Mapping the Tributaries of Ecological Organisations

Honouring the lineage of this work.

The Ecological Organisations Framework and the underlying story of ecological organisations didn’t appear out of nowhere. There was no rubbing of a magic lamp or download from the universe. Instead, this work sprung out of the rich and diverse mulch of the work and ideas of others, and a multitude of teachers and elders.

As part of her work into how we might move towards a thrivable world, my friend and often-inspirator Michelle Holiday has started a beautiful open-source mapping of ‘the tributaries (and (dis)tributories) of thrivability’, with tributaries here meaning the ‘countless lineages (that) form a comprehensive, expansive body of thought and a lifelong flow of deepening practice.’

Inspired and moved by the rightness of honouring and naming the work that comes before us, I have spent some lovely hours mapping the tributaries, i.e. the lineage, of the story of ecological organisations and the EO framework to honour the mulch from which this work sprung.

An Imperfect Mapping

This will be an imperfect mapping because:

➳ It will certainly miss important work. When I trace the knowable start of this work, it’s been an 8 year (or so) lead up, and I haven’t intentionally mapped the books or articles I’ve read, workshops or events I’ve attended, or podcasts or teachers I’ve listened to in that time.

➳ It will limit the mapping to the ideas, teachers, practices, perspectives, and work that I can directly trace into the framework and the underlying story. I’m not going to attempt to map the lineages that lie behind these.