Repair Without Contracts: A Relational Guide to Navigating Project Breakdowns in Micro-Utopias

Here is a Three-Part Training Guide for how groups in Solon Papageorgiou’s framework handle project breakdowns using relational design — instead of contracts, punishment, or hierarchy.

🛠️ Training Guide: Relational Repair for Collaborative Projects

Goal: Equip groups to handle breakdowns with care, clarity, and collaboration — using principles aligned with Solon Papageorgiou’s micro-utopian, post-contractual framework.

🔹 PART 1 — FOUNDATIONS OF RELATIONAL AGREEMENTS

🔍 1.1. Set Intentions, Not Contracts

• Use spoken agreements in the presence of others (e.g. during a project circle).

• Document intentions in a visible, evolving format — e.g. chalkboard walls, community pads, or shared digital logs.

• Encourage mutual phrasing:
  ✅ “Here’s what I’m offering” vs ❌ “I promise to deliver by X or else.”

🤝 1.2. Build Commitments on Consent

• Use questions like:

  • “What do you need in place to commit with confidence?”

  • “What might pull you away from this?”

• Allow space for non-binary answers (e.g. “I’m 80% in with space to renegotiate”).

🧠 1.3. Normalize Renegotiation

• Introduce “renegotiation signals”: phrases or icons anyone can use to pause, review, or revise an agreement without stigma.

🔹 PART 2 — WHEN BREAKDOWNS HAPPEN

🧭 2.1. Spot the Signs Early

• Missed updates, silence, emotional withdrawal, or visible strain.

• Have “gentle check-in” norms:
  ✅ “How are you feeling about this project lately?”
  ✅ “Is anything shifting for you?”

💬 2.2. Use the Relational Repair Circle

• Invite all directly affected people — no judgment or pressure.

• Hold space for:

  • Feelings: What emotions came up?

  • Needs: What does each person now need?

  • Context: What led to the breakdown?

💡 Facilitator Tip: Keep the focus on restoration, not blame.

🔁 2.3. Practice Restorative Re-Alignment

• Ask:

  • “What’s still alive in this project?”

  • “What can be reshaped?”

  • “Who’s available to continue, and how?”

🔹 PART 3 — DESIGN FOR REPAIR FROM THE START

🧶 3.1. Weave in Feedback Loops

• Establish regular project reflections (e.g. weekly 15-minute check-ins).

• Questions to ask:

  • “What’s going well?”

  • “What’s feeling heavy?”

  • “What do we want to shift or release?”

🤲 3.2. Make Roles Fluid, Not Rigid

• Encourage project contributors to step up or step back as life conditions change.

• Use terms like:

  • “Anchor role” (person currently holding main responsibility)

  • “Orbit role” (peripheral support)

  • “Drift role” (someone stepping away respectfully)

🔐 3.3. Honor Transparency Over Perfection

• Value updates and vulnerability more than strict “delivery.”

• Example: “I can’t continue for now, but I care deeply” is treated as responsible behavior — not a failure.

🌀 Summary Table