our gifting culture

in starter cultures, we are working to see, embody, and deepen the interdependence within, between, and around us. as a part of that growing awareness and intentional cultivation, we have integrated a gifting culture into how our relationships nurture each other.

that gifting culture over time has evolved into what we now call our LB, or love berry, practice—a practice of flowing livelihood and appreciation towards needs, energy, and care.

“Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource. I accept the gift from the bush and then spread that gift with a dish of berries to my neighbor, who makes a pie to share with his friend, who feels so wealthy in food and friendship that he volunteers at the food pantry. You know how it goes.

To name the world as gift is to feel one’s membership in the web of reciprocity. It makes you happy—and it makes you accountable. Conceiving of something as a gift changes your relationship to it in a profound way, even though the physical makeup of the “thing” has not changed. A wooly knit hat that you purchase at the store will keep you warm regardless of its origin, but if it was hand knit by your favorite auntie, then you are in relationship to that “thing” in a very different way: you are responsible for it, and your gratitude has motive force in the world. You’re likely to take much better care of the gift hat than the commodity hat, because it is knit of relationships. This is the power of gift thinking. I imagine if we acknowledged that everything we consume is the gift of Mother Earth, we would take better care of what we are given. Mistreating a gift has emotional and ethical gravity as well as ecological resonance.”

— Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry

our LB practice’s three core intentions —

• examining our own relationships with money, wealth, and value exchange

• practicing giving and receiving value, appreciation, and care from each other

• growing in our understanding of the interdependent, interconnected relational network that weaves us together -- making more of the unseen flows seen and held

within our community and it’s crew-led offerings, nothing costs anything upfront. but we do ask you to take a sacred moment of reflection after each experience to flow LBs to those that brought that offering to life.

and beyond that, you can flow LBs to anyone in the community at any time for any reason you choose. felt inspired, mentored, or held by someone—share some LBs. saw someone model a value or behavior you appreciate—flow some LBs.

with LBs, you have the power to create value in whatever you find value in—and ultimately support the work, especially the under-appreciated care work, however you’d like.

and on top of that, whenever you are feeling the need to turn LBs into something that can cover your actual livelihood, you can simply make that request and flow LBs out as $$’s at anytime

interested in joining our LB practice?

email us at community@startercultures.us to find out when the next LB orientation is.