community tables
I think one of the most distinct characteristics I’ve noted about some of the places I’ve been here is the community-focused vibe that’s created. There’s genuine purpose behind some of the restaurants and businesses here (and I know that isn’t exclusive to Berkeley), and that purpose is often fostered and maintained by the people that make those businesses possible.
The community tables at Karma Kitchen and Café Gratitude are two examples of how the mission is supported by the people. The environment is created for people to meet, to learn, to inspire one another, and that – to me – is really something special. I never thought of having a table at a restaurant designed for the purpose of community being built.
Another place where that idea has been illustrated to me was on a tour of an office building here. A concept totally new to me was that of coworking. Office spaces were created for anyone to use, for some amount of money a month, in the presence of everyone else who decided to work there. These were huge, fun office spaces that catered to creative minds and the bouncing back of ideas between people who were working on separate things but just wanted a community to work with. The office space I visited was one filled with social entrepreneurs working on their own projects, but they were working around other social entrepreneurs in a space where they could learn from and inspire one another. It was a really fascinating idea that really struck a chord with me.
I really love how strong communities are here, and if there were one thing that brought me to live in Berkeley after college, it would probably be the power of those communities and how much inspiration there is just waiting to be infiltrate my the pores of the people that make them up.
