Preamble

The right of humanity to survive in this Universe is neither inalienable nor guaranteed. It is by our actions

Principles

1. Melanin is a social enterprise committed to enabling and nurturing “true communities” around sustainable social, economic and environmental values.
2. Melanin is designed as a robust, network-based organisation that has at its core, a team and infrastructure that provides leadership, innovation and support services for this purpose.

1. Melanin is an “enabling organisation” that is built on shared principles of practise which all Espians subscribe to.

   1. Rule of Ethics.
   1. Social Business. Combining elements of a commercial enterprise with elements of a not-for-profit organisation, Melanin will not distribute profits to shareholders — it has no shareholders — and instead shares the financial and other values it produces equitably amongst Espians to further their social objectives.
   2. Dignity. By enabling people to have the freedom to access opportunities, contribute and be heard, Melanin seeks to raise the inherent value in local communities in a way that respects human dignity and potential. It's not just what you do but how you do it. A deep ecology approach.
   3. Integrity. The health of all communities, including Melanin's, is dependent on the inner and outer awareness and well-being of its members. An integral, holistic approach needs to be taken — healing past damages appropriately — in the process of becoming whole.
   4. Peer-to-Peer. Social technologies and processes can enable communities to self-organise and tack complex, real-world situations in pragmatic ways that is mutually beneficial for all involved — so that higher values of social and economic justice can prevail.
   5. United Diversity. Melanin's decentralised and flexible structure is powered from the periphery and unified from the core — fostering diversity, complexity and change in a way that counters the paradigm of command and control.
   6. Self-Rule & Democracy. Power, rights, responsibility and rewards are distributed equitably amongst Espians whilst ensuring that the cultures and conditions for learning, risk-taking and inter-disciplinary innovation are cultivated in ever expanding circles.
   7. Transparency. By being open and transparent, Melanin will act as an ethical bridge to help rebuild trust within communities — trust often lost due to a lack of accountability by those in positions of responsibility regarding the commitments they have made towards achieving social equity.
   8. Emergence. The most meaningful connections and some of the most powerful outcomes happen without being planned. Melanin cultivates a dynamic mix of old and new worldviews, of top down and bottom up, of chaos and order and of leadership and participation — such that higher forms of value and life unfold.
   9. Cooperative Values. Melanin recognises that “together, we have everything” and subscribes to the 1995 Statement of Cooperative Identity of the International Cooperative Alliance.

Membership

1. Melanin rests on equitable and mutual value exchange between Espians. A “Give-Get” framework guides this reciprocity.
   1. Membership is open to all who are willing to accept the associated responsibilities.
   2. Membership is made available without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.
2. The efforts of Espians occur under specific Operational Contexts ("Contexts") and is valued in terms of Work Units ("Units").
   1. Rich picture.
   2. Registry ("Registry") — transparent.
   3. The shared goals work is carried out through policies approved by the democratic Membership body of Melanin.
3. Melanin is structured around three distinct classes of Membership. The first two classes are collectively referred to as the “Operational Espians”.
   1. Core Espians. The servant leaders who provide the vision and embody the principles articulated in § 2.
   2. Open Espians. Individuals who are engaged on a full-time or near full-time basis.
   3. Stakeholder Espians. External parties who have enabled or benefited from the efforts by Operational Espians and thus.
4. Core Espians: Give
   1. Ensure quarterly reports are produced that include but that are not limited to: management accounts, strategic learning and priorities for the following quarter.
   2. Ensure that annual returns and accounts are filed with Companies House and partnership tax returns are sent to Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs.
5. Core Espians: Get
6. Open Espians: Give
   1. Tav a lot of love and attention.
   2. Responsive participation in online spaces framed around communities of practice.
7. Open Espians: Get
8. Stakeholder Espians: Give
9. Stakeholder Espians: Get

Common Socio-Economic Protocols

Resource Management

Conflict Resolution

1. Conflicts are a natural part of all endeavours.
2. Conflicts are seen as creative — indicating differences of perspective from which all participants can learn. Solutions that best satisfy the underlying needs and desires of all related Espians will be attained using methods and processes that ensure that all parties are heard and understood.
3. Mediation.
4. Arbitration.

