WELCOME TO OUR CULTURE POD.
Artwork by Valerie Hammond
The Culture Pod expresses the values of Living Soil Asia, surfacing not just what we do, but how we do our work in a way that embodies our values. This is a practice in how we care for one another and hold space for community in a way that is grounding and nourishing.
In this process of cultivation, we have collectively come up with a Community Agreement as a basis to inform our practice.
We ask ourselves as we embark on this journey of co-creating regenerative ways of being while regenerating soils in a highly urban city:
What are our primary needs?
What do regenerative ways of living feel and look like?
What are some of the practices that we can put in place to cultivate and nurture these ways?
How do we cultivate a culture of care and the becoming of one large multicellular complex organism who are interdependent and interbeing?
Our Values
We are…
Values-Focused
We are here to express and act on our values
as part of our livelihood.
Community-Oriented
We believe that community is essential, and we seek to work together as a whole organism while acknowledging each person’s unique contributions.
Regenerative & Abundant
We embrace an abundant mindset that embodies regenerative ways of living.
Care-Based & Person-First
We practice a culture of care for everyone we work with and how we interact with each person.
Inclusive & Diverse
We welcome diverse and plural perspectives that can be a source of resilience in our complex world.
Intersectional & Intercultural
We engage in intersectional thinking and
seek intercultural collaborations.
“…like myriad organisms in the universe each playing our part, flowing as a river towards the big picture of the regenerative ocean that we co-define together, through an iterative process of learning and growing.”
— Excerpt from the “Interdependence & Reciprocity” section of the Living Soil Asia Community Agreement
Living Practices
In the past five years, we have had several team workshops, experiments and learnings with iterations as we journey with one another’s seasons in life.
Sharing here some of the living practices we have in place:
Incorporating resilience: Co-holding and redundancy
We design our work so no one carries anything alone. Responsibilities are shared, systems have backups, and we step in for one another when life asks for rest, transition, recalibration and even grief. This ensures continuity while honouring each person’s changing capacity and personal seasons.
Holding a balance between structure and flexibility: Weekly practice — rhythm, schedule, meeting format
We keep a simple weekly rhythm: clear agendas, gentle check-ins that reflect metaphors of the weather and nature, and an intentional spaciousness to realign together through deep listening.
Our structure offers clear sensing, while cultivating flexibility allows for any personal cycles, caregiving, fieldwork, and the ebb and flow of energy to be fully alive, as they are. We root our work in being relationally attuned to one another, to the current needs of this living entity that is Living Soil Asia and in the earthly cycles around us.
Equitable structure of remuneration:
Collective distribution of available resources
Our remuneration model is needs-based, supportive and transparent. We pool what is available and distribute based on individual and collective needs so the work is sustainable for everyone. This practice invites honesty, vulnerability, mutual care, and a shared responsibility for the wellbeing of the whole.
Living Soil Asia’s Community Agreement
Flowing As One River
This Community Agreement is a set of shared guidelines for how we choose to practice showing up for ourselves and each other. These guidelines express our intentions and aspirations as we journey together.
Rooted & Balanced:
We anchor into our inner sense of security and confidence to co-create a nourishing and regenerative space together. We honour the inner strength and courage required to show up, to be seen and heard, and to stand up for things we believe in.
We cultivate openness, trust and kindness to support each other in being at our learning edges as we grow together.
We practise being inclusive and non-judgemental, and centre self- and community-care as the foundation of our work together; establishing genuine connections and taking a person-first approach to how we support one another as human beings.
We acknowledge challenges and respond to changes with self-awareness, committing to communicating openly from the heart with one another, without taking things personally.
Safety & Presence:
We are present for one another in such a way where everyone can show up as our whole selves and feel accepted. We commit to co-creating a safe and compassionate space where we can have similarities and differences, where we can speak, be vulnerable, and be held.
We do our best to show up on time, be fully present, and ready to offer active and deep listening to one another.
We aim to stay present, coming into awareness of our own personal issues and resourcing ourselves if we are triggered, and asking for support when needed.
We assume good intent, and are aware that intention does not always result in aligned impact; and we continue to learn to communicate authentically and skillfully. When mistakes occur, we are honest in taking responsibility for the harm we cause, and are open to learning and addressing them kindly, respectfully, and with care.
We are mindful not to hijack conversations and manage our personal sense of safety.
Focus, Fun & Flow:
We strive to refine clarity of our intentions and purposes, that allow us to focus on what needs to be done while holding space for the ability to respond to emerging circumstances.
We remain open and receptive to feedback and enquiries, so that we can be in connection with what is relevant for us to serve in the larger ecosystem of regeneration.
We own our individual scope, acknowledge and value everyone’s unique role and contribution, to our collective efforts in co-creating regenerative ways of being.
Individually and collectively, we enjoy the process of collaboration, like myriad organisms in the universe each playing our part, flowing as a river towards the big picture of the regenerative ocean that we co-define together, through an iterative process of learning and growing.
We have fun being focused and in the flow!
Interdependence & Reciprocity:
We embrace the spirit of reciprocity and generosity, knowing that we are all in this together, with and for one another.
We honour the deep trust within this community, in cultivating a sense of belonging with one another. We acknowledge the sacredness within this container that we are building together, and celebrate our collective achievements, impacts, and togetherness.
We communicate our needs and boundaries, and respect one another’s needs, choices and boundaries, which may be different and changing.
Our culture is ever-evolving.
Come visit this page again for upcoming sharings or wander over to our Substack page to explore how some of these values come alive in practice.
