

Plus, it pays to remember that fuel is a limited resource that you might want to save. Scavenging for resources is fairly simple — if you need fuel, you can raid a gas station; if you need food, find a convenience store or abandoned encampment. Gathered resources can be used to build up, upgrade and fortify your own camp. While there is a ton of stuff to do in the camp and in the surrounding areas, State of Decay 2 does have a main story.

The story mode is a great way to learn about the game and experience various situations as you search for plague hearts to destroy. Plague hearts are throbbing masses of flesh, and it is what produces the infectious plague zombies, identifiable with their glowing eyes. To reduce their numbers, you need to find and destroy the hearts. While the story mode is fulfilling, the camp building and exploring is where the game's strength lies.

We played an advanced copy of the game and the final game will be released on Tuesday. State of Decay 2 still has a lot of bugs, which hopefully will be ironed out soon. Some bugs we encountered on the PC version of the game were floating zombies, breaks in rendering and freezing. This is not a big issue and the developers are sure to patch this over time. And, while the game is very competitively priced, we would recommend waiting for a future bug-free version before jumping in.

State of Decay 2
Rating: 3.5/5
Developer: Undead Labs
Publisher: Microsoft
Platform: PC, XBOX
Price: Rs 1,924

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates





community

Transforming fashion through community innovation

The fashion industry has been linked to pollution, waste, and modern slavery. In light of this, an EU-funded project led a series of successful experiments designed to spark radical, sustainable change while, at the same time, uniting Europe's textile and clothing businesses.




community

This Israeli filmmaker is set to document Mumbai's Jewish community


Moshe Holtzberg praying with the Rabbi at Chabad House on Wednesday. Oren Rosenfeld, Israeli documentary maker, who flew with the family to Mumbai from Tel Aviv on Tuesday says the 11-year-old is aware of his past and what it represents. Pic Courtesy/Oren Rosenfeld

It's nearing 4.30 pm, and there's much activity at the Magen David Synagogue in Byculla. Carpets are being laid out and guests who will probably have to wait long are being offered tea and coffee. There's a lawn outside where - with the sun not at its shiniest best thanks to Mumbai's faux winter - a few tables and chairs have been laid out with white satin sheets that the brain registers as celebratory. In the midst of the activity, avoiding the scaffolds that still line the freshly painted blue walls of the 154-year-old synagogue, stands Devina Sankar, a Los Angeles resident who is in Mumbai on a three-week vacation. Looking into a Sony PXW-X70 handycam, she reminisces her school days spent next-door, where as a naughty student she'd often have her ears twisted. It elicits a sound of surprise from the man behind the camera, Oren Rosenfeld. An Israeli filmmaker, in India to document Mumbai's Jewish community, Rosenfeld is collecting several such accounts of the Jewish community's India experience.

In between interviews with his subjects, primarily Eddna Samuel (a Parel resident who Rosenfeld poetically calls the needle through which he will thread the narrative of his feature-length documentary), he points out that the synagogue, which is currently being prepped for the launch of a monthly magazine celebrating India-Israel ties and the Jewish community here titled, Namaste Shalom, is a Baghdadi-Jew synagogue. It's a community that most recall for its best-known Mumbai member, David Sassoon. "What's interesting here is that the Baghdadi Jews and Bene-Israelis [Jewish settlers in India who trace their history to the Lost Tribes] have come together. There are certain prayers in Judaism that cannot be conducted if there are less than 10 men. So, to fulfill that requirement, the Bene-Israelis come over to Baghdadi synagogues to up numbers," he adds.


Rosenfeld meets Baby Moshe's uncle Moshe Holtzberg at the Nariman Point home of common friend Suril Desai, also executive producer of the Mumbai Jews documentary. Moshe Senior, a Rabbi, lives in New York, and has flown in for the three-day visit of the family to Chabad House which he worked to ensure was not shut down. Rosenfeld says that while members of the Chabad House usually don’t mingle with other Jewish communities, the 26/11 attacks changed that in Mumbai, achieving the opposite. Pics/Atul Kamble

The timing of the magazine's launch, admits Rosenfeld, couldn't have been better. While the media seems to have almost given this a miss, just a few kilometres away Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu are setting the stage for better economic and strategic ties between the two countries at Colaba's Hotel Taj Mahal Palace. "But, I don't think they planned it that way."

Almost as if answering a question unasked, Rosenfeld, who runs the Jerusalem-based Holy Land Productions and has worked on projects for the BBC and National Geographic, says "I don't need to be there [i.e. Colaba]. I already have great shots from yesterday." What Rosenfeld refers to is the almost exclusive access he enjoyed as a journalist to Baby Moshe, 11, whose parents Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and Rivka Holtzberg were killed during the terror attacks at Chabad House on November 26, 2008. Baby Moshe (referred to as such because he shares his first name with his uncle) made his first visit to Mumbai post 26/11 on Tuesday amidst much media frenzy. Rosenfeld was invited by the Holtzberg family (Gavriel and Rivka's parents) to travel with them on the flight from Tel Aviv to Mumbai last week, and later Baby Moshe's first steps into Nariman House after the time his parents were killed along with four others.


Devina Sankar, a Los Angeles resident in Mumbai on a three-week vacation, speaks to Rosenfeld outside the Magen David Synagogue in Byculla where the Namaste Shalom magazine was launched on Thursday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

On putting the boy through this, Rosenfeld says, "Baby Moshe always has his four grandparents around him. Plus, there's a psychologist who travels with him. He is showing signs of awareness of his past." Rosenfeld, who has a young son the same age as Moshe, says, "In Judaisim, a boy is said to become an adult at the age of 13, which is when the Bar Mitzvah is held. Moshe is almost that age now."

