Corvées: commons practices in ancient and modern France
Will Ruddick of Grassroots Economics talks about the French mutual aid tradition of Corvées. Read more
Rebuilding the flax / textile industry as a commons: Fantasy Fibre Mill
Dave Darby of Stroud Commons and Lowimpact.org talks with Rosie Bristow and Nick Evans of Fantasy Fibre Mill, working to resurrect the flax / linen industry in the UK, as a commons. Read more
Busted flush: why the big water corporations have to go
The catastrophic problems of privatised English water companies are well known. Sewerage function and drinking water supply are now more deficient than even before privatisation. Terminal failure was in-built from the start, within the cultural, operational, & regulatory processes applied. Correcting these foundational criteria can help inform the quickest resolution. Read more
How a new land commons movement can support agroecology
There’s huge overlap between the principles of agroecology and of commoning, and growth in the commons movement could mean a shift towards agroecology and away from damaging industrial agriculture. Read more
Easy ways that you can help grow the commons movement
We’ve put out requests for help before – in blog articles, at public events and via word of mouth. And they worked. In Stroud, we now have a core group of 10 people and three sector groups – housing commons, land common and leisure commons, with 8-10 people each. Read more
Festival of Commoning, Stroud, Gloucs, Sep 13-15, 2024
A Festival of Commoning in the UK: Stroud, Gloucestershire, September 13/14/15 2024. The time is right for a Festival of the Commons. Read more
Is the corporate digital takeover of big cities ‘progress’?
In Brett Scott’s blog post, The War on Informality, he talks about his impressions of London after some time away, how it’s becoming more and more difficult to escape surveillance capitalism, and how it’s seeping into every area of Londoners’ lives. Read more
Helping commons groups form and grow in Stroud and other towns (and countries)
Commons ideas have gone down well in Stroud and we have thriving groups in various sectors. We’ve been approached by formative groups in several towns in the UK and in other countries. Read more
Restanza and the cultural commons
We’d like to see the commons economy grow to allow people (especially young people) to stay in their communities, rather than having to move to big cities to work in the corporate sector and pay extortionate rents. Here, Paul Jennings (who we’re liaising with about the commons in Llandeilo) talks about the concept of ‘Restanza’… Continue reading Restanza and the cultural commons Read more
‘Bear ye one another’s burdens’: friendly societies for social welfare
Every neighbourhood had a friendly society. At their height, just before WW1 9 million people were members of friendly societies in the UK! Read more
How to build an energy commons
This is a draft outline of a design for an energy commons in any town – an energy sector owned by communities, providing affordable, locally-generated, renewable energy. Read more
Resistance Festival to help save Monkton Wyld Court
A resistance festival of free workshops and music is taking place at Monkton Wyld Court, nr Lyme Regis. This is in support of the community that has run Monkton Wyld Court for the last fifteen years, and is now threatened by incoming charity trustees. Monkton Wyld Court is the site of a microdairy which dates… Continue reading Resistance Festival to help save Monkton Wyld Court Read more
Taking the water industry off the water companies: Julian Jones of Water21, Part 1
Part 1 of an interview with Julian Jones, a water engineer and distinguished fellow of the Schumacher Institute, about building a water commons for Stroud. Read more
More on the money problem: it doesn’t have to be ‘scarce’
Following on from a recent post by Tom Greco, on the essential nature of money, Dil Green of Lowimpact.org and Mutual Credit Services here talks about its apparent scarcity, how that negatively affects our communities and our well-being, and how it could be different – based on mutual credit and the commons economy. Read more
Stroud Commons 5: forming a ‘commoners’ group for each sector of the economy
This is the latest in a series of articles documenting our group’s attempts to build the commons economy in Stroud, in a way that can be implemented in other towns, and connected together to build the foundations of a new, commons economy. It covers what we’ve done so far, and how people can get involved. Read more
An authoritarian world government is not going to save us
A growing question for environmentalists is the extent to which the existential threat we face means that countries and populations should be forced to reduce consumption, and hence whether an authoritarian politics is the best way to face the future. Read more
Conversation with Jem Bendell, part 2: how should we respond to the collapse of capitalism?
This is the second part of a conversation between Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org and Jem Bendell, professor of sustainability leadership at the University of Cumbria, and author of the now famous 2018 Deep Adaptation paper that claimed that we’re on an inevitable path to civilisational collapse. Read more
Conversation with Jem Bendell, part 1: is industrial capitalism coming to an end?
This is the first part of a conversation between Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org and Jem Bendell, professor of sustainability leadership at the University of Cumbria, and author of the now famous 2018 Deep Adaptation paper that claimed that we’re on an inevitable path to civilisational collapse. Read more
Regenerative traditions in Africa: inspiration for the commons everywhere
Building the commons may be hard in wealthier countries, where traditions of mutual aid were lost many years ago. But they’re still alive and well in other parts of the world – as this article by Janet of Grassroots Economics / Sarafu Network shows. I interviewed the director of Grassroots Economics, Shaila Agha, who told me about ‘chamas’ in Kenya – mutual savings groups, built on trusted relationships in local communities. Read more
Stroud Commons 4: new website
Stroud Commons now has a website – stroudcommons.org. Please tell anyone you know in Stroud about us. We’re looking for people to get involved. Read more