By Jesse Onslow, Shareable
The city is a hotbed for radical social enterprises, citizens’ initiatives and grassroots activism, each seeking to build alternative business models for a more sustainable and participatory future.
By Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian
Spread across Britain today are people and places united by a common condition: they are largely powerless. Their economies have been emptied out, their services cut to the bone, their incomes under threat.
By Catherine V. Moore, YES! magazine
Southern West Virginia nonprofit Coalfield Development runs Refresh, Reclaim, and a family of three other social enterprises. In an environment where finding secure employment is hard, Coalfield offers low-income residents a two- to two-and-a-half-year contract to undergo training in sustainable construction, solar technology, and artisan-based entrepreneurship.
By Brian Davey, Feasta
Co-operatives have been described as freshwater fish in a saltwater environment. In the 1930s, the co-operative sector in many countries was very powerful but it was destroyed by fascist and communist regimes. What was it that the authoritarians found so threatening in co-operation?
By Woody Tasch, Slow Money blog
"People get buried in a blizzard of financial terms that obfuscates—makes opaque—what is going on, furthers the paradigm of, “We’ll just take care of you. Here are the reports—full of jargon and charts and analytics that are virtually meaningless to you."
By Marjorie Kelly, YES! magazine
In cities across the nation, a few enjoy rising affluence while many struggle to get by.
By Rob Hopkins, Transition Culture
What would a fair food system look like?
By Maya Kilpadi, Vikalp Sangam
Clothing, a basic human right has been relegated to the status of disaster relief material,” says Anshu Gupta, founder of Goonj.
By Nolwenn Weiler, Futureperfect
In the North of Paris, the Carton plein association collects, cleans and sells discarded boxes. People in precarious situations recycle, deliver by bike and help move – gaining professional and life skills in the process.
By Samuel Dolgin-Gardner, YES! magazine
“If we can put this building back to work, we can put any building in Indianapolis to work,” says Taft. “And if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere.”
By Jay Tompt, Reconomy Project
One of the REconomy Project’s aims is to find new ways that communities can provide support and investment to local enterprises, who in turn offer benefits back to the community – not just in terms of jobs – but also strengthened local resilience, minimal environmental impacts and fairer ways of trading and profit-sharing.
By Resilience.org Staff, Resilience.org
•Sacred Economics: Chapter 17, Summary and Roadmap (Pt.18) •A Practical Utopian’s Guide to the Coming Collapse •The End of Growth, Part 1 •The Limits of the Earth, Part 1: Problems •Are social enterprises the future for libraries?