How Dishwashing Can Contribute to Peacebuilding, Community Revitalization and Ecological Sustainability (Or… A Resume of One Person’s Life Path in Response to the Challenges of Our Times) I have been actively involved in peacebuilding and community revitalization work for over 20 years—as a writer (project-related correspondence, short novel, short story); an editor (newsletters, quotation collections); an advocate of ecologically sustainable communities; a practitioner of voluntary simplicity; and, since 2001, as founder of and outreach coordinator for The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative. My career goal is to help as many people as possible—by way of writing, facilitating workshops, building community partnerships, and networking with people anywhere who are working along similar lines—to become aware of the countless number of things people can do in the everyday circumstances of their lives which will contribute to peacebuilding, community revitalization, and ecological sustainability efforts in their own communities and regions—and in other parts of the world. I see myself most clearly as a facilitator of workshops associated with The Eight IPCR Concepts (see “Brief Descriptions of The Eight IPCR Concepts” in the section “All IPCR Documents” on the IPCR homepage at https://www.ipcri.net ) To make the contributions I believe are mine to make, I have, over the years, had to find other work as a way of earning a living; and I have been employed in many different settings, including field worker on organic farms, mail clerk, retail bookstore clerk, door-to-door canvasser for citizen action groups, and as a dishwasher in both university dining service settings and restaurants. I am currently seeking full time employment as a dishwasher, and as a responsible and courteous part of Dining Services associated with a progressive higher education institution. My first choice would be an educational institution in a medium size town which is rated high for walkability—and which is already aware of the need to provide pathways and safety instruction to encourage bicycle use. I have taken into account the nature of the work I am doing [building The Interfaith Peacebuilding and Community Revitalization (IPCR) Initiative, see https://www.ipcri.net], the nature of the challenges associated with this work, the uncertainty in many fields of employment, and what I have found works well for both employers and myself. When I am working on long and difficult pieces of writing (I am working on a writing project now which may take a year to complete), and especially with the challenges in my particular field of activity, I find that I prefer earning a living by way of manual labor in relatively stable and responsible work environments. I also like being associated with educational institutions, because of the prevailing and ongoing focus on learning (which carries over into the local community), because of access to a university library—and especially if university employees receive free tuition for a certain amount of coursework per year. In addition, I believe there is much reform which will be required at educational institutions so that they can be most useful in helping to resolve the unprecedented challenges we are now facing. I believe I have something to contribute to such reform, and would be most willing to contribute whatever I can to positive and constructive approaches to reform, at any educational institution that would have me as an employee. And I do believe that I have the personal qualities to be a responsible and reliable dishwasher, and a good natured, courteous, and helpful member of any dining services unit. There are two files which I would like to associate with this post: a draft cover letter, and a draft resume. The two files are not currently accessible at the website of The IPCR Initiative, but they can be accessed as part of a post I made at the Aid Workers Network (see https://www.aidworkers.net/?q=node/2023 )The resume is four pages long because it includes a supplement titled “Detailed Goals and Challenges Assessment, with Commentary”. I believe it is necessary to provide such a supplement, as a way of helping readers of the resume to fairly evaluate why I might be seeking employment as a dishwasher. I was wondering if there is anyone who has any helpful comments or recommendations for me. Any progressive educational institutions they would recommend I apply to? Anyone working along similar lines, with similar difficulties, who has some other, different ideas to suggest? Any comments on this particular approach to job seeking: as in do you think this approach might work? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How can it be improved? Each person has to decide for themselves what will work best when they are trying to adapt to adverse and unsupportive cultural influences. I believe I'm making some good contributions, but feel it's time for a change. I’m listening if anyone has any constructive suggestions. With Kind Regards, Stefan Pasti, Founder and Outreach Coordinator The IPCR Initiative
