Info, news & debate
Economy
Co-operative social care with sociocracy and mutual credit: Emma Back of the Equal Care Co-op
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.
Big Solar Co-op: solar as a hedge against energy price rises
We’ve blogged before about the great work the Big Solar Co-op are doing, bringing solar into communities. Here Jon Halle explores the potential for solar to provide some protection against energy price rises for small businesses and community-based organisations.
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.
Fairbnb and housing Ukrainian refugees: Emanuele Dal Carlo
We were interviewing the President of Fairbnb as a co-operative alternative to Airbnb. However, things have taken a bit of a turn since we started talking, and now they’re using the platform to help Ukrainian refugees.
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Investment, saving & location
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.
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Community groups & individuals
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.
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’.
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Local authorities & anchor institutions
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
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: Trade Credit Clubs and credit clearing
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’.
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: explaining the Credit Commons Protocol
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.
Voting with my fork: plant foods I’m not buying any more
Sometimes, I wish I didn’t know the backstory to some foods, so I could happily buy them at the local shops and not think twice. But I do and here is my list of foods I won’t be buying again plus others that will require careful buying choices.
Mutual Credit Services – keeping communities alive after COVID: introduction
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.
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.
Review of ‘Going to Seed’, new book by Simon Fairlie
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.
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.
Help build the co-operative sector via the Co-op Data Club
Leo Sammallahti explains the Co-op Data Club – a new venture to promote the co-operative sector. At the moment, the Co-op Data Club is about building a solid network of co-ops, and later, individuals will be able to join in. If you’re part of a co-op, please consider joining.
New website and new plans for 2022 – your involvement welcome
We launched our new website in early January. It’s faster, more robust and (hopefully) easier to navigate. Please let us know if you find any broken links or any other problems. Since 2001, we’ve been developing a huge range of topics covering low-impact technologies, facilities and activities. But with the current economy and money system, …
Is money the root of all evil? Shaun Chamberlin Part 2
This is Part 2 of a conversation with Shaun Chamberlin (Part 1 is here). Shaun left the board of the Ecological Land Co-op as I joined. He’s been involved with the Transition Network – he wrote the Transition Timeline. His website is Dark Optimism. He took on the work of David Fleming after his death, …
Where are we headed? (‘physics doesn’t negotiate’): Shaun Chamberlin
At Lowimpact we’re interviewing people who are working to build a new kind of world. We want to promote what they’re doing, and find ways to work together. Today I’m talking with Shaun Chamberlin.
Happy new economy in 2022
This is a 2022 New Year’s message to everyone I know, or who uses this website, reads our blog and/or watches our videos. I’m an optimist. Eventually, I think we can turn things around. And even if we can’t, if we help the people in our network to do what they do, at the very …