Center for Participatory Change
“How has CPC supported Appalachian Heritage Crafters?”
Quotes from the AHC Evaluation
Mountain Views, Winter 2001In November 2000, Paul Castelloe facilitated an evaluation session with the members of AHC. This edition of Mountain Views presents some of their comments about CPC’s role in the development of their craft cooperative. Our staff use this feedback to keep improving the work we do with grassroots groups.
On grantwriting support and planning:
“If CPC hadn’t gotten involved with AHC, then we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are today. For example, the grants that you [Paul] and Cindy and John worked on -- I don’t think that we would have even filed for grants had it not been for CPC. ...And without the planning that went into the grants, we wouldn’t have any idea where we’re going in terms of the crafts store. So as far as long-term planning, CPC has put us where we are. No question about that.”On drawing out people’s ideas and wisdom:
“I think the most positive thing about CPC’s work is the questions that you asked that made us stop and think. It’s very easy when you get together with a group, and there is some common goal that’s agreed on, to have this kind of rush to say, ‘OK, what’s step 1, step 2, step 3 -- we’re there.’ I think a lot of us probably had those steps in our head. I think one of the nicest things you did was to allow all those different ideas to be expressed. Because what I thought at one point changed a lot as I listened to what other people said. All of a sudden my ideas of where we were going started to change.
“We’ve learned for ourselves, but you’ve brought all of this out of the group. You’ve brought all these ideas out that were there, but not expressed. And we see that we have options, and we can choose one over the other. And that, to me, has been a wonderful contribution. You haven’t told us what we’re supposed to do, or when we’re supposed to do it, or how. You have drawn all of this out of us.”On being real:
“What more or less sold me on the idea of getting involved with AHC was that I got the impression after several long talks with Thomas and Craig that they were real, down-to-earth people, that there wasn’t some hidden agenda here. They weren’t going to come in here and try to do something other than what they said that they were going to do. One of my pet peeves is hypocrites. Usually when you’re dealing with do-gooders, they want to come in and tell you how to run your life. And that’s what I initially thought that this was going to be about. But it wasn’t. Far from it.”
On the appeal of CPC’s vision:
“The fact that CPC is looking at not only helping local groups do things, but eventually to establish a network of all those local groups so that we can all work together to start effecting change -- that really appealed to me. ...Because I think that grassroots organizing among people who want to make a difference for themselves is going to have a longer-term effect than opening a crafts store here or helping start an anti-violence workshop there or running an oral history project over here. It’s going to remind folks that yeah, we can decide to do things on our own. We can work together, and as we get a larger group of people working together, we can effect other changes on our own. And I think that if I hadn’t talked about all that with Thomas and Craig, I probably would not have been as involved in AHC.”On participatory change:
“You have a great name, though. Because the idea of participatory change really captures what you do -- the idea that the people who are involved in change participate. They aren’t there with their hands out. You participate. You have a share in what is going on. And I think that’s neat.”On loving what you do, and doing what you love
“Well I think -- and this is going to sound as corny as can be -- I think that part of the success of both AHC and CPC is because people love what they do. And they love it enough to work hard for it, and to work with other people, and to overlook some stuff that maybe in a different time and place and setting they wouldn’t be able to put up with. And I think there’s a bond that comes from that, you know? And for you guys, it’s not so much the crafts. But I think people sense when someone is doing something that they feel they’re meant to do. And that’s how you guys come across. You aren’t just here because you have to earn a check at the end of the week. And I think that definitely has something to do with all of the success that we’ve had.”
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