Coexist

Hub England & Wales

Number of people in group:

30

Active participants in last year:

500

Group started:

2008

Paid roles?

Yes

Legal Structure:

Other

Charitable Community Benefit Society

How active is your group?

Very Active

Live Projects:

• Community Growing
• Other food projects
• Nature
• Community hub or activities
• Festivals, fairs or events
• Art / creativity
• Community visioning / imagination work
• Building local networks
• Local economy or new economy projects
• Wellbeing or Inner Transition
• Social Justice / Just Transition activities
• Youth or education projects
• Share, Repair or reuse
• Energy
• Transport

Coexist – a Bristol-based social enterprise renowned for growing creative community spaces, pioneering new economy projects and fostering community-led resurgence.

In 2008, Coexist founded Hamilton House  in Stokes Croft, Bristol – as a pilot ‘Centre for Excellence in Sustainable Community’. Through careful co-production and collaboration it became one of the UK’s largest and most successful community-cultural hubs, which it managed for ten years before the organisation’s much publicised eviction, along with over 500 artists, social enterprises and charities, in December 2018.

Drawing upon its experience and learnings, Coexist is now building a movement to support communities and community hubs across Bristol.  Many vital spaces and places – as well as organisations and services – are under threat.  We believe that this network of people, infrastructure, knowledge and expertise is essential for individuals and communities to thrive.  These resources need to be championed, nurtured and protected if we are to be successful in transitioning to a more sustainable future.

As part of this work, Coexist has launched The Bristol Commons – a movement for sustainable community prosperity.  It’s current aims are to:

• Building A Network Of Commoners

  • Connecting individuals, groups, and organisations around themes/tasks.
  • Building an online hub/platform
  • Gathering and developing shared resources and tools
  • Organising and running regular community gatherings, networking/commoning events/meetings
  • Developing and implementing a membership framework

  Bringing Vital Assets And Infrastructure Into Community Control

  • Developing and using mechanisms for facilitating commons ownership of flagship buildings, land, spaces and assets.

  Facilitating Communities to Protect And Care For Our Shared Assets 

  • Co-creating and managing an equity-based commoning grants programme
  • Providing accessible commons education through the Bristol School of Commoning

  Generating a Surplus to Reinvest in The Commons

  • Developing, promoting and using circular/cyclical, processes for income generation, resource sharing transvestment and reinvestment back into the Commons.
  • Developing platforms and processes for the exchange of skills, resources, knowledge, stories and other gifts among and beyond members

  Generating Political Power And Momentum in The Commons Movement

  • Influencing, educating and collaborating with local, regional and national government on a range of issues identified by the membership
  • Learning and practising participatory decision making in order to amplify and accelerate our work and build a commons culture

This work is embedded within the Transition Movement, as commoning and recommoning is a restorative process that values our whole Earth and all its shared abundance, biodiversity and resources as sacred and vital.  We use commoning as a practice to move from an industrial growth society towards an ecologically just and restorative society.