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Small is beautiful posts

Small is beautiful, but is it regenerative?

Can small scale farms be sustainable and regenerative? Read more

Organic smallholdings, not ‘farm-free’ food factories

Chris Smaje of Vallis Veg | 13-Nov-2022 | 3

Another critical review of George Monbiot’s latest book, Regenesis, by Chris Smaje, author of Small Farm Future. This follows on from last week’s review by Simon Fairlie. Read more

A range of new monetary tools for a completely new economy: Tom Woodroof of Mutual Credit Services, Part 2

This is Part 2 of an interview with Tom Woodroof, who made the move from the world of nuclear physics to the world of mutual credit and monetary change. I’m going to find out more about his work, and how it can contribute to (quite revolutionary) change. Read more

The parklet movement – creating green space on our streets

Can the rising use of parklets across our cities increase the use of green spaces? Read more

New owner sought for low-impact pub and glamping site in rural Suffolk

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 09-Oct-2022 | 4

Aldegarden is a wonderful site in Suffolk, with accommodation, a community pub, and a ‘glamping’ site with yurts, timber structures, a cob roundhouse, gypsy caravan and a converted barn, communal areas, solar hot water and electricity and compost loos. They’ve been in our directory for years. But now they’re looking for new owners for the property and successful businesses. Read more

Communicating about degrowth, with Mark Burton of Steady-state Manchester

Constant GDP growth causes ecological damage – there’s the constant expansion in the use of energy and materials, and the by-products of their use. Read more

Is it time to rethink the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 29-May-2022 | 3

Time to rethink the UN’s ‘Sustainable Development Goals’: the concepts of ‘development’ and ‘progress’ based on eternal GDP growth are flawed. Read more

Review of Brett Scott’s ‘Cloud Money’

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 25-May-2022 | 0

Review of Brett Scott’s ‘Cloud Money’, a ‘convoluted payments circuitry, tied together by institutions you cannot see, but who can see you’. Read more

Co-operative social care with sociocracy and mutual credit: Emma Back of the Equal Care Co-op

Emma Back of Equal Care Co-op | 10-Apr-2022 | 0

There are some very interesting aspects to the Equal Care Co-op, including ‘Teams’, sociocratic decision-making and an internal payments system that could be described as a cross between mutual credit, timebanking, tokenising, and recognition of informal labour, including emotional labour and care work. Read more

How the state favours big business and causes inflation with ‘Quantitative Sleazing’

A new essay on the economics of the pandemic suggests that the recent inflation is a sign that that failure is accelerating towards us. It’s an important reminder for us to ask ourselves how ready we are to both cope and help others in a crumbling economy. Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Investment, saving & location

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 20-Mar-2022 | 1

Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together to form a global moneyless trading network – the ‘Credit Commons’. Here we’re looking at savings and investments in a mutual credit world, as well as the importance of physical location. Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Community groups & individuals

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 13-Mar-2022 | 0

This is the fifth in a series of articles looking at the development of Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together to form a global moneyless trading network – the ‘Credit Commons’. Here we’re looking at community groups and individual consumers. Read more

How not to build a movement, as demonstrated by Chris Saltmarsh

We thought you might like this extraordinary defence of Deep Adaptation by Matthew Slater. Last year, he and Extinction Rebellion co-founder Skeena Rathor, authored a chapter in Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos; last month it was reviewed by newcomer Chris Saltmarsh, the champion of Jeremy Corbyn’s Green New Deal proposals and author of ‘Burnt’. Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Local authorities & anchor institutions

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 06-Mar-2022 | 2

This is the fourth in a series of articles looking at the development of Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together to form a global moneyless trading network – the ‘Credit Commons’. Here we’re looking at local authorities and anchor institutions Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Trade Credit Clubs and credit clearing

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 27-Feb-2022 | 0

Third in a series of articles looking at the development of Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together to form a global moneyless trading network – the ‘Credit Commons’. Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: explaining the Credit Commons Protocol

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 20-Feb-2022 | 0

of Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together in a global trading network. Here we provide a basic explanation of the Credit Commons Protocol. Read more

Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: introduction

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 13-Feb-2022 | 4

Members of the Lowimpact.org co-op are involved with Mutual Credit Services (MCS), whose mission is to help build local mutual credit ‘clubs’ in the UK and overseas, and to link them together in a global trading network. We’re often asked about the current state of play, and so we’ve put together a series of 6 articles to explain what progress we’ve made. Read more

Toward co-operative commonwealth: transition in a perilous century

A while ago, we interviewed Pat Conaty, author, academic and stalwart of system change activism. We talked about how to grow the ‘co-operative commonwealth’ and about what constitutes the ‘commons’ in the 21st century. Pat is now part of the Synergia Institute, who have put together a MOOC for those of you involved with social and environmental change, and frustrated at the lack of real change we can see around us. Read more

Review of ‘Going to Seed’, new book by Simon Fairlie

Dave Darby of Lowimpact.org | 06-Feb-2022 | 1

This is a review of Simon Fairlie’s new book, Going to Seed, out on Feb 10th – his ‘counterculture memoir’ – although at times I’ll unapologetically veer into (hopefully relevant) political rambling. Read more

Please help the Ecological Land Co-op with their latest OPD application

The Ecological Land Cooperative would like to ask you for some support. As you may be aware, in 2020 we submitted a One Planet Development application to create 2 new small farms on our site at Furzehill on Gower. Due to one of the potential farmers having to pull out we have withdrawn that initial application and have just resubmitted an OPD application for 1 farm with the other original farmers. 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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