NEWSLETTER

Naam:
Emailadres:


.......
31 Ways to Jump Start the Local Economy PDF Afdrukken E-mail
Waardering: / 0
SlechtZeer goed 
Geplaatst door Alec Boswijk   
woensdag 17 juni 2009

How to make it with less, share more, and put people and the planet first. Build a secure, sustainable economy beginning at home and in your community…

AT HOME


YES number
Rent out a room in your home, or swap space for gardening, child or elder care, or carpentry.


YES number
Buy less so you can buy higher quality. Buy from companies that “internalize” costs by passing along to you the cost of living wages, low carbon footprints, or organic production.


YES number
Take your money out of predator banks and put it into a credit union, local bank, or an institution like Shorebank Pacific that supports sustainable businesses.


YES number

Pay off debts. Try life without credit cards.


YES number
Downsize your home and shrink your mortgage.


YES number
Fix things. Mend clothing, repair the vacuum, fix the car—instead of replacing them. Or give them away on Freecycle.org.


YES number
Invest with passion. Know where your money is and what it’s up to. Go for a living return that builds your community. Or invest in tangible things like a prepaid college fund or a piece of land.


YES number
Shorten the supply chain. Pick the wild greens and extra fruit growing in your neighborhood. If you can’t do that, then buy direct from a farmer. If you can’t do that, then look for local produce in season at your locally owned grocers.


YES number
Support other people’s local economies by urging your representatives in Congress to cancel debts to poor countries (see www.jubileeusa.org).


YES number
Find a place, put down roots, and stay put. Get to know people from other generations. Turn off the TV and talk to friends and neighbors.


YES number
Support local green businesses rather than distant energy conglomerates by insulating your house, upgrading windows, and installing solar.




apple graphic



TOGETHER WITH FRIENDS


YES number

Form a dinner club and hold a weekly potluck, or trade off cooking and hosting.

YES number
Dip your toe in the barter economy. Check out Craigslist’s “barter” category, and learn what WTT means (Willing To Trade). Even better, ask the guy at work who makes microbrews to trade a sixpack for a dozen of your chickens’ eggs.


YES number
Get together with coworkers and start a list of things you can do at work. For example, buy fair trade coffee, change to energy-efficient lighting, or carpool.


YES number
Start a Common Security Club in your faith community or neighborhood to help folks cope in the crisis and act together to create the new economy (www.commonsecurityclub.org).


YES number
Exchange care of children and elders. Better yet, bring the generations together and support each in offering love and care to the others.


YES number
Pool funds with a group of friends for home repairs, greening projects, or emergencies.

YES number
Do home work parties. Each month, go to a different household to do major home greening, a garden upgrade, or some deferred maintenance.


YES number
Keep more people from becoming homeless by challenging evictions and occupying vacant homes.


YES number
Create a space at a farmers market to exchange or sell used clothes, electronics, games, CDs, plants, seeds, compost, and books. Encourage people to swap services, too, like haircuts, photography, or prepared dinners.


YES number
Reach out to groups that are organizing people on the frontlines of the crisis, like Jobs with Justice (www.jwj.org) and Right to the City (www.righttothecity.org).




apple graphic



IN YOUR COMMUNITY


YES number

Link up people looking for job skills with people who can offer apprenticeships.

YES number
Start a local currency or time dollar program to help link needs and offerings, those with time and those starved for time.


YES number
Use publicly owned lands for community gardens, farmers markets, business incubators, community land trusts (with affordable housing), community-rooted grocery stores.


YES number
Hold on to the local businesses you already have. Help retiring entrepreneurs sell to employees or other locals.


YES number
Create a car, kayak, and electric pick-up truck co-op to save money and carbon, and provide access to a variety of vehicles.


YES number
Create or join a chapter of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) or similar groups. Work together to find services or products you could substitute for imported ones, local assets you can build on, and ongoing institutions that could be serviced locally.


YES number
Start a community bank, loan fund, or credit union to invest in local well-being, or encourage existing ones to rethink their lending.


YES number
Declare an end to corporate personhood in your community. Barnstead, New Hampshire did, and, more recently, three communities in Maine have done it. You can too.


YES number
Hold a weekly dinner for the hungry. Ask those who attend to help serve food at subsequent dinners. (Having an opportunity to give is important for everyone’s dignity).


YES number
Keep your energy dollars circulating locally. Launch a clean energy cooperative to install wind turbines or solar roofs, and to weatherize homes and businesses.

 
< Vorige   Volgende >

-->