A Palava is the largest gathering at which conversation still works: three times 42 — around 126 people. It is the hard upper bound for Embassies in the Local First Embassy strategy.
## The 42 Rule
An embassy lives comfortably at 42 members or fewer — small enough that every name is known, every dispute is a conversation, and moderation is hospitality rather than enforcement. It may stretch to a full palava of three 42s. Never past it.
## Fission Not Growth
At the bound, an embassy splits: two communities, two kits, two flags, each adopting part of the old neighbourhood and each with room to grow again. Scaling by fission keeps every community at human scale while the federation as a whole grows without limit — and every split adds another copy of the commons.
## Links
# See