2016 – “History”

Rewritten from the 1983 version that was compiled from archives by a committee of members. Revised by Claude Whitmyer, 2002, 2006, 2016, and 2025.

The Idea

Before there was a Briarpatch Network, there was the idea of the Briarpatch Society—a kind of “anti-hero” community built around helping each other thrive without chasing greed. Dick Raymond of the Portola Institute was its biggest champion, sharing the concept with anyone who would listen.

The first real expression of that idea came in the form of a small, homegrown publication called The Briarpatch Review. It was put together by author Gurney Norman, who had earlier written the novel Divine Right’s Trip, famously serialized in The Last Whole Earth Catalog.

During quiet moments in the catalog’s offices, Norman used the resources at hand to design, print, and send out this collection of stories. These weren’t just random tales—they were snapshots of a new cultural movement taking shape. The theme running through them was clear: an alternative to greed, rooted in mutual support, right livelihood, and simple living.

The Fledgling Friendship Network

The extended family of friends and collaborators around The Whole Earth Catalog didn’t just talk about new ways of living—they put them into action. Some started a co-op food market. Others opened a woman-owned auto repair shop. There were plenty of other ventures, too.

By the time Gurney Norman pulled together that first issue of The Briarpatch Review, more than two dozen projects had already been spotted—each one experimenting with a different, more values-driven way of doing business.

The Community Organizer

Michael Phillips, a former banker turned business visionary, was the one who pulled the first Briarpatch Network together. Starting in 1974, he guided it for a full decade, shaping it into more than just a loose collection of like-minded entrepreneurs. Under his watch, it became a real “tribal” community—people connected not just by business, but by shared values and a sense of purpose.

Michael had a knack for turning big ideas into long-lasting reality. He raised money from close friends to hire the first network coordinator, then gathered potential members for the very first community meeting. He persuaded the early group to commit to funding the coordinator’s role so the work could continue.

He brought The Briarpatch Review back to life, producing eleven more issues filled with stories and hard-won lessons. He also built a team of apprentice consultants who joined him on weekly visits to member businesses, offering advice, sharing insights, and helping owners solve problems in real time. He encouraged the birth of sister networks, started a Briarpatch business school, and even carried the Briarpatch message to other countries.

Along the way, he wrote books that didn’t just record history—they shared the practical wisdom of how to succeed “the Briarpatch way.” His efforts even reached the halls of the World Bank, where the principles of right livelihood found an unlikely audience.

Because of Michael’s vision and persistence, the Briarpatch not only survived its early years—it thrived, and continues to make a difference decades later.

The Donors

Michael raised the first round of funding by introducing Dick Raymond to Rev. Lew Durham, CPA Elliot Buchdrucker, insurance broker Werner Hebenstreit, lawyer Tom Silk, and film producer Ron Wilton. Michael and the six of them raised enough money to hire the first Briarpatch coordinator Andy (Bahauddin) Alpine.

The Coordinator Role

At first, small business people came for advice, which Michael gave freely. Then Andy would follow up to make introductions to referrals or facilitate the location of resources. Over time, the role evolved to include a wide variety of network support and communication activities, including:

Monitor the “Ask the coordinator anything” hotline
Schedule weekly consulting sessions for members
Plan and organize parties or educational events
Maintain the mailing list
Help to send out the Briarpatch Review or, later, the network newsletter
Organize the skills exchange
Host the monthly lunch open to the public
Fend off unfriendly journalists
Participate as a board member or on action teams for Network projects, such as:
- Apprentice Alliance (matching apprentice candidates with excellent masters in the arts, trades, or business)
- Common Good School (a school for community organizers taught by community organizers)
- Appleseed (a conference of businesses or projects, in existence for at least 5 years, located west of the Rockies, and using a new economic approach in their structure and/or tactics).
- Oak (a self-organized study group focused on understanding group dynamics and made up of educators, therapists, and business consultants)
- Noren Insitute (a private business school teaching the Briarpatch approach to business)
- and so on.

Early on Michael, Dick Raymond and Lew Durham collaborated on organizing the first member meeting as a weekend retreat for a couple of dozen Briar-like businesses. This event brought people closer and solidified the network’s emotional identity.

Shortly after, the attendees were asked if they would be willing to raise the coordinator’s salary as a group. They said “Hell, yes! We will!”, solidifying the network’s fiscal identity.

Even with technical, financial, and emotional support, it wasn’t long before Andy felt he couldn’t do everything by himself. He began to look for someone to help and groom to be the next coordinator.

Michael had found and hired Andy as the first coordinator so it was only natural that he should participate in recruiting Charles Albert (Shali) Parsons to help Andy.

With Michael’s participation, Shali in turn recruited Claude Whitmyer as his helper and replacement. Whitmyer has been the coordinator from 1984 to the present.

Andy later became the publisher of Common Ground a publication that listed courses, workshops, products, and services available from small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. Common Ground was emulated in major metropolitan areas across the U.S.

Shali moved to Hawaii where he offered right livelihood counseling paid for by cash or barter.

Free Consulting

In the beginning, Phillips and Alpine started out using a small office on San Francisco’s Pier 40 to hold free consulting sessions every Wednesday.

Very soon, so many people were coming for the advice sessions that Phillips asked four of the original salary donors, Dick, Elliot, Werner, and Tom, to help out sometimes.

As the need grew, the consultations were shifted to site visits to member businesses. Sessions were available each week and were free to dues-paying members.

Community Energy

Between 1974 and 1994, more than a thousand people passed through the Briarpatch. At any given moment, there were usually between 200 and 400 active members—people who paid dues, came for support, or showed up regularly at parties, gatherings, and other community events. The monthly public meetings often drew 10 to 20 newcomers, but only those who came almost every time were considered “active” members. In the late ’70s, membership hit a high point of 600, and for much of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, the number stayed above 400.

