Frequently Asked Questions:

• What is the Brick House?
• Who is the Brick House?
• How can I get involved with the Brick House?

What is the Brick House?

• a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering self-reliance, individual expression, and a "do-it-yourself" attitude.
• an umbrella organization that sustains and nurtures a number of autonomous DIY groups dedicated to creative, educational, and charitable purposes.
• owner of the Brick House DIY Community Center, a free space located in the very center of Louisville, which serves as an office, meeting space, and event venue and which houses a library on civic and social subjects.
  
  Our building is not in the best of shape, but we own it and hope to keep it as a dedicated free space forever. Join us and help us fix it up, establish some ongoing income to pay off the mortgage, and make something great happen here in Louisville!
• an experiment in social organization. We are trying to evolve an organizational system that is both open and effective. We're still working on it. It's an idea worth hanging on to.

You are if you participate in any of our activities (including this web site)!

We're all in this together: We believe in autonomy and individual expression and we oppose hierarchy and oppression (of the strong over the weak and of the forceful over the rational).

We work to avoid the human tendency to let the organization (or any of our groups) be dominated by a clique. And we try to integrate this "egalitarianism" with a recognition of the proper role for leadership and initiative. Finding the balance is key. We're working on it. It's a challenge. (You do like challenges, don't you?)

• Our groups are autonomous.
• Week-to-week operations of the larger organization are addressed at periodic assembly meetings, open to all and where each group should send at least one representative. (Assemblies are usually held on the first Sunday, but check the calendar to confirm both time and location.)
• Responsibility for longer range viability of the organization lies with the corporate board of directors.
• Currently we have nine out of a possible fifteen members on the board. Moreover these same people tend to be the ones who show up for assembly. Yes, we are in danger of devolving into a clique, and none of us want that.

We invite you to be a part of the Brick House. And if you are already an active member, consider applying to be a board member.

Start by registering on this web site, joining some groups that interest you, and interacting ... or trying to. (Activity varies from week to week.) For good measure, join our email discussion list.

We're a pretty freewheeling bunch with not a lot of structure, so unfortunately you won't get a warm response from a welcoming committee. That doesn't mean we are being stand-offish, just that ... well ... that there's nobody actually in charge. We could use a few good leaders, so if you like our ideals and welcome a challenge, don't wait for an invitation; just start showing up and figure out how you can be productive. Persist. We need you. Louisville needs something like what we are or will soon become. Help make it happen.

Adopt a room, or a project, or a mop and broom. (We could use a few focused people with skills in administration, accounting, fund-raising, law, green architecture and building technology, publicity, maintainance, computers, Linux, web and email administration, et cetera etc.)

A good time to show up is early Sunday evening. We hold our monthly assembly on the first Sunday of each month. Our monthly board meeting is on the second Sunday. And on the third and fourth Sundays we hold special assemblies/committee meetings on outreach and finance/fund-raising. Check our calendar for the exact times and to confirm the location. (We often move to Old Louisville Coffee House or another nearby venue if the building is too hot or cold.)

If you believe in DIY self-reliance, there's a place at the Brick House for you!