Info, news & debate
Commons economy
It’s worse than you think: review of Douglas Rushkoff’s ‘Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus’
Here’s an article that’s part review of the latest book by Douglas Rushkoff (buy it – it’s excellent), part ramble about twenty-first century capitalism.
A matter of scale: how small farms provide more jobs and more food per acre
Our new report, “A Matter of Scale”, highlights how a diverse and vibrant sector of small farms is providing employment, attracting new entrants and incubating entrepreneurs.
Low-impact & the city 12: switching to the Phone Co-op (do it today!)
The Phone Co-op is the UK’s only co-operative telecoms provider. 100% member-owned, they have a democratic internal structure and no external shareholders. You can just become a customer, or you can become a member too, and have a say in the way the co-op is run.
Starting a market garden: Q&A with Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future
Chris Smaje of Small Farm Future kindly agreed to share with us a recent blog post of his own about starting a market garden, drawing on his experiences at Vallis Veg, a small farm on the outskirts of Frome in Somerset with a veg box scheme and much more besides. Covering 13 questions collated from …
B-corporations – yes or no?
What do you consider the correct approach towards multinational corporations – tame them, or start to get rid of them? And what do we mean by ‘tame’ exactly? And what are the problems with multinational corporations in the first place?
Ecological Land Co-op share offer extended after exceeding target: help us change the way land is owned in the UK
WOW! We’ve surpassed our initial maximum target of £340,000, and there are still FOUR days to go. Our new investors are helping us continue our work supporting small-scale, agro-ecological farming. Thank you!
Resilient networks: building a low-tech internet
A solution to the absence of high-speed wireless networks across some developing countries and increasingly appearing in the form of WiFi based community networks in numerous countries in Europe, building a low-tech internet could have benefits for all. With excerpts from an original Low-tech Magazine article by Kris De Decker, we explore how a less resource-intensive and more energy-efficient …
Can you imagine a world without money? Summary of the ‘credit commons’ idea and how it could be achieved
Last week I blogged about a potentially world-changing idea that could be labelled ‘credit commons’, or the catchy ‘global mutual credit system’. It’s a system of exchange that involves no money. It’s difficult to grasp at first, but the more you think about it, the more you realise that a) it’s implementable, and b) if …
This is the best attempt I’ve seen at building a sustainable, democratic, (and inevitably moneyless) economy. It’s worth understanding what they’re saying
If you’ve got a sneaking suspicion that whatever we do, we’re not going to transition to a sustainable, democratic future with the current money and banking system, then I agree with you.
Help the Ecological Land Co-operative to set up more smallholdings
You can join the Ecological Land Co-operative as an investor, by moving some money from your bank savings account (and receiving a better rate of interest). If you agree with the ELC’s principles, this would be extremely helpful.
Why an economy that’s not dominated by the corporate sector would be much better for individuals, communities and nature
Lowimpact.org is an organisation that was founded by two people in 2001 because of concerns about ecological damage and what that might mean for the future of humanity. The focus has always been on individual lifestyle change
Let’s build a sustainable, non-corporate world; but what exactly does ‘non-corporate’ mean?
This is the first of two articles examining the non-corporate sector, and its advantages for ecology, democracy, communities and individuals. Here’s a checklist of the benefits of reducing the reach of the corporate sector, but first, let’s work out what kind of organisations comprise the non-corporate sector.
New Ecological Land Co-op share offer launched: here’s a chance to help bring about change in land ownership in the UK, and receive 3% interest for your trouble!
Please share this as widely as you can. I’m on the board of the Ecological Land Co-op, and so I know how much hard work has gone into this – it’s an opportunity for people to shift their money to help change the nature of land ownership in the UK, and receive 3% interest for …
Very worthwhile and interesting job available with the Open Food Network
Are you interested in helping create food sovereignty in the UK? Would you like to help create food systems in which everyone has access to affordable, nutritious, culturally-appropriate food?
Low-impact & the city 11: buying a laptop without Windows – with Linux or with no operating system at all
This is the last in a series of articles to help you to jettison Windows and corporate software generally.
Low-impact & the city 10: how to install Linux on your hard drive (alongside Windows)
This is the latest in a series of articles intended to help you become Windows- and corporate-software-free.
Want to join a new Midlands co-op with plans for self-build homes for its members?
A growing Northamptonshire based business is looking for individuals who wish to become part of an ethically based worker’s collective. The current business owners, Paul Battye and Melanie Cutler, are looking to turn their business into the new collective to share with like minded individuals
Low-impact & the city 9: learning to use Linux
Remember the previous two blog articles about switching to open source / free software? The first was about switching to free / open source programmes whilst still using Windows, and the second was about downloading the Linux operating system onto a datastick so that you can play with it and familiarise yourself with it, but …
How to misrepresent Adam Smith: review of P. J. O’Rourke’s ‘On the Wealth of Nations’
I don’t know if you’re familiar with P. J., but he’s an excellent writer, and he’s extremely, acerbically funny. With this book, as with his Give War a Chance, several times he made me spit my tea out and have to stop to wipe tea off the page.
Is modern life a mistake?
I was back recently in my old stomping ground of Bicester in Oxfordshire – it was not a happy visit.