Our slogan above is intended to convey four distinct, yet interrelated, priorities:
- Homegrown: To express our belief in, and commitment to, local community strengths.
- Solutions: To communicate the importance of constructive innovations to address pressing issues.
- Patchwork: To honor tradition, in its place, while opening our minds and hearts to include new perspectives.
- World: To develop citizens capable of making significant changes locally and globally.
The more we work to unpack our purpose as an organization that offers “Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World”, the greater depth and breadth we are finding hidden in each of these four priorities.
Homegrown: By homegrown, we mean rooted in the local, rooted in our families and our communities and where we live. We are using the metaphor for planting and growth to think about how we must each start from the self and our “home base” as the seed and the soil for any meaningful change. Our families and communities of origin have a great deal of influence over who we are and the meaning we assign to our lives and our purpose. Any journey to change the world must begin and end with the local. When we build upon the strengths of an individual and a community to bring about change, the potential for success increases exponentially as capacity is acknowledged, enhanced and, ultimately, multiplied by the power of the collective.
Solutions: The solutions focus in our slogan causes us to think about solving puzzles and life dilemmas that face all humans. At Blue Roads, we are committed to acknowledging the problems that certainly exist, but using our energy with intention toward inquiry and innovative strategies to address the issues without “praising the problem” ad nauseum. Changemakers are born out of opportunities that are learner-centered, inquiry-based and practical in nature. Design thinking, service learning, project-based learning, action research and appreciative inquiry are among the solution-focused methods we promote and teach in our work with organizational leaders.
Patchwork: Here, we are referencing beautiful patchwork quilts as a metaphor for our commitment to engage both tradition and opportunity. Patchwork quilts are both works of art and practical sources of warmth and comfort. They are constructed by sewing together colorful pieces of fabric in either orderly repeating patterns or a random hodgepodge of scraps. Either approach has its purpose and both can be used as metaphor for the diversity of humanity in all its forms. The patchwork for us reminds us that there is beauty and power in community and diversity. While we are comforted by familiarity, we are challenged and enriched by multiplicity. The patchwork reminds us to celebrate our culture and our traditions while opening our minds and our hearts to the rich experiences and perspectives of others. It is only by doing so that we will be able to grow and change in order to thrive in a manner that benefits all.
World: This key word in our slogan reminds us that the heart of our work in Blue Roads is about developing the global competencies of citizens so that they are prepared to make the world a better place. We teach about and with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to join in the worldwide mission of attaining these goals by 2030. Learn more here: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
We hope you’ll join us in quest to create Homegrown Solutions for a Patchwork World!
Always learning! Always changing!
Patti Talbot