Intellectual Property

1. All original works ("Works") of authorship created by Espians (solely or jointly with others) — except Stakeholder Espians — within the scope of and during the period of Membership within Melanin and which are protectable by copyright are “works made for hire” for Melanin as that term is defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
2. Melanin dedicates all copyright held in the Works to the public domain.
   1. Melanin makes this dedication for the benefit of the public at large and intends this dedication to be an overt act of relinquishment in perpetuity of all present and future rights under copyright law, whether vested or contingent, in the Work. Melanin understands that such relinquishment of all rights includes the relinquishment of all rights to enforce (by lawsuit or otherwise) those copyrights in the Work.
   2. Melanin recognizes that, once placed in the public domain, the Work may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, used, modified, built upon, or otherwise exploited by anyone for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, and in any way, including by methods that have not yet been invented or conceived.
   3. All Works are distributed “as-is”. All conditions, warranties and terms and undertakings express or implied statutory or otherwise are expressly excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
3. Espians grant Melanin with a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license under any licensed patents they may have to make, have made, use, sell, offer for sale, import, and/or otherwise dispose of contributions to any and all Works.
4. Melanin complies with the Data Protection Act 1998, including all amending UK legislation and EU directives. Pursuant to the Act, beneficiaries of Melanin's services have the right to be informed of and to have access to all of the personally identifiable information held about them.

Small Print

1. General Provisions
   1. This Constitution constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the Espians and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements, understandings or arrangements relating to the subject matter of this Constitution. No Espian shall be entitled to rely on any agreement, understanding or arrangement which is not expressly contained in this Constitution.
   2. No failure or delay on the part of Espians to exercise any right or remedy under this Constitution shall be construed or operate as a waiver thereof. Nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right or remedy preclude the further exercise of such right or remedy as the case may be.
   3. This Constitution (including any provision hereof) — whilst intended as a “living document” — shall not be modified, amended, or waived except in writing signed by a two-thirds supermajority of Core Espians.
2. Interpretation
   1. The headings in this Constitution are for convenience only and shall not affect its construction.
   2. Where appropriate, words denoting the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.
   3. Reference to any statute or statutory provision includes a reference to the statute or statutory provision as from time to time amended, extended or re-enacted.
3. Severability
   1. If any provision or term of this Constitution shall become or be declared illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the legality and validity of any other provision shall not be affected thereby. Any illegal, inconsistent or invalid provision of this Constitution shall be severable and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
4. Third Party Rights
   1. No third party shall have the right to enforce the terms of this Constitution whether pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise.
5. Governing Law
   1. This Constitution and any contracts made under it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales whose courts shall be the exclusive courts of competent jurisdiction.

Acknowledgments

• The ancient Greeks for having introduced democracy.
• The framers of the United States Constitution and the anonymous authors of the Federalist Papers for having had the courage and insight to pave the way with their efforts.
• Mahatma Gandhi and Buckminster Fuller for having been the change that they wanted to be and being inspirations for a better world.
• Kim Stanley-Robinson for having authored the visionary Mars Trilogy and the Martian Constitution in the fourth book, Martians. The terms “metanational”, “eco-economy” and “gift economy” were adopted from his works.
• The anonymous author P.M. for having envisioned how decentralised societies could truly function in “Bolo'Bolo”.
• Neal Stephenson for having explored the impacts of technology on society and for introducing the term “Common Economic Protocol” in his “Diamond Age”.
• Dee Hock for having structured Visa Inc. in a more egalitarian form than traditional capitalist structures — later promoted as “Chaordic” in his “Birth of the Chaordic Age”.
• All the individuals throughout history who have helped form a better reality.
• The Universe for being so bountiful and having honoured us with life.