Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
I heard about Plowright Organic last year and was intrigued; partly because they’re growing on 30 acres of land and use some machinery on the land. But what got me most interested was the fact that they provide totally farm grown veg boxes for nine months of the year; something that few farms in this country can achieve.
Cool Labs use the existing financial and technological landscape of the world today and simply change the way products are produced in order to heal the earth, balance carbon, and make more real wealth for more people more quickly.
One of the many facets of humanity threatened by climate change is language itself, our ability to construct narrative to make sense of the world around us. How does a collection of words capture what confounds the limits of human imagination? How do you thread together a story about the unweaving of life?
Because if individual action can’t alter the momentum of global warming, movements may still do the trick. Movements are how people organize themselves to gain power—enough power, in this case, to perhaps overcome the financial might of the fossil fuel industry.
Community energy refers to any kind of power plant using a renewable source of energy, that has been planned, financed and which is owned by a community of people (from the village to the house). And why would these energy communities matter?
What is the personal experience of living in a community that wants to change the basic tenets of economic system and work organization? Certainly, each community is different and the individuals living there determine the atmosphere, so my description cannot serve as a base for generalization.
#OurField is the brainchild of five young women intent on changing farming economics by turning farm ownership on its head. It builds on an earlier Arts Council initiative Field of Wheat. With #OurField, a farmer can share a piece of land with ‘collaborators’ who invest in its crop(s).
We are entering a space between stories. After various retrograde versions of a new story rise and fall and we enter a period of true unknowing, an authentic next story will emerge.
The work of O’Brien and McCormick consists of place-specific installations that focus on current and local conservation issues. Working in the arena of social engagement, they research site, community, and environmental characteristics and respond with interdisciplinary collaborations.
So, for example, we have city discussions about the need for a city policy on urban agriculture, instead of city discussions about the need for city policies to support various forms of urban agricultures.
Community Land Trusts began in the United States as a model of land tenure that emerged from the civil rights movement in the South. CLTs have slowly gained popularity over the past decades, expanding dramatically in recent years.
But what makes the Nidiaci garden special is the commoning that occurs there. The neighborhood decides how to use the space to suit its own interests and needs.
