Community Toolkit
Practical templates and guides for building local resilience
Individual resilience is limited. Real security comes from community. These tools help you organize with neighbours, run effective meetings, and build the relationships that become infrastructure.
All templates are designed to be printed, copied, and adapted for your context.
Neighbourhood First Meeting Guide
Use this agenda for your first neighbourhood resilience meeting. Keep it light, focus on relationships, and end with one concrete action.
Meeting Agenda (90 minutes)
- 0:00Welcome & food
Share a simple meal or snacks. Food builds trust.
- 0:15Introductions round
Name, how long you've lived here, one skill you could share.
- 0:30Why we're here
Brief framing: not doom, but practical mutual support. Read a passage from Chapter 2.
- 0:45Skills inventory
Fill out skills cards together. What can you teach? What do you want to learn?
- 1:00Discussion: What do we need?
Open conversation about vulnerabilities and opportunities in your area.
- 1:15One action
Agree on ONE thing to do before next meeting. Start a group chat. Plan a skill-share. Tour someone's garden.
- 1:25Next meeting
Set date, time, location. Rotate hosts if possible.
Tips for Success
- - Keep it social. This is about relationships, not presentations.
- - No jargon. Avoid words like "resilience" or "permaculture" until trust is built.
- - Include skeptics. Diverse viewpoints strengthen the group.
- - Follow up within 48 hours. Send notes and the group chat invite.
Neighbourhood Skills Inventory
Print one per household. Collect and create a neighbourhood skills directory.
Skills & Resources Card
Mutual Aid Agreement Template
A simple framework for formalizing neighbourhood support. Not legally binding, but creates shared expectations.
Neighbourhood Mutual Aid Agreement
We, the undersigned neighbours, agree to support each other in building local resilience. We commit to:
1. Communication: Maintain contact through [group chat/phone tree] and check in during emergencies.
2. Skill sharing: Offer our skills freely to neighbours when able, and attend [monthly/quarterly] skill-share gatherings.
3. Resource sharing: Lend tools and equipment listed in our skills inventory, with care and prompt return.
4. Emergency support: Check on vulnerable neighbours during extreme weather, power outages, or other disruptions.
5. Inclusion: Welcome new neighbours and maintain an open, non-partisan community.
This agreement is voluntary and based on goodwill. We understand that everyone has different capacities and life circumstances. We give what we can, when we can.
Signatures:
Date: _______________
Emergency Contact Sheet
Print and post near your door. Share with neighbours.
Emergency Contacts
12-Month Meeting Topics
A suggested curriculum for monthly neighbourhood gatherings. Adapt to your bioregion and season.
Community Resource Mapping
Questions to answer together. Walk your neighbourhood and note locations.
Map These Resources
Water
- - Where is the nearest natural water source? (stream, spring, well)
- - Who has rainwater collection?
- - Where are public drinking fountains?
Food
- - Who grows food? (gardens, balconies, allotments)
- - Where are fruit trees on public land?
- - What wild edibles grow nearby?
- - Where is the nearest farmers market?
Shelter & Safety
- - Where would you shelter in extreme heat/cold?
- - Who has backup heating/cooling?
- - Where is high ground in case of flooding?
People
- - Who are the vulnerable neighbours? (elderly, disabled, isolated)
- - Who has medical training?
- - Who has trade skills? (plumbing, electrical, carpentry)
Ready to start?
The hardest part is the first conversation. Invite one neighbour for tea. That's where it begins.