Manifesto Projects Documentation Contacts

This is a working document for revising Humlas manifesto

H.U.M.L.A. is not a bumblebee

* Hausmania * Universal * Mediahacktive * Laboratory of * Antagonism

H.U.M.L.A. is a political and cultural laboratory aimed at promoting freedom of politics, activism, press, software and all people. We provide resources such as computers with free software and free internet access, info, books, meeting space, creative impulse and panzercoffee. The H.U.M.L.A. collective organizes through flat structures and decentralized networks, reclaiming the right to manifest social change through self-organization outside of political institutions.

H.U.M.L.A. recognizes a diversity of tactics and approaches to acheiving social change, from passive resistance to confrontational, non-violent direct action.

H.U.M.L.A. endorses PGA’s Hallmarks:

What are the intentions of Humla

1) offering a space for meetings, discussions, lectures of different communities we have affinity with (adbusters, vreng , Fellesaksjonen mot Fattigdom, CIRCA - The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army, indymedia people, Oslo Queer, Club Zapatista, Frihetlig Initativ, hackers). Also, being a permanent workshop space for activsts to meet and share inspirations ,read media on the net, discuss and plan about actions, work together in the wider sense.

- how to be this activist lab? not just a place for groups to have their events and meetings
- how to promote colloboration between groups?

2) promoting awareness in the digital field,offering a space where you can use internet for free, learn about open source operating systems, gain knowledge about internet security, use indymedia.no, help people who want to build, repair and understand their computer,teach people how to make a webpage or a publishing system and spread their information and point of view,having a permanent workbench for assembling computers and experiment with them , servicing activists groups in the digital field (organizing the net distribution in Hausmania, providing some machines to other social spaces, helping in setting up nets in other social spaces), train activists in sensible and cautious use of computers, aid them in getting a decent digital life and help them to selfhelp.

Humla defines itself, between the other things, as a Hacklab; that is, in very simple words, a laboratory to promote the developing of hacking skills. To understand what we mean with the term hacking you can check this webpage: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

Humla’s activists have developed a suspicious and deeply criticizing relationship to Microsoft Windows , as it is not open for users or programmers to learn , study, implement, and it is not free. It is clear that the use of such operating systems in a public space would be an advertisement for Microsoft, a massive american corporation whose political intentions and commercial strategies are very often directed at the establishment of a commercial and cultural monopoly. From the middle of the 90’s Microsoft has very often supported war-oriented politicians and has fired thousands of workers in the United States, preferring to take advantage of the third world work-force, like extremely underpaid and temp-hired professional programmers from India and other poor countries. In Windows the doors to knowledge are intentionally closed to avoid the possibility of the users becoming professionals. Forced passivity and a totalitarian commercial policy makes a tool to learn (your computer) a deeply advertised context with strongly limited functionalities and very little space for your personal growth. We kindly but firmly refuse the use of Microsoft Windows on our public machines,as they have been obtained and configured with GNU/Linux distributions (like Debian GNU/Linux) by free, unconditional love in our activist work, so we consider them liberated machines.

- very long section
- replace with shorter endorsment of free software?

3) spreading indypendent media : books, magazines, media of every kind (videos, music, paraphernalia). Some of the materials are for sale, and they stand on the shelves close to the bar, some other (flyers, posters) are meant to be freely taken from the people visiting , and also freely and independently delivered to our space. No political parties are allowed to leave propaganda in the space, as this is a flat-structured community who refuses hierarchy and authority. Neither is sexist or racist propaganda, since we condemn discrimination and prejudices of any kind.

- we really don't do this anymore

What Humla is not

Humla is a space for socializing, and a space for working.

These two need not be mutually exclusive, however, to ensure that the space is conducive to these goals:

a) people who are disturbing the productive attitude of the place should be asked to engage their energy elsewhere (probably courtyard).

b) the furnituring of the space is kept as minimal or austere as possible to try to promote an active behaviour (keeping the amount of couches or armchairs or useless stuff to a minimum).

- we left this attitude a long time ago? we have armchairs and a couch
- replace with something about having a flexible space, and some rules about not beeing a storage room

c) the place doesn’t sell alcohol or doesn’t condone people bringing their own booze to simply consume it inside of the space.

- needs to be updated to reflect current policies

Even if de-facto many humlaers have developed an anti-prohibitionist opinion about policy with light drugs (as many think that the only possible policy about drugs is the containment of self-damage), the place doesn’t permit smoking or preparing funny cigarettes stuffed with pot,weed, hash, charas, pollen, oil and thc in general inside Humla. This to avoid attracting flocks of passive, not interested smokerz into our autonomous zone, just because they have no other place to do it in peace. Both drinkers and smokerz can be kindly asked to go elsewhere, as far as it is them who could take responsibility for their actions and consequent altered state, and not us. This doesn’t mean that Humla does not admit people under the effect of substances, the concern is purely about a self-responsible attitude about drugs and an attentive behaviour towards the others. Peace!

For raising funds to finance the different projects, some parties will be held in which alcohol is gonna be sold , but there is a clear difference between more tolerant party time and no-party time. If there is a need to raise money, we sell alcohol at parties, otherwise we avoid it: a.i. during normal opening hours. If you are making a shift at Humla, special rules apply to alcohol-cosumption in the space: discreet, under-the-counter, non-pushing selling of alcohol to people involved will occasionally occur, but the call about wether or not this is ok is left to the person in charge of the shift.

- we don't have opening hours anymore, needs to be updated

- we banned smoking inside Humla, doesn't say anything about it

OF COURSE

humla has nice music in the background, a relaxed atmosphere, people are invited to talk and confront, and can also work on their own with their laptops, or read their / our books,there is enough tolerance for everyone. People are supposed to meet and share experiences, foreigner activists or visitors can receive informations and introductions to the house or to the city….but the wish is to be productive and not to be parked in a passive living room.

- section refers to Humla with opening hours