Info, news & debate
Economy
Mutual credit in Africa: interview with Will Ruddick of Grassroots Economics
I’d like to introduce Will Ruddick, who set up the Grassroots Economics Foundation in Kenya around ten years ago, that runs a very successful mutual credit network (called the Sarafu Network) there.
Saving and investment in a mutual credit world
Nothing we do to try to move to a sustainable, healthy and democratic society will work as long as we have the current money system, because money has two conflicting functions. It can be used to buy and sell things, and it can be used to store, hoard, accumulate and become wealthy with. As long …
A beginners’ guide to farmers’ markets: Part 3
Our friends at Ethical.net share what to look for in local food and drink in their guide to farmers’ market shopping, plus how else to access sustainable produce from local producers.
Craft in a crisis: helping heritage crafts come back from the brink
With a host of already endangered heritage crafts at even greater risk as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, what does the future hold and how can we play a part in helping heritage crafts survive and even thrive? Sophie Paterson explores.
New money stories: the eleven dollar bill
I’m writing a book – published by Chelsea Green next January – about the possibility of building a new economy around a moneyless, mutual credit core, at a time when money is going to be scarce. I’m often told that the best way to get new ideas across is with a story.
A beginners’ guide to farmers’ markets: Part 2
In the second instalment of A beginners’ guide to farmers’ markets, Elizabeth Waddington of Ethical.net explores how to find and what to expect at your local farmers’ market, as well as how to ensure your shop is as affordable as possible.
A beginners’ guide to farmers’ markets: Part 1
Not sure how to make the most of your local farmers’ market? In the first part of A beginners’ guide to farmers’ markets, Elizabeth Waddington of Ethical.net sets out how and why shopping at your local farmers’ market can make a real and positive difference.
Incredible new research: how small businesses can be saved post-Covid
It seems pretty obvious that there’s a giant economic slump on the way that’s going to sweep away millions of small and medium-sized businesses around the world, so that Amazon can step in to continue to try to take over the entire global economy.
The Future of Money (Part 2): with Brett Scott
This is part 2 of a conversation 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. Part 1 is here.
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).