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    Dave Darby bio

    Dave Darby founded Lowimpact.org in 2001, spent 3 years on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op and is a founder member of NonCorporate.org and the Open Credit Network.

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    Dave Darby

    Low-impact & the city 13: How to get lots of fruit from a small garden with no work

    Dave Darby 29-Aug-2019

    I’m too busy to have a vegetable garden. I don’t have the mental energy to think about when it’s time to buy seeds, to plant them, water them, prick them out into pots, dig the garden, plant them, and then continue to water them, weed them and harvest them. Read more

    What’s the difference between capitalism and a free market?

    Dave Darby 04-Aug-2019

    People usually conflate the two, but I want to try to persuade (mainly the right) that capitalism is nothing like a free market, and (mainly the left) that there’s nothing wrong with a truly free market. Read more

    Come to our public event on the Open Credit Network, July 18th, London

    Dave Darby 23-Jun-2019

    As you know if you follow this blog, Lowimpact.org and the Open Co-op have partnered up to build a mutual credit network for the UK, the Open Credit Network (OCN), and that we have people on board who are working to develop the ‘credit commons’ – a way of linking together mutual credit schemes anywhere… Continue reading Come to our public event on the Open Credit Network, July 18th, London Read more

    Reflections on the CTRLshift gathering – an emergency summit for change

    Dave Darby 16-Jun-2019

    The stated aim of the annual CTRLshift gathering (that took place in Stoke-on-Trent recently) is to bring key people together to talk about practical steps to help shift power away from central government and multinational corporations, to communities and individuals. Well, you had me at ‘decentralisation’, so I went along. Read more

    A moneyless trading system for the UK: the Open Credit Network launches website and conducts first trades

    Dave Darby 07-Apr-2019

    Big news as the Open Credit Network launches a website and conducts its first trades, laying the foundations of a moneyless trading system for the UK. Read more

    What do we do about the coming ecological crash?

    Dave Darby 01-Jan-2019

    So let’s start the year with a bit of optimism. Our last post was about the fact that there is a general lack of understanding of the implications of biodiversity loss, and the contribution of climate change to it. This post is for people who do understand what’s happening to nature, but can see no… Continue reading What do we do about the coming ecological crash? Read more

    We should be much more worried about an ecological crash than a financial crash

    Dave Darby 30-Dec-2018

    A few years ago, I was having a beer in the bar at King’s Cross narrowboat marina, when someone called Fred asked me what I did. When I said that I worked for an environmental organisation, he came up with a classic line that I’ve quoted many times since. Read more

    How the EU is causing problems for the ‘Preston Model’ of local, non-corporate procurement

    Dave Darby 18-Nov-2018

    I’ve often suggested that Western states are beginning to resemble an admin department for the corporate sector. Read more

    Europe: it’s time to end the growth dependency

    Dave Darby 11-Nov-2018

    We don’t usually blog about petitions – it feels a bit too much like begging, rather than doing things for ourselves and building alternatives from grassroots. However, this petition is too important to ignore, and politicians need to hear it, even though they might not be close to understanding it. Read more

    Are you ‘radical’, and if not, why not?

    Dave Darby 21-Oct-2018

    I’m using the original definition of the word, not its bastardisation that over the years has come to be used as a kind of insult in some circles. I’ve been called ‘too radical’, and I want to show why that’s an absurdity. Read more

    My mutual credit journey (and how you can join in the fun)

    Dave Darby 08-Aug-2018

    I often trawl the web just speculatively looking for new people or new ideas, clicking on links from interesting sites. TEDx talks are a favourite. A few years ago I came across an intriguing TEDx talk by Professor Jem Bendell called ‘the Money Myth’. Read more

    Living together 1: exploring the options for starting a cohousing project

    Dave Darby 05-Jul-2018

    My partner and I have decided that we want to sell our house and come together with other people to create some sort of cohousing / community living project. But how many other people? And where will it be? Will it be a new-build project, or will it involve converting or combining an existing propery… Continue reading Living together 1: exploring the options for starting a cohousing project Read more

    Announcing the launch of NonCorporate.org – how to move away from multinational corporations

    Dave Darby 07-Jun-2018

    We’re pleased to announce the launch of NonCorporate.org – our sister site, dedicated to helping people move away from multinational corporations (MNCs) for everything they need. Read more

    Jordan Peterson talks some sense, but he’s wrong about two very important things

    Dave Darby 29-May-2018

    Jordan Peterson is provocative, interesting and a formidable opponent in debates and interviews. He doesn’t interrupt, he thinks carefully about people’s points, he doesn’t run away from difficult arguments (or difficult people) and he’s helped a lot of people to rescue their damaged lives. Read more

    Public debate on capitalism: what happened and what I learnt

    Dave Darby 22-May-2018

    You may remember that I was invited to take part in a public debate in London recently (see here) about whether capitalism is ‘the best system for a sustainable future’. I was asked to deliver the ‘no’ position. Read more

    The two roads to serfdom: how neoliberals misrepresent Hayek

    Dave Darby 17-May-2018

    I recently went to visit a friend in Germany by train, and as I packed my bag, I looked around for a book to throw in, to read on the way. The one I plumped for was the Road to Serfdom by Friedrich von Hayek, Mrs. Thatcher’s (and Ronald Reagan’s) guru. Read more

    Public debate featuring yours truly: is capitalism the best system for a sustainable future?

    Dave Darby 08-Apr-2018

    If you’re in London on April 18th, there’s a public debate you might be interested in, upstairs in a pub in Tooting. I’ve been asked to put the case against capitalism. There will be initial presentations, rebuttals, questions from the audience, and then a summing up. Read more

    Interview with Matthew Slater: what’s mutual credit, how can it boost the Solidarity Economy, and what can we do to help? (plus webinar)

    Dave Darby 27-Feb-2018

    See yesterday’s blog post for an introduction to this article. This is an interview with Matthew Slater, who co-authored the Money & Society MOOC, a free masters level multidisciplinary online course. He co-drafted the Credit Commons white paper, a proposal for a global solidarity economy money system Read more

    The next great transition will be to the Solidarity Economy with a mutual credit exchange system

    Dave Darby 26-Feb-2018

    I’ve been working in the environmental field for over 20 years, and I believe, like the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, that we’re headed for ‘biological annihilation’, and like the good folk at the Dark Mountain Project, that a crash is coming that we may or may not recover from Read more

    Webinar: a non-techie’s adventures with cryptocurrencies – a step-by-step guide to setting up a wallet and trading in Litecoin

    Dave Darby 02-Feb-2018

    This is the first of a series of webinars on specific aspects of the money system and various alternatives to it. Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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