Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeff Mowatt on June 18, 2011 at 10:18am

Lots of thoughts on this, but first let me go back to where it began for us and an observation of how the then dawning information age could provide the vehicle for propagating a new way of doing business, i.e.

'As Alvin Toffler predicted in   Power Shift, where once violence and then wealth were dominant forms of power, information is now becoming the dominant power.  Those nations with the greatest freedom of information and means of transmitting it have now become the most powerful and influential, and the strongest economically.  Toffler also predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union would come about due primarily to its authoritarian control and limiting of information.  Unfortunately for Russian citizens, this old habit has continued for them beyond the collapse of the former Soviet Union and will at the least make an interesting case study on the survivability of a once strong nation which still remains committed to limiting and controlling information.  In the opinion of some, the outcome is already set and "Russia is Finished."

By going with the normal flow of free-market enterprise and the emerging replacement of monetary capital with intellectual capital as the dominant form of basic enterprise capitalization, it becomes easier to set up new companies primarily on the basis of invested intellectual capital. (See Post-Capitalist Society, by Peter Drucker). In plain English, socially responsible and forward-thinking companies can be set up quickly and cheaply--and these companies have indefinite potential for earnings and localized, targeted economic development.  The initial objective is to develop model enterprises and communities, then implement successful strategies from those models into surrounding communities regionwide or nationwide, as needed.'

 

'Top-notch education is leaving the confines of physical campus and four walls. A student in remote Zaire, given an Internet connection, can become a Duke-educated Master of Business Administration, while remaining mostly in his or her home village to the village's benefit. The prospect of such decentralized localization of education and economic activity allows a great deal of autonomy, freedom and self-determinism in the village's own character and identity. It need not be a risk to cultural heritage and integrity to benefit economically; the means by which such benefit will occur, how local citizens can have food, shelter, health care, and a basic sustaining human standard of existence can be determined at the local village level and then communicated at the regional, national, and global level simultaneously at virtually no cost via the Internet and a web site. It is this basic level of human sustenance which I use to define sustainable development, which is just another way of saying "people-centered" economic development.'      

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20020805061509/http://www.p-ced.com/page...

 

Next up, how an economic crisis and food shortages in Russia prompts action.

Permalink Reply by David Eggleton on July 3, 2011 at 3:23pm

Look at this operation in New England:  http://www.orfoodex.com/

Permalink Reply by Susannah Abbey on July 15, 2011 at 11:24am

I think it depends on your definition of local; a physical network (supplies) would necessary have physical boundaries, even if they shift depending on the resource. In any case, they would certainly differ from the boundaries of an expertise exchange.

 

Permalink Reply by Tina Levy on July 16, 2011 at 2:28pm

Regarding connecting thousands of isolated garden initiatives: Check out www.locallygrown.net which is a national network used by local growers to unite the growing power of small community farms, albeit rural or urban. We run such a market in St. Petersburg, Fl and the reaction of those who join is relief that at last they can find locally grown chemical-free food, especially in an urban setting.  Our Market's existence encourages more folks to start backyard gardens because 1) they know the excess won't be wasted and 2) they can earn extra income in this challenging economy.  By default, our Market members are forming community bonds that weren't there before. We have supplied a common ground for people to unite around the concept of healthy food.

Permalink Reply by Zvi Baranoff on July 16, 2011 at 3:26pm

How do we get started? We have started. We need to creatively and dynamically move forward!

I have a few ideas about strategy posted:

A Manifesto for Transformation http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2011/06/manifesto-for-transf...

Permalink Reply by Jeff Mowatt on July 17, 2011 at 12:27am

In a people-centered local economy the concept of production and scarcity based economics is replaced by one in which local people sit at the centre, as this diagram from Local Food Systems suggests:

 

 

Here's how I'm relating it to our local community through a hyperlocal information source 

 

People-centered economic development (P-CED)  is an advocacy something of wider scope than food systems alone and the need for for information networks to make best use of local resources is described thus:

 

P-CED advocates for the development of localized people-centered economics on a global basis. Toward this end, each local community needs access to:

• a comprehensive, easily accessible information source about all of its currently available local resources

• an extended national and global information resource base to facilitate locating and sharing of resources

• resources for creation of community funding enterprises for profit, with profits to be applied to social needs in addition to private wealth creation

 

On the P-CED website there are a number of strategy plans which go back to 1999 when first deployed in Russia at a time when "there were also critical food shortages in the region, children living on the streets because they considered orphanages intolerable, women having to resort to prostitution to feed their children, and a near-total lack of new economic opportunities."

