We recognize the wisdom inherent in the cyclical turn of seasons – hibernations and migrations, periods of wild abundance and of decomposition, moments to attune to transition. To adapt to these rhythms as a collective, the Law Center is taking Monday March 18th through Friday March 23rd off for a collective week of rest.  

How did the Law Center implement a policy of seasonal collective rests? Back in 2021, after a year of surviving the pandemic and witnessing ongoing police brutality against Black people on the news and social media, Law Center staff were exhausted and heart broken. Our Internal Resilience Circle — they organize internal policies, plan staff training on conflict engagement and anti-oppression, and monitor the overall wellbeing of staff — noticed the collective burn out and proposed we take a collective week off.  The break was hugely successful, turning into a permanent policy that makes space for three collective rests a year. 

Why do we need collective rests outside of regular Paid Time Off (PTO)? We found that during collective rests staff felt:

• Less guilt someone will have to pick up our slack 
• No fear we might miss something important at work 
• More ease and freedom to unplug knowing that our community, clients, and partners understood all staff were taking a break

As we bear witness to the inhumanity of genocide, ride the waves of collective upheaval across the globe, and grieve the reality of climate collapse and an ongoing pandemic, we hope more self-governing organizations prioritize moments of rest. Take a look at our Seasonal Rest Period policy on our Policy Wiki for specifics on how we do it. May we all have space to pause, rest our bodies and souls, and recalibrate so that we can continue the work towards our collective liberation. 

Fundraiser for One Africa Health Resort in Ghana

Our longtime collaborators Repaired Nations are seeking support! 

Repaired Nations believes that Global Liberation will come through Pan African liberation and cooperation. One Africa will become a multi-stakeholder cooperative designed to provide living wages to Ghanians and non-extractive investment to the Diaspora. Kickstarter donations or Wefunder investments will support the cooperative transition, job training, & initial operations of One Africa. You can check out https://www.repairednations.coop/oneafrica to learn more information and find the links to donate or invest: https://youtu.be/hS8uWEqI_PE.

Solidarity Economy Funding Library 

What will it take to create the conditions for a true Just Transition that radically transforms how we currently resource our movements? We can start by sharing who’s funding the solidarity economy  movement. Check out the new open source Funder Library from the New Economy Coalition. We hope it can connect you and other solidarity economy organizations with new funding sources.