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SOLARIS NETWORK
 

Introduction to Solaris


The SOLARIS France network is a "Human Internet”: a network of mutual help and solidarity that starts in your local neighbourhood.
It is, of course, completely free. It represents the gathering of human beings who each, voluntarily, act for all and who together, when necessary, act for the individual. It functions as a tree-like structure within a physical network of all the people who join it. The tighter the mesh, the better it works. So it starts all around you. In these difficult times, it will ensure that no one remains isolated with their problems. It will provide rapid and local responses to everyone's needs. It will bring people together and strengthen this link, more than ever before.
It will provide its own means of communication in the event of a breakdown in traditional means.
It functions organically thanks to good circulation of information, without hierarchy, without a leader.

How does the "Human Internet" work?

Like the digital Internet: you have a need, you launch a query in a search engine and it offers you the most relevant answers. Here, all these steps are human. You enter the network and feed a local directory containing the resources available to your specific Cell in terms of skills, equipment, accommodation, land, etc. This handwritten resource, which can be consulted on a regular basis, is the foundation for the development of the project. It is constantly updated and available from reliable people in your immediate geographical environment (your Cell).


At any time, you can send a request for assistance to your local referents, who will tell you where to find the answer from the people closest to you. All you have to do is contact them. You will do it or the network will do it for you. As already mentioned, if the usual means of communication fail, the network is equipped with autonomous means of communication and will tell you how to access them.
The geography of your territory is thus meshed by Cells that multiply constantly, as can the Cells of the human body, with coordinators who have an overall view of the geographical Cell and ensure its proper functioning, and referents, who are the custodians of the local directory.
Each Cell is autonomous, without hierarchy and linked to the others. The service you provide to someone in the network will probably be returned to you by someone else. The person you assist will not necessarily be the person who will assist you when the time comes.
The system is not based on commercial exchange, nor on direct barter, nor even on the idea of an exchange of services. It is based on kindness towards each other and what you give in one place will always be returned to you elsewhere when you need it.


Is there anyone behind the SOLARIS network?


Yes, all of us. Those who founded it and established its backbone and operation are entirely voluntary, affiliated with no political, religious or other structure, nor any secret society. They receive no remuneration or benefits of any kind from anyone. We provide a description of a tool, a Human Internet, that everyone, wherever they are, can reproduce around them and adapt to their local particularities.

 

Frequently Asked Questions


Who created the network?

It started on 26 September 2021 in Rennes le Château, in the Upper Aude Valley (SOLARIS 11) in France. It does not matter who the people are who put their energy into developing it, today it is a work of the heart and of collective intelligence. The important work happens within the Cells.


Is SOLARIS an association?

No. Neither an association, a company nor a foundation. SOLARIS has no administrative or legal structure, nor any money in circulation. It is a gathering of human beings who want to rebuild the link between them and respond in solidarity to an increasingly difficult general
context. All its members, without exception, are volunteers within the network.


Is there leadership and hierarchy within SOLARIS?

No. No one leads and there is no power structure. There is just a benevolent recognition of skills, and that determines the roles.
If by any chance a hierarchy or power was established within a Cell, it would be in violation of the SOLARIS Spirit. It would then be up to the members of the Cell to solve the problem, in all sovereignty.


Who can come to Solaris?
Everyone, without exception. Come as you are, bring your skills, because you all have them, without exception. Benevolence is the main thing, but if it turns out that someone is a problem because of his behaviour within a Cell and that dialogue is not useful, he will be evicted by the whole Cell. We will only network with those who are ready to network.


What is the nature of the service one gives?
It is a gift, pure and simple, as one would give to a friend. What you give one day, you receive from someone else the day you need it. There is no commercial transaction, no notion of exchange. When there are expenses, you can offer to contribute if you wish and if you can, but this is not what the person who comes to help should expect


Why create an additional network when there are already networks for pooling knowledge and resources?
SOLARIS is not another network, it is not comparable in nature, but perfectly complementary to all the structures that have already worked for the common good. SOLARIS is precisely a concrete way of bringing everyone together, individuals and groups, by offering a strategy of connection and a human search engine enabling a local response to any request, including in emergency and crisis situations.


Can we be sure that our exchanges are protected?
Protected from what? We are not naïve, but how can the creation of a network of mutual aid and solidarity be attacked head-on? Moreover, the data you exchange with each other on the communication media is your responsibility. Between people’s private publications on social media and the cross-referenced files of the governmental administrations, those who want to get more information on you can find far more there than in the local directory of a Solaris Cell.


Is the directory data public or is it passed on outside the Cell?
None of the data is public. They are only used to feed the local directory, which never leaves the hands of the local Cell referents who are in charge of it. This directory is not known to the departmental coordinators either. In other words, in a village, the local directory is not even known by the inhabitants. Only the referents keep it up to date and have access to it. The directory, even if it is compiled  in a computer, is always printed or handwritten.


Why 3 coordinators and 3 referents per Cell?
This is the right number to offer an alternative if a referent in the directory is contacted and does not respond. Two other contacts are then possible. The same applies to coordinators. This can be more if the Cell's catchment area is densely populated.


Who recruits the coordinators and referents?
No one does. They propose themselves. Historically, the creators of a Cell are most of the time coordinators. That said, nothing is set in stone, and the coordinator and referent in the directory are roles that can be rotated between volunteers with the right profile. The referents must of course be contactable by all the members of their Cell, they are the search engine of the human Internet.
 