 

Permalink Reply by mary rose on September 4, 2011 at 11:56am

Jeff this is excellent and relates to part of my Moving Into: TOTAL WELLNESS plan.  What we need to do is to create "learning communities" as we are into a whole new ball game here and little of what we do today is going to be left after the social system of today is transformed to meet the needs of the future dawning.  

We are calling these learning communities CLICs (Community Learning and Information Centers) These may also be referred to as Resource or Wellness Centers.  The plan is to encourage to people to set up one of these centers in small communities composed of 600 - 1,000 people, and then link them together via the Internet.  The reason for a community of this size is that it can then be self-governing as everyone in the community can get to know everyone else.

 

What we will have accomplished with this network of small self-governing communities is a distribution and information gathering network that enables and empowers us in "leaving no one behind." For instance if a community faces a dramatic food shortage, via the Internet an alert can be sent out to surrounding communities to find out which ones have an oversupply of food that can be quickly sent to the community in peril.  In this way we have a supply going directly to demand instead of chasing the dollar and creating a higher price.  

 

We also want these communities to be designed as "hands-on experiential centers" in which community residents of all ages pool their knowledge and intelligence as "co-learners" learning from the surrounding ecosystems what is needed to maintain them in peak operating order.  For thousands of years we have been taking the resources from our life support system and turning them into waste and dumping the waste into landfills.  It is now time for us to learn how to give back to the Earth and create sustainable living communities worldwide.

 

Since we are going to be learning from the ecosystems that make up the territory surrounding our community, there is no need for an indoor classroom  as we experience hand's on learning by getting our hands in the dirt and feeling it and smelling it -- asking what it is that it needs to be totally well and productive.  This is cannot be about teaching because few, if any, have ever experienced the type of transition we are undergoing -- so this has to be a "fly-by-the-seat-of-our pants type operation where we learn as we move along.  

 

What we do need is a virtual network into which we can link for information being uploaded and downloaded. And, thanks to Les Squires, we already have this set up for us as GTIA has virtual headquarters set up in all 50 states in the U.S. and in 60 countries in Europe (and probably more i don't know about.)  And, as new communities come online they can be linked to the virtual headquarters in each state, networking ourselves together much like one would weave a tapestry using many different colors.  

 

Re: Russia.  I am associated with Dr. V. Vernon Woolf founder of Holodynamics. www.holodynamics.com.  Dr. Woolf spent 10 years in the former U.S.S.R. taking that country from communism to "perestroika" as invited to do by the Institute of Natural Science in Moscow. As previously stated, Holodynamics means looking at the whole dynamic of any given situation (system) and determining what works and what doesn't.  One of the mainstays of the transformation of the former U.S.S. R. was the creation of sustainable living communities but there was no formal networks such as we are planning here and i suspect that many people got dropped through the cracks in that country.  But, hey -- this is the first time a country of that size has been successfully transformed peacefully. I will be calling upon Dr. Woolf to share his experience with us as we move along.             

 

Permalink Reply by Jeff Mowatt on September 4, 2011 at 12:33pm

Yes, we seem to have a lot of congruence. As you say, the ability to deploy networks was not available in the transition to perestroika and when attempting to do it in Tomsk, as you might imagine, local interests put up barriers. One problem is that all ISPs are required to pay for SORM-2 tracking software, supplied by FSB. The synopsis of the P-CED white paper may be of interest too, in this context.

 

We set out a detailed strategy proposal for creating the infrastructure in the UK in 2004. Now in retrospect, I suspect that few really understood what we were getting at, while others simply hijacked the 'community interest' approach.

 

Terry our founder, would have  like what you say about 'leaving no one behind" When he died two weeks ago, he gave his life in making that his own purpose with regard to children suffering from malnutrition in state care. 