Initially, shy, Baby Moshe soon became comfortable with Rosenfeld's presence. A photograph the filmmaker picks from his iOS gallery is of the child standing before a luggage conveyor belt at Mumbai T2 alone. "He stepped away from his grandparents and waited at the carousel to pick up his heavy bag," he says, about a symbolic scene.

Chabad House, says the 41-year-old filmmaker, across the world has represented a community that has stood away from local communities. "They are more traditional and have stricter kosher rules." What the Mumbai attacks did, however, was to bring all of the city's Jews together. "On Tuesday, at a local Jewish community event, Moshe's grandparents were invited to speak. This [members of a Chabad House mingling] doesn't happen anywhere. If the idea of the terror attack was to shake the community, it did the opposite. It only made them stronger."

Yet, this might only inform a small part of the documentary. Had it not been for the connection between the communities forged after the attacks, the two would have been separate entities. What he is looking for is a Mumbai Jew's life in the city. "In Israel you have a lot of Jews who have come from different countries. However, the ones from India still share a deep connect with the country. They are in touch with their families and return here for vacations."

The travel back and forth is important. Samuel, when the camera is turned away from her, expresses how a multi-entry visa would help everyone. But that's for the PMs' ears. For Rosenfeld's camera, she talks about the excitement of seeing an article, on her life and her community, appearing in Namaste Shalom. And, when that's done, Rosenfeld disappears into the sidelines and records the rest of the evening. A coffee he was drinking is hastily put to rest on the floor as a BJP dignitary he probably doesn't recognise makes a late entry.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, current affairs from Mumbai, local news, crime news and breaking headlines here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go





community

New manual charts out route for LGBTQ community to navigate the legal framework


(Left to right) Vidhi Legal members Namrata Mukherjee, Nitika Khaitan and Nivedita Saksena. Pic/Ajay Gautam

The legal framework in India has often posed many a problem for members of the LGBTQ community. Some regulations are being changed, and certain implementations are underway. But, taking into account the slow pace of change, a new manual helps members of the queer community navigate the lacking legal regime, as it exists currently.

The manual deals with identity documents, violence, education, health and personal finances. It is the brainchild of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, a Delhi-based think-tank conducting legal research assisting the government to make better laws. Namrata Mukherjee, a core member of the team explains, "Legal change will only come slowly; meanwhile, it is important to spread awareness on how queer community can access its rights, working around the law that's already in place." Pallav Patankar, former director of programmes at Mumbai's The Humsafar Trust, India's oldest LGBTQ organisation, scrutinised the 112-page manual. While he's appreciative of the initiative, he outlined certain critical insights to us which we got Vidhi Legal to respond to.


Pallav Patankar. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Trans women having two PAN cards - male and female - which is illegal
"This is because of the (hitherto) missing option of transgender, on the PAN card application," says Nitika Khaitan, another core member. "As of three weeks ago, that option has been introduced. Now you can reapply with the gender of your choice."

The manual seems to be critical about the concept of Aadhaar...
"Aadhaar has been at the centre of controversy mainly due to privacy concerns. Because privacy is intrinsic to this community, it's important to flag this. We are in no way influencing the debate," says Mukherjee. The manual states clearly that Aadhaar does not require people to verify their gender. "You are supposed to be able to put the gender of your choice. The implementation of this, of course, depends on the concerned on-ground officer," she adds.

Discrimination in school addresses the transgender issue and not sexuality
"There's very little by way of government policies that addresses the issue of discrimination at the school level. While UGC guidelines for trans students are there, there is no such thing with regards to sexuality," says Khaitan. The manual is addressed entirely to those above 18 years of age. "Underage boys and girls often face problems related to violence, healthcare, emotional abuse and discrimination in educational institutions. This is one area where we have not been able to find a solution," she adds.

The listed steps while procuring a voter ID are not followed by officials
Mukherjee says, "We have heard several complaints related to this. One tactic could be to take a copy of the NALSA judgment (National Legal Services Authority vs Union of India) that recognises the fundamental and civil rights of transgender persons, and present your case to the officials on ground. Another option is to approach your local MP and get him to write a letter on your behalf which you can take to the electoral photo ID centre and then mark the gender of your choice. You must also carry the gazette notification that says you've changed your name and gender. But, the success of these tactics depends entirely on the attitude of on-ground officials."

The chapter on health is from an academic perspective on health, gender dysphoria and gender affirmative therapy. What is the legal connect with India?
"There isn't a connect. There is nothing in our legal framework that regulates gender dysphoria or gender therapy. Because the queer community always encounters discrimination or harassment when they approach healthcare service providers, we have outlined general remedies that would be available to them under medical negligence laws, HIV Act; specific provisions that address discrimination that not many know of," says Khaitan.

Some suggestions in the manual seem to apply only to the digitally literate
Mukherjee says, "We are cognisant of the fact that access is determined by class. The idea of the manual is to reach grassroot LGBTQ organisations that will be able to disseminate the manual more effectively. This could be a tool that they can hopefully rely on while trying to access justice. We are also getting the manual translated into five regional languages." Add to this, the first chapter on identity documents is being recorded as a Hindi podcast. "We hope to publish it on social media, so that people can easily access it on WhatsApp etc."

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates