Info, news & debate
Economy
How to start a community garden: Part 2
We explore the nuts and bolts of how to start a community garden with Ethical.net, this time tackling finding a site and first steps towards sourcing funding.
The Future of Money (Part 1): with Brett Scott
Today I’m talking with Brett Scott, author and specialist in the money system. Here’s his excellent YouTube channel, and I’ll add links to other things we talk about as well.
Help Lowimpact.org become a wiki, to provide more (and more relevant) information for visitors
We’ve been liaising with Simon Grant, of the P2P Foundation Wiki, and making plans for turning Lowimpact.org into a wiki. We already have a network of specialists who provide information for our topics and respond to visitors’ queries. We want to expand this network, as well as the number of topics we cover.
Keeping your tech ticking: how to extend the lifetime of your laptop
Have a feeling your device is on its last legs and dreading the day you might have to consider buying a new one? Sophie Paterson shares top tips to keep your technological devices ticking, starting with how to extend the lifetime of your laptop.
Resources to accompany upcoming book on new economy built around mutual credit
I have a contract to produce a book about growing a new economy, in communities, with mutual credit at the core. This article is a listing of key resources: video interviews I’ve done with relevant people whilst researching the book, plus articles and websites providing additional information.
What happened to LETS systems? Sue Bell of Mutual Credit Services
Today I’m talking with Sue Bell, who was involved for many years in Brixton LETS and the Brixton Pound. She’s now part of a group called Mutual Credit Services (MCS), formed to build mutual credit clubs and to federate them together to build a new kind of moneyless trading system. I want to talk about …
Storing value in a mutual credit world: Chris Cook
This is the third in a series of interviews that will accompany a book I’m writing, that will be published by Chelsea Green – an employee-owned company, and part of the new economy that the book is describing, built around a mutual credit core. Today I’m talking with Chris Cook. He was the designer of …
Building the Credit Commons with Mutual Credit Clubs: Matthew Slater
This is the second in a series of interviews that will accompany a book I’m writing, that will be published by Chelsea Green – an employee-owned company, and part of the new economy that the book is describing, built around a mutual credit core. Here’s more on the book deal and here’s some introductory information …
Two planks – and a bridge – to the new economy
This article accompanies and enlarges upon the interview with Dil Green that we published recently, as part of series of articles on a forthcoming book about building a new economy around a mutual credit core.
Job opportunities with the Ecological Land Cooperative
There are exciting times ahead for our friends at the Ecological Land Cooperative, as they share news of five new job opportunities. Lauren Simpson tells us more.
Mutual credit clubs: an introduction, with Dil Green
Dil Green had the original idea for ‘mutual credit clubs’ that can federate to create a new global trading system. He’s brought together a group of people to form Mutual Credit Services (MCS) to start to build this federation (new website coming soon).
Re-cooperativising the Co-op Bank? Shaun Fensom of Save Our Bank
Today I’m talking with Shaun Fensom of ‘Save Our Bank’ – the Co-op Bank, that is. But of course it’s not a co-operative any more, and part of what the group wants to do is to help bring the bank back into co-operative ownership.
I’ve got a book deal. I’d like to ask for your advice about how to deliver the message.
I’ve got a book deal with Chelsea Green, which is quite scary. They like my writing style, but the content needs a bit of translating for a wide audience. The Covid pandemic provided the stimulus to bring together a group of specialists to form ‘Mutual Credit Services’ (new website coming soon). My role is in …
CoopCycle Federation: aiming for a bicycle courier co-op in every town
Today I’m talking with Claire Stocks of Chorlton Bike Deliveries and Matt Nicholson of York Collective. Both are bicycle courier co-operatives.
Great ways to reduce plastic use in your home: Part 3 – around the home
Explore how to reduce plastic use in the kitchen, living area, bedroom, bathroom and even the garden, with the help of our friends at Ethical.net.
Review of ‘A Small Farm Future’ by Chris Smaje
Industrial agriculture and giant monoculture farms dominate our food sector. But does it have to be that way? Could and should we build a new kind of food system based on small farms? This new book, ‘A Small Farm Future’ published by Chelsea Green, outlines what a post-covid, post-capitalist society might look like, built around …
Are power hierarchies inevitable in human society?
Just to be clear, I’m only talking about institutional, power hierarchies here, not hierarchies based on beauty, knowledge, intelligence, ability, respect etc. Those hierarchies are inevitable, of course, and life would probably be quite boring without them.
Great ways to reduce plastic use in your home: Part 1 – what and why
Are you struggling to reduce plastic use in your home? In this first instalment from Ethical.net, we learn why we should be aiming to reduce our plastic use, why recycling isn’t enough and how to get started reducing food-related plastic waste.
Do energy-saving measures actually increase overall energy use?
Having worked in the environmental field for 30 years, I’ve watched the situation get worse every year, to the point that it might already be irreversible, and we don’t know what damage it’s going to do to us, exactly. That’s pretty insane, and so
Creating a national network of social care co-ops: Graham Mitchell of Co-operative Care Colne Valley
Today I’m talking with Graham Mitchell, of Co-operative Care Colne Valley. He’s part of a group starting a social care co-op in the Colne Valley, West Yorkshire, and they’re also building a toolkit / step-by-step guide for people to start a social care coop in their own community. I’m interested in how this toolkit can …