I'll explain our current onboarding process at EA Barcelona, as it took several iterations to get to where we're at now. 

Firstly, we've made our main onboarding document publicly available on our website. This includes a link to our WhatsApp community guidelines document, which explains its purpose, how to use it, the different sub-groups, etc.

At the end of the document, there’s a link to join the WhatsApp community directly. We don’t share this link anywhere else, so the idea is that only people who’ve read (or at least skimmed) the guidelines first can join. We also try to ensure that a community builder reaches out to new people who join to encourage them to make a small intro to the community soon after. 

In addition to that, we also invite people individually - usually people we’ve met at events, those who’ve reached out directly expressing interest, or friends and colleagues of current members - to join our Whatsapp community.

I think this system has helped us maintain a fairly steady rate of growth while preserving the quality of discussion and avoiding a constant influx of people who are entirely new to EA ideas. If anyone is curious to read our onboarding guide (and subsequent Whatsapp community guidelines doc), it's linked here on our website: https://www.eabarcelona.org/contact. Hope that helps and curious to know more about how other EA groups approach this (kinda tricky) part of community building!

What a fantastic initiative - helping animals has never been easier! Thanks a lot for posting - I've installed the extension and shared the info among members of our local group :) 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kat.

A question that comes to mind is: If eating bivalves can give you the nutrients you think you might be missing on a vegan diet, why not just be vegan + bivalves? Why include more morally problematic foods like wild caught fish, eggs, etc? Or is it more about the sensory experience and social ease that comes from eating those foods? Thanks! 

Great, thanks!

How will Pablo be answering our questions - by replying to them on the forum or is there an online meeting we can join?

Congratulations, Pablo! We at EA Barcelona could not be more excited to see this book take flight, and are already brainstorming all the ways those of us in the EA Spanish-speaking network can help make this launch a great success! Vamos! 💪

As a vegan woman of menstruating age who struggles to absorb non-heme iron (the kind found in plants) despite careful supplementation, I can say I wholeheartedly endorse Kat's recommendation! I've also heard that mussel farming may have positive impacts on ocean ecosystems, but I haven’t looked into it deeply - if anyone has good sources on that, please feel free to share :)

Really exciting to read about this new initiative, Verónica! I'm looking forward to following your progress over the coming months. Good luck!

A huge congratulations to the EAID team for successfully running your first national retreat! We are eagerly planning our first retreat for EA Spain soon, and will be drawing from your experience shared here to help us plan effectively. Thanks a lot for sharing and good luck with the many follow-ups that I'm sure will result from this event :)  

Yes, setting up a meeting (or several) to ensure that the majority of community builders are aligned on the new branding strategy would be a smart move, I think. Thanks for suggesting this, James, and great work overall on the new website, Agnes!