# /0 Summary ## // What Is a Mycelium? The mycelium is modelled on the root structure of a fungus. It is a branching network. It has rotating care relationships. For social and political contexts. Each person receives care from two people. And gives care to two other people. This creates a circular care mesh. In which care work is systematically distributed. *Basic principle of a hypha: Two people give care to a third person. That person in turn gives to two other people. Non-reciprocal. Asymmetrical. Decentralised. A complete mycelium consists of many such hyphae. They are connected into a circular overall network.* *(In the original protocol shown as a circle diagram with e.g. 15 nodes and 30 relationships – implementable via the Myzelerator.)* ## // Why a Mycelium? The Care Mycelium wants to be an alternative. An alternative to traditional ways of relating. It wants to contribute to political agency. And to gender justice. The everyday life of wage-dependent and care-providing people is often isolated. Crushing. Marked by gendered inequality in the distribution of care work. The mycelium enables consciously designed solidary relationships. ## // Goals & Benefits of the Mycelium - Fair distribution of care work and burdens. - Decentralised organisation without hierarchies. - Conscious estrangement of naturally grown care relationships. Building solidary care relationships. - Building new structures. Structures not marked by gendered inequality. - Countering isolation. Countering overwhelm. Countering the reproduction of patriarchal relations. # /1 Principles of the Mycelium ## // Basic Rules The basis of the mycelium structure is formed by simple rules. But they are effective: - Each person supports exactly two other people. - Each person receives support from exactly two other people. - This does not create mutual care responsibility. From these rules results a network. A network of non-reciprocal care relationships. We call it **mycelium**. Modelled on the root structure and decentralised network character of fungi. Analogous to the fungal structure, we call the "nodes" of the network **hyphae**. They describe the thread-like basic structure of fungi. Each three-way relationship between two care-giving and one care-receiving person is called a hypha. Each mycelium consists of several hyphae. ## // Why Does the Gender Dimension Play Such a Big Role? Care responsibility is gendered. Women* do more care work. They feel more responsible. They carry more mental load. To prevent this from continuing in mycelium structures, additional allocation rules are useful. Such rules could be: - Not two women* and non-binary persons should be care-responsible for one man. - Not two men should be responsible for one non-male person. The goal is not that women* should not take on care obligations. The goal is to find ways. Ways to distribute care across genders as fairly and equally as possible. # /2 Procedure for Establishing a Mycelium ## // Negotiation & Modelling The beginning is always collective negotiation. About goals. Hopes. Obstacles. Fears. And how to approach establishment. The shared political claim for a solidary and anti-sexist care practice should also be discussed. Several questions arise. Each context must negotiate them for itself: - What is the political claim of our care organising? - Who should be part of the mycelium? Also friends? Family? Comrades who are (not yet) part of care organising? - After how many weeks should the allocation rotate? - What additional rules should apply to the allocation? - What forms of support do we want to give each other? What are realistic expectations? ## // Concrete Allocation Once the context is ready for practice, care responsibilities must be allocated. For this, you can use the **Myzelerator**. It contains an algorithm. It has the basic rules as hard rules. The gender rules are soft rules. That means: they are followed if mathematically possible. The Myzelerator stores data only in the cache of your own device. Nevertheless, data security is very important. This means in the concrete case of the mycelium: - Use pseudonyms only. No real names in the Myzelerator. Also not in documentation or anywhere else! - Digital communication for the mycelium and between hyphae should only take place on secure platforms such as Signal. Set disappearing messages! # /3 Ongoing Reflection and Adaptation ## // Regular Check-ins To keep the mycelium structure alive: - Check-ins in everyday life / at Care Plena / at (monthly) reflection meetings. - Exchange about experiences. - Adaptation to changing needs. ## // Dealing with Changes - Discuss possibilities for temporary adjustments if something doesn't work. - Enable the integration of new members. ## // Tools Coordination can be facilitated by: - The **Myzelerator**, which facilitates the allocation of care responsibilities. - For your own hypha, a Signal group is recommended. You can add current care people. --- **Tool for allocating care responsibility:** The Myzelerator is interactively embedded in the website. You can find it via the "Myzelerator" item in the navigation.