Rewilding or local food production?
We like the idea of rewilding, but it needs much more thought when it removes good UK lowland farmland – because then, obviously, land elsewhere will have to brought into agricultural production to take up the slack. Read more
Lowimpact jobs board launches!
At last! Here at Lowimpact we’re very proud to be finally launching our Lowimpact jobs board. A service that so many of you have asked for over the years – and we know will be so useful in connecting job seekers with employers. You can find it here. The jobs board is dedicated to showcasing… Continue reading Lowimpact jobs board launches! Read more
Village halls – a sustainable success story
Our village halls can be a beacon for sustainable living, community activities and the sharing of ideas! Read more
How credit clearing can help system change: Michael Hallam of Local Loop Lancaster & Morecambe
In this interview I’m talking with Michael Hallam, who is involved with the Ethical Small Traders Association (ESTA) in Lancaster, and has recently been working with Mutual Credit Services on a credit clearing project called Local Loop Lancaster & Morecambe. Credit clearing is an important part of what needs to happen to build a new, ‘commons’ economy. Read more
Stroud Commons part 1: We’re putting our house into the ‘commons’. Follow our progress and replicate it in your community
In 2023 I’d like to see a move towards a new system, rather than futile attempts to ‘fix’ capitalism. I don’t think it’s necessary to to try to persuade the majority of people of this. There are enough of us already to kick-start the necessary change. I’d just like to bring to your attention the new ideas that are emerging for building this new system – the commons economy. Read more
Our most popular posts in 2022
Read through new posts this year and look back at the most popular posts on the site from 2022. Read more
Cumbria coal mine – anger, disbelief and shock
A new coal mine has been approved in Cumbria – but we can not allow it to go ahead. Read more
Building the energy commons: Marcus Saul of Island Power
Interview with Marcus Saul of Island Power, an energy company with incredible ideas that could be world-changing, in terms of building a new kind of (commons) economy. Read more
Surviving the Future 2023: deep dive for anyone concerned about what’s coming
In these tumultuous times, it’s good to pull back and think together — to share conversation — curated by experts and in the company of some of the most compelling people who have been thinking about these issues for a long time. Read more
Review of ‘Change: How to Make Big Things Happen’ by Damon Centola
Although the ‘viral’ approach (large networks, weak ties between people) can work for small packets of information, when it comes to behaviour change, it doesn’t seem to work well, and can actually be counter-productive. Read more
George Monbiot and friends are wrong: techno-utopianism won’t save us
George Monbiot has joined a campaign called ‘Reboot Food’, working with techno-utopians who would like to see governments remove support for organic food and deregulate the GM industry, as well as producing bacteria-based food in giant factories (‘precision-fermentation’), and getting rid of smallholdings. Read more
Organic smallholdings, not ‘farm-free’ food factories
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
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
My journey from nuclear physics to mutual credit: Tom Woodroof of Mutual Credit Services
This is Part 1 of an interview with Tom Woodroof of Mutual Credit Services, who made the shift from the world of nuclear physics to the world of mutual credit. Read more
Fighting our food waste habit
How improving our food waste habit can save us money and reduce our carbon footprint. Read more
New owner sought for low-impact pub and glamping site in rural Suffolk
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
Would sociocracy work for your organisation?
This is part 2 of an interview with Ted Rau, co-founder of Sociocracy For All. Part 1 (‘What is sociocracy’) is here. Now we’re talking about whether sociocracy might be a good idea for your organisation / business. Read more
What is sociocracy? With Ted Rau of Sociocracy For All
Here I’m talking with Ted Rau, one of the co-founders of of Sociocracy For All, and leader of the general circle for that organisation. Read more
Can governments solve the climate problem?
Short answer: no, because governments are fixated on maximising GDP growth, which is the root cause of the climate crisis, and which far outweighs any (rare) beneficial legislation that they might introduce. Read more
New tools and ideas for building the commons economy
The Commons economy is not, like capitalism, built around the private ownership of the means of production – but neither is it, like socialism, built on the state ownership of those means. It’s about reinstating the commons, that have been gradually enclosed over the centuries, first by the state and more recently by capitalists. Read more