Why is there departmental coordination?
For two reasons. Firstly, it is responsible for ensuring that the network is functional and optimal throughout the department. Secondly, it enables contact between the different remote Cells, as well as national coordination.


Why do you have to give the coordinators of the Cells their contact details to the departmental coordination?
Because it is the safe-keeper of the departmental network. It must be able to put in touch with the coordinators of all the Cells bordering each Cell. The 3 departmental coordinators, therefore, need the contacts of the coordinators of each Cell in the department. This allows the coordinators and referents of each Cell to find out who their counterparts are in neighbouring Cells and to be able to meet them, which is a necessity for networking.


To summarise:
The referents in the directory of a Cell are known to the coordinators of the same Cell. These are known to the departmental coordinators and the departmental coordinators are known to the country coordinator. This way, networking can be ensured at the national level. And even with neighbouring countries, since the network extends across borders in the same way.

 

Is it absolutely necessary to have a perimeter of 15km to create a Cell?
No. This is a starting point. It must be adapted to each local situation. If a territory is very fragmented in terms of population, the first Cells should be extended to a larger territory. This will facilitate the gathering. Then, if necessary, each village can create its own Cell.


How many people do you need to create a Cell?
There is no minimum. You can start alone to create a Cell in a village, the others will come. That's how it always starts, with one person initiating the movement.

Is it better to have many Cells with few people or few with more people?
Strategically, in order to establish an effective solidarity network as quickly as possible, the priority is to create a maximum number of Cells. To be clear, it is better today to have 10 Cells with 2 or 3 members, than one Cell with 100 people. Because if the situation worsens and the pressure increases, people will come to the network by themselves. In this case, if it already exists in their village, it will be much more effective.


The Spirit of Solaris


The SOLARIS Spirit weaves mutual aid and solidarity between all, without any commercial transaction, without any notion of barter or any direct exchange convention. What you give to someone, you will receive from somewhere else.
The SOLARIS Spirit vibrates in the heart of all those who have the will to connect with each other, stronger than ever, without hierarchy, without power structures, in the complementarity of their diversities.
The SOLARIS Spirit is the strength of the gathering of the skills and resources of all in the service of one, who puts himself at the service of all.
The SOLARIS Spirit is about leaving egos behind and uniting for a higher common goal: to organise resilience quickly and effectively in a worsening social, political, economic, health, climatic and geophysical context.
The SOLARIS spirit is the overriding duty to transmit and learn knowledge, with pragmatism and efficiency. The near horizon is that of local autonomy in all its aspects.
The SOLARIS spirit is the vigilant and benevolent look that everyone must now take around them. This is in order to identify people in distress or on a delicate slope and to be able to provide them with emergency assistance, but also, in the long term, with the means for their autonomy in all matters, within a united humanity.
The SOLARIS Spirit is about blowing a wind that drives out fear, isolation, despair and distress, wherever they may be.
The SOLARIS Spirit is about laying the concrete foundations for a society based on a new culture, which so many have long yearned for and which has become a vital emergency. Its foundations are connection and caring where there was division and conflict, Sovereignty
where there was a sense of powerlessness and loss of identity.
The SOLARIS Spirit is about raising our heads and coming out of the woods and caves of illusion and resignation. It means walking straight, together, with clear eyes, firm hands, and calm breath turned towards a constructive and positive present.
The SOLARIS Spirit is to embody the awareness that Sovereignty for all begins within each person. And that the love of the Living is the key to all things.


How to Create a Local Cell


There are several ways. The fastest way is to create a group on the Telegram network, which we use because it allows us to go fast. If you use it, we recommend that you also install it on a computer, it is easier to use and more ergonomic.
 

1) Via Telegram :
> Create a group > Cellule name of the place number of the department
For example: Cell Rennes le Château 11
In "Manage the group" : Type of group: private / History for new members: visible
Copy the invitation link that you will publish on the group and pin it to the top so that it is always visible (right-click on the message). Make sure you specify "Invitation link from Cell X: link”. By respecting this format, you help to make the whole thing more readable for those who would search for you by keyword.
As soon as possible, you will add other Telegram group administrators to whom you will give the right to add members and post. This will allow you to better monitor publications that don't belong in this thread.
From there, send the invitation link to everyone you know is interested. You can add members directly if you have their agreement, in "Manage the group”.
Give the link of your group and its email to your departmental coordinators who will who will update the departmental list. If there are no departmental coordinators yet, pass the information on to solaris.france@protonmail.com.
Once you have gathered a few people, you can get together, get to know each other and start building the local directory. After that, you will be totally autonomous but connected to others.

Warning: the departmental information channels that we have created for you do not allow for exchanges between you. They are managed by the general coordination of the department as soon as there is one. For the Cells, it is indeed groups and not channels that you must create for your exchanges.


2) By email: an email address for the department will be created by the departmental coordinators and published on the departmental info channel, as well as on the solarisfrance.org website and the SOLARIS France Telegram channel.
If you do not see an email, it means that there is no departmental coordinator yet. In this case, please contact us at solaris.france@protonmail.com
You can also offer to coordinate, even temporarily, the departmental channel. The local network must be launched by someone.
Creating a cell is essential to create the local network with all the members of the SOLARIS network. The objective is to have as many cells as possible to cover the territory as well as possible and make the mutual aid network more effective.
Don't forget that you will get contacts by email from people who will never go on Telegram. You will need to create a mailing list to inform them of your meetings and your collective initiatives and work. We will provide you with everything you need to manage your network and your directory.

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