Info, news & debate
Economy
Interview with Matthew Slater: what’s mutual credit, how can it boost the Solidarity Economy, and what can we do to help? (plus webinar)
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
The next great transition will be to the Solidarity Economy with a mutual credit exchange system
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
Fancy volunteering for the summer at an off-grid, Ecological Land Coop smallholding?
Hi – we are James and Sukamala, tenants at Wild Geese Acres, Greenham Reach, which is an off-grid, low-impact farming project established in north Devon by the Ecological Land Coop (ELC) – see website. http://ecologicalland.coop.
How you can gain natural building skills for your own build for free, and help put up affordable, natural, community buildings
Some great ideas from Adrian at Wholewoods. Below are several ways that you can get your hands dirty and gain natural building skills for free, whilst helping to erect beautiful, affordable, natural buildings for schools, charities or educational organisations.
Do you know anyone who might want to donate some land for a sustainable, affordable smallholding legacy?
The Ecological Land Cooperative has launched a campaign to ask landowners for donations of small parcels of land to create clusters of affordable smallholdings for new entrants to ecological agriculture.
Proposal for a ‘one planet’ food revolution
This is the third in a series of articles about ‘one planet’ living – the first in rural areas, and the second in cities. Now we discuss the situation as regards food production.
The Food Assembly: connecting you to local farmers and food makers
Sophie Paterson explores how a movement founded in France is connecting communities to local farmers and food makers across Britain: enter The Food Assembly. But does it really offer the best deal to producers, hosts and customers alike?
Democrats, Donald Trump and the dark underbelly of economic growth
Where is real ‘opposition’ in the West when all major parties support cancerous, perpetual growth? Surely it’s time for major political figures to stand up and say that the quest for perpetual economic growth is the engine behind the destruction of the biosphere, and will eventually kill us unless we stop.
Webinar: a non-techie’s adventures with cryptocurrencies – a step-by-step guide to setting up a wallet and trading in Litecoin
This is the first of a series of webinars on specific aspects of the money system and various alternatives to it.
We’re running a series of webinars on how we might change the money system – starting with cryptocurrencies
We’re determined to spread the word that any attempts to move towards a more sustainable and democratic world are doomed to failure if they don’t address the money system.
Why much criticism of the Fair Trade movement is invalid – designed to disguise corporate exploitation of small farmers
The Fair Trade movement was set up to secure better prices for struggling small farmers and craft producers in poor countries, and to provide funds for various improvements in their communities. It has, however, come in for some criticism for various reasons.
How I built a Raspberry Pi Space Invaders arcade machine with my kids
This describes how my kids and I built an arcade machine, based on a Raspberry Pi. So, the first question many of you will be asking is….
![By Christopher DOMBRES (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.lowimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/Shopper-e1516826078489.jpg)
Buying green: is ethical consumerism a perfect distraction?
Eco-consumption, ethical consumerism, sustainable shopping. Call it what we may, “buying green” has grown into something of a hot topic in the last decade. But is it the sustainable solution some claim it to be or is it in fact the perfect distraction? Lowimpact.org’s Sophie Paterson explores.
Joy in enough: awakening to a new economics
On 18th November last year there was a one-day workshop in Sheffield called “Joy in Enough – Awakening to a New Economics”. It was delivered by Green Christian who are a multi-denominational charity that have been operating for over thirty years.
My reflections on the Oxford Real Farming Conference 2018
I’ve heard several people say they love going to the Oxford Real Farming Conference because it fires them up for the farming year, and I couldn’t agree more. ORFC is so inspiring to people like us because it was set up by a group frustrated at the lack of representation for organic and small-scale producers …
How you can help the Landworkers’ Alliance get more farmers and better food in the UK
All over Europe, for a long time there has been a trend towards larger, monoculture farms and industrial agriculture. Smaller farms have been swallowed up and farmers have been leaving the land in their millions.
Urban one-planet development: how can cities reduce their ecological footprint?
The last post in this series looked at the vital role of ecological footprinting in ensuring that our individual actions are truly sustainable – i.e. within the limits of what the Earth’s resources can provide. This is called ‘one planet’ development.
How we got olive oil from a small farm in Portugal brought over in a sailboat by a co-operative based in Brighton – and how you can do the same
I recently interviewed Dhara Thompson of the Sailboat Project for our new sailboats topic introduction. He told me that they are one of many new organisations that are working to bring back sailboats for cargo and passenger transport – using the power of the wind to move people and goods around the planet.
Earth.Food.Love: the story of the UK’s first zero-waste shop
Nicola and Richard Eckersley, founders of Earth.Food.Love, share their journey to pioneering the UK’s first zero-waste shop in Totnes, Devon.
The potential power of sharing: from Share Shops to Streetbank
In this post Sophie Paterson of Lowimpact.org explores the power of sharing in a growing movement including The Library of Things, Streetbank, Share Shops and more.