 

In Ukraine, the word Holodomor means "death by hunger", referring to the period in 1932-3 in which all the food was taken away. I created a website to help another activist raise awareness. Today capitalism has proven far more effective in starving people, as terry suggests in his seminars:

 

Economics in transition

 

As Terry wrote in his paper

 

Massive greed and consequent massive human misery and suffering do not have to be accepted as a givens, unavoidable, intractable, irresolvable. Just changing the way business is done, if only by a few companies, can change the flow of wealth, ease and eliminate poverty, and leave us all with something better to worry about. Basic human needs such as food and shelter are fundamental human rights; there are more than enough resources available to go around--if we can just figure out how to share. It cannot be "Me first, mine first"; rather, "Me, too" is more the order of the day.

 

 

You, We, Me, Ethics and People-Centered Economics

 

Permalink Reply by Leon Breckenridge on July 18, 2011 at 11:56am

The key is to start with what/where the “group” wants to end up after the transition.  In other words what are they transitioning TO.  I have some ideas of “items” to be included for each potential individual to think about for when they “get there”.  I believe it makes very little difference where each individual is now.

 

Many people use the term “need” instead of "Want".  I believe it is very important for each individual to differentiate between need, want and essential for what it will be like after the transition.  If we can come up with a way to do that you have solved maybe the biggest hurdle.

I’ve been involved since 1980 and have tried to stay up to date on:

 Ø  Peak Oil     Ø  Global Warming     Ø  Renewable Energy  Ø  Sustainability Communities

They are all inter-connected.  I have lived through the consumption of half of the worlds oil.   “Energy from the Sun” is the key to energy supply.

  Solar cells may make since in some situations.  Leaves of plants and grass are 100’s of times more “efficient” than solar cells in converting the suns rays into useable energy.  This is an example of part of the solution.

Leon Breckenridge    Spokane, WA

Permalink Reply by Leon Breckenridge on July 18, 2011 at 12:00pm

The key is to start with what/where the “group” wants to end up after the transition.  In other words what are they transitioning TO.  I have some ideas of “items” to be included for each potential individual to think about for when they “get there”.  I believe it makes very little difference where each individual is now.

 

Many people use the term “need” instead of "Want".  I believe it is very important for each individual to differentiate between need, want and essential for what it will be like after the transition.  If we can come up with a way to do that you have solved maybe the biggest hurdle.

I’ve been involved since 1980 and have tried to stay up to date on:

 Ø  Peak Oil     Ø  Global Warming     Ø  Renewable Energy  Ø  Sustainability Communities

They are all inter-connected.  I have lived through the consumption of half of the worlds oil.   “Energy from the Sun” is the key to energy supply.

  Solar cells may make since in some situations.  Leaves of plants and grass are 100’s of times more “efficient” than solar cells in converting the suns rays into useable energy.  This is an example of part of the solution.

Leon Breckenridge    Spokane, WA

Permalink Reply by mary rose on September 4, 2011 at 11:06am

I like what you write, Leon.  I would add food as medicine as one of the cornerstones to build upon as we address the other critical issues you mention.

 

It appears to me that everything is interconnected -- there are no beginnings or endings.  But what our present society has done is to "particalize" and "specialize" to such a degree that the right hand never knows what the left hand has done until its too late. Its time to move into "wave thinking."    And, what i mean by wave thinking is to consider all of the different facets of the whole dynamic of the situation before making a decision as to how to act at any given time. We need to identify the actual and potential breakdown points in any system and then determine whether we can just insert new information into it, or would it be better to redesign the whole thing.

 

Permalink Reply by mary rose on September 13, 2011 at 3:35pm

Leon while i agree with you that it is necessary to distinguish between "need" and "want," the latter is also the basis for our dreams and may be what carries us through the very tough times. Some of the top leaders in the transformation movement use "vision boards" to aid people in setting goals and visioning what they want the world to look like in their imaginative future.    

I also don't believe it is enough to keep up on 1) peak oil, 2) global climate change (not global warming) 3) renewable energy, and 4) sustainable living communities -- (please note that i have changed your wording somewhat.)  

A major note today is the change from Newtonian physics to Quantum physics.  Those who have not made this change are now being left behind just as some of  those who followed Des Cartes were unable to make the transition.   

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