When Briarpatch hosted a panel or lecture featuring one of its well-known members, the room could fill with hundreds. A party might bring in 50 to 100 people. A workshop on business skills could gather 30 or more eager learners.

Today, the community is smaller but steady. The mailing list always holds 200 to 300 names, with 100 to 200 active members at any given time. The monthly in-person meetings have evolved into online gatherings. These virtual meetups draw 10 to 15 attendees from a core group of about 60 regulars, with a fresh mix of members showing up each month—sometimes joined by guests or brand-new faces discovering the Briarpatch for the first time.

Other Networks and Alliances

Over the years, Briarpatch has had satellite networks in Marin, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties, as well as in the East Bay and on the Peninsula. We’ve also connected with similar groups in other places:

In the U.S.: California, Tennessee, Washington, and Washington D.C.
Internationally: Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.

We know of some larger national groups—like Main Street Alliance, a grassroots coalition of more than 10,000 small business owners with progressive values—but we don’t really think of them as “Briarpatch-like.” They’re simply too big. Once you go much beyond 200 active members, it’s hard to keep the kind of personal closeness that’s one of Briarpatch’s greatest strengths. In fact, the only time Briarpatch membership went past 400 was when we were experimenting with satellite networks.

That said, you might still want to check if there’s a Main Street Alliance chapter near you. If there is, stop by and introduce yourself. If it feels like a good fit, join in—and focus on building connections with people in your own local area. You might find you already have a Briarpatch of your own without realizing it.

And if you can’t find a local group that feels right, maybe it’s time to think about starting one yourself.

How to Start a Briarpatch Where You Live

The best way to find a Briarpatch where you live is to just start one. Here's how:

What’s your purpose? Every business support network is different. Most combine both emotional support and practical business counsel in various mixes. A clear purpose, openly shared will make it easier for you to attract others.
Recruit at least one buddy. If you already meet regularly with a buddy, the two of you will make the perfect kernel of an organizing team. Each of you can invite another person and you’ll have a business “mastermind” group. As each new person invites their friends and associates, you can evolve into a network.
Avoid homogeneity. Many groups form around the similarities we see in each other, and that’s ok. But for longevity and innovation and the opportunity to change and grow, make a focused effort to invite people who are different. Of course, you will want to invite experts in accounting, law, marketing, and so forth. That’s just good business sense. But also invite all genders and multiple ethnicities, and make a special place for the creative, the strange, and the wonderful.
Choose the right meeting place. Bay Area Briars have met in the posh San Francisco Tennis Club, board rooms, restaurant banquet rooms, right in the middle of bustling cafes, in school classrooms, at different member homes, and just about any place you can think of.

Our longest continuously used meeting space was an art gallery where we met once a month for 6 years. We stored tables and chairs in the back of the gallery that we brought out each time we met.

Mutual support was the main attraction, but members also looked forward to the continuously changing exhibits.

The place you choose will have a profound effect on the “look and feel” of the meeting. Make sure it’s in alignment with what you’re trying to accomplish.
Meet regularly and continuously. If members know when and where the meeting will always be held, you’ll spend less time organizing and more time meeting. Folks will incorporate the rhythm of the meeting into their routines.

The San Francisco Briarpatch has stuck to the first Wednesday of each month (except January and July) since 1977.

Experience has shown us that “buddy teams” (2 people) should meet once a week, but business “masterminds” (groups of 3 to 12 people) work best if they meet less often, but at least once a month.
Use meeting facilitation techniques. Agree on an agenda, appoint a timekeeper and a recorder to take down key ideas, decisions, and agreements on chart pads or big paper on the wall.

Get more than one person to learn some rudimentary graphic recording techniques because a picture, icon, or symbol is each “worth 1,000 words.”

Work together to keep the meeting moving and stick to the agreed-upon schedule.

At our monthly meetings, we try to give each attendee up to 2 minutes to introduce themselves and their project/art/business. With more than about 10 people, we try to have a timekeeper who helps attendees keep track of time and move quickly through their 10 to 50-word “elevator” speeches. Then the floor is opened for a round of wants and needs, followed by brainstorming of solutions, when appropriate. These can range from simple resource referrals to shared words of wisdom from hard-won experiences. The timekeeper is stringent about time so there is also some left at the end for announcements and informal networking.
Eat Lunch. Meeting over lunch draws more attendees because no matter how busy you are, you have to eat and lunch is a time that no one is expecting you to be at your desk.

Many groups are successful at organizing potlucks, but it is extra effort.

Bay Area Briars held a monthly bring your own “brown bag” lunch successfully for more than 12 years. Participants often brought food to share, but it wasn’t a requirement.
Think About Meeting Online. We’ve been doing this once a month since March of 2017. Attendance is steady and sometimes we have as many as 16 people in the web conferencing room (we finally settled on Zoom.us after several months of testing various options). It’s a different mix of people each time, totaling about 60 intrepid Web-adventurers since 2017.

You might want to ease into it and maybe hold in-person sessions once per quarter to help keep the juice flowing that comes from being in the same room with your friends and having a good time. (Hopefully, COVID will not be with us forever.)

The Briarpatch Review

In 1973 Gurney Norman published The Briarpatch Review, the first compilation of stories from the nascent Briarpatch community.

An ever-evolving team of Network members launched the next effort 12 months later and published eleven more issues to make an even dozen by the time that publication stopped.

The first eight issues of the reborn Review were compiled into The Briarpatch Book: Experiences in Right Livelihood and Simple Living from the Briarpatch Community and published by New Glide/Reed in 1978.