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“Volunteers are not paid -- not because they are worthless,
but because they are priceless.”
The fable of stone soup is about co-operation amid scarcity. According to Portuguese tradition, the events described in the "stone soup" tale took place around Almeirim, Portugal. To this day, there's hardly a restaurant in Almeirim which doesn't serve stone soup ("sopa de pedra").
The story:
Some travelers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty pot. Upon their arrival the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travelers. The travelers fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire in the village square. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travelers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager doesn't mind parting with just a little bit to help them out, so it gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travelers again mention their stone soup which hasn't reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, all adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.
This fable can be thought of as "The Emperor's New Clothes" in reverse, where nothing is revealed to be something, after all. The original stone was only a pretext to start the villagers sharing in a way that they would not have considered without the catalyst of the "stone soup" that they thought they were improving.
Interpretation and lessons
1. We can all work together, co-operate and end up better off.
2. If you want to get people to do something, don't tell them how desperately they are needed. Don't try to appeal to their sympathy and kindness. Instead, create the impression that you are giving them the opportunity to be part of your success. --From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- If you are within driving distance stop by the workshop to see what we are building.
- The "villagers" have added a lot of Money, Manpower and Materials over the past five years that we have been boiling water.
- Do you want to be part of what is going on here and share in our successes?
This mission requires large amounts of the three M’s: Money, Manpower, and Materials.
If you are willing to commit to two hours of work or more a week, from now through race day Nov. 3, 2007 we would like to talk to you.
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