Participation at TEIKEI is not an abstract guiding principle but part of everyday action. It means that people are not merely using a finished offering but can contribute to shaping supply, relationships, and communal structures.
TEIKEI assumes that a community-supported food supply is only sustainable in the long term if as many participants as possible are not just involved but genuinely engaged. Participation therefore means that responsibility is not outsourced to a few but shared collectively.
This does not mean that everyone has to do everything. Rather, it is about creating spaces where people can contribute according to their abilities, time, experience, and motivation.
At TEIKEI, participation takes many small and large forms of co-creation.
A central area of participation is order communities. They emerge where people collectively take responsibility for supply, coordinate, support processes, and thereby strengthen local or regional structures.
Participation is also reflected in the ability to provide feedback, ask questions, share experiences, and contribute to the further development of processes. This keeps the structure adaptable and connected to the actual needs of those involved.
Workshops, meetings, exchange formats, and communal learning processes are further expressions of participation. They create opportunities to share knowledge, gain orientation, and work together on solutions.
In everyday life, participation often means taking on specific roles. These can include organizational tasks, coordination, communication, or guiding certain processes. This makes co-creation practical and visible.
Participation strengthens the quality of relationships within the network. It can help people experience themselves not just as users of a structure but as part of a shared endeavor. This fosters identification, responsibility, and long-term commitment.
At the same time, participation protects against communal structures devolving into hidden hierarchies or merely functional processes. Where participation is taken seriously, the opportunity remains to reflect on and further develop structures together.
TEIKEI understands participation as an expression of a different economic approach. Supply should not be exclusively organized, managed, or marketed but should emerge from relationships in which people contribute, learn, and share responsibility.
Therefore, participation at TEIKEI is not a peripheral topic but part of the core. It manifests in everyday life where people get involved, support structures, and work together toward a fairer and more sustainable food supply.
One level up: Values