Scenario

Include the information below with one of the items (further) below on a piece of paper and place in an envelope. If there are not enough people, you can give the same person more than one envelope. The people in the group will have their own skills that they bring to the activity. Some may have knowledge about gardening; some may have knowledge about carpentry, some about cooking, etc. You need at least 20 people for this activity.

Give the following to everyone:

"You are on a ship; a great storm seems to come out of nowhere. All of your communication systems are destroyed. Your ship is carried hundreds of miles off course, hits rocks and sinks. You and some other people make it to the shore of a small island about 5 by 10 miles. The island is rocky with what appears to be a very small mountain, possibly once volcanic. There is a lot of vegetation on the island, including trees. At initial survey of the island, no fresh water is found and no known, edible vegetation. The only wildlife found are birds and they seem to all nest on inaccessible cliffs 20 to 30 feet below the accessible hills above. There are plenty of insects; however, no one seems to be ready to start eating them and no one knows which might be edible. The days are very warm and the nights are very chilly. Soil on the beach is sand, inland more sand and clay with some very rich soil from the decaying vegetation mixed with a lot of rocks. It is late May.

After an initial small group searches around the island, you are walking alone and you discover a crate (about 2’ x 3’ x 1’) that has drifted ashore from the ship. You see the label on the crate and quickly hide it in the vegetation, covering your tracks. You have nothing to open it with but are sure you will find a rock or something you can use. Everything is packed well enough that it was not disturbed by the salt water".

Your crate is labeled:

Add one of the following with each envelope.

Fresh Peaches

Chocolate Truffles

Caned Green Beans

Caned Refried Beans

Brown Rice

Fresh Pineapple

Macaroni and Cheese

Spaghetti Sauce

M & M Candy, Plain

Fresh Asparagus

Mandarin Orange Slices

Okra

Bottled Water

Oregano

Sage

Tarragon

Cinnamon

Potatoes, these are not canned but fresh.

Oranges, these are fresh, not canned.

Apples, these are fresh, not canned.

Cantaloupe, these are fresh,

Watermelon, these are fresh,

Cabbage, these are fresh,

Lettuce, this is fresh,

Celery, this is fresh

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Tomato Soup

Kitchen utensils, pots, pans, cutting knives and serving forks, can openers.

Tools, Hammers

Tools, pruning saws

Emergency shovels with hatchet (assembly required)

Nails, assorted sizes

You have not found a crate, but have found a well hidden stream with fresh water which comes directly out of a cliff, down a short stream, and into a pool with no exit. The water seeps back into the ground and then likely travels on out to the ocean. The water is warm and the pool is large enough for two people to easily sit in.

Frozen ground beef, still frozen. (not likely to stay frozen for long)

Frozen Apple Juice, will not stay frozen for long

Frozen Orange Juice, will not stay frozen for long

Kitchen matches

Rolls of twine

Dried Kidney Beans

Dried Lentils

Files and sharpening tools

Canned Corn

Fresh Corn on the Cob

Fishing equipment, poles (can be put together), reel, line, hooks, weights (assembly required)

Seeds: Spinach, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Corn, Zucchini, Crooked Necked Squash, Acorn Squash, Onions, Peppers, Egg Plant, Cantaloupe, Pumpkin, Bush Beans, Beets.

Sewing items, needles and thread and heavy duty scissors.

Table Cloths

Blankets

Canvas

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Ketchup

Mustard

Emergency AM/FM radios (the kind that you can crank, only have reception, can not send a signal)

EMS First Aid Kit


At the beginning of the section that talks about stages of collaboration, hand out the envelopes. You may give more than one envelope to one person; however, you need to give everyone at least one envelope. Once they are distributed, ask everyone to look in their envelope(s) but tell them they must not share what they have with anyone. Ask everyone to think about how long they could survive with what they have and the given scenario. Remind them that we can only live two to three days without water and two to three weeks without food. They may get some moisture from bugs if they decide to eat them but that will not prolong their life very long. If they have a canned food item with juice, that may also sustain them a little longer. After everyone has had a chance to think about this, advance to the first stage of collaboration, competition, and ask them if anything would change, and if so what might change and how would they handle their information and resources. Remember that some of the people will have skills that others do not. These personal skills and their knowledge are also resources. Take just a few minutes and allow the group to describe what might happen at this stage. Then move on to the next stage (2) and do the same, except let them act it out for a few minutes to see if they can improve their situation.   At this time ask them how long they believe they can survive in this scenario.  Then move to the next stage and do the same. Continue this activity through collaboration. Allow more time to discuss how they could collaborate and how long they could survive. Allow them to brainstorm solutions together.  Remember that collaboration is more than just sharing resources; it is taking the existing resources, including personal resources and expanding capacity.  See:  http://www.collaboration.me.uk/RESOURCES_AND_ASSETS.php
Process the activity. Compare it to the situation of your organization or community.

Finish the power point and discuss how the additional skills might help provide an even better outcome.