Comment

Comment by Wayne Cooke on November 29, 2009 at 9:00pm

Our Self Reliant Community in Graham, WA has Seven Tasks, or goals...to form a union with close neighbors, to build a small greenhouse, to plant a food garden, to preserve food from that garden, to keep a good bicycle, to install a rain barrel, and to prepare a "warm room" (if needed) in case power and fuel are gone.
We feel the time is near when our actions, not talk, may mean survival.

Comment by Collin Ferguson on November 29, 2009 at 8:20pm

"Salmon Nation" is a group hosted by Ecotrust. I do believe they already have a blog, but starting a U.S. Transition arm of Salmon Nation I believe would greatly assist Ecotrust's efforts. This would be a networking opportunity, as well as an opportunity to work with an established organization. Salmon Nation is not Cascadia, because the Salmon Nation bioregion is defined by Salmon runs and spawning, whereas Cascadia is defined by watersheds created by the Rocky Mountains and Cascades (i.e. water cascading to the Pacific Ocean) and common fauna. At least, that's how I always defined Cascadia, but then I don't see a reason why there couldn't be multiple definitions.

Trade exchanges are challenging, and generally grassroots trade exchanges are the most challenging because the users often do not see their work as a business. Some do incorporate a nonprofit organization, but they often do not charge fees and rely on volunteer labor. The result is burnout, as volunteers usually don't make a "living" off trade exchanges. Also, grassroots trade exchanges don't do enough economic development, they often do not go deep into local supply chains, nor do they encourage import substitution. As a result, they generally only serve consumer 2 consumer markets or a very small network of small businesses.

A successful trade exchange should never be afraid to profit. This does not dictate that the trade exchange must be a for-profit company, although it is highly suggested. Many for-profit trade exchanges join the International Reciprocal Trade Association (www.irta.com), which unites the commercial trade exchange industry with a universal structure of standards, regulations, a Code of Ethics and peer review processes. The IRTA represents a U.S. $8 Billion dollar industry (that means total value including the products and services moved without using $USD). Commercial trade exchanges are sustainable and successful. It is a little known industry, but it is growing an average 15% per year. Thomas Greco was recently elected to the IRTA Hall of Fame.

The Community Exchange Network of Portland is not like the rest of the CEN exchanges; it is a for-profit trade exchange. Xchange Stewards is a start-up, for-profit cooperative, and will be owned by its administrators and users. Since we are about offering a complementary, alternative medium of exchange, we are about distributing our wealth - our profits will go to our members and any excess to nonprofit organizations.

So, to review, trade exchanges will be successful if...
1. They charge adequate fees and generate profits
2. They aggressively broker deals amongst their members
3. Seek a diversity of businesses in the network
4. Add strong value adds, such as allowing businesses to barter for marketing
5. If they encourage import substitution (local businesses over national or international corporations)
6. Integrate with and create local supply chains
7. Pay their workers adequately
8. And, I'll add if they open up their trade credit to multiple trade exchange companies (i.e. I would like to work with Fourth Corner Exchange and trade with them - we'd exchange good and services with the same trade credit).

There is more a trade exchange needs to do to be successful, but the above is a good start.

Comment by Jeffrey d Bodony on November 29, 2009 at 7:25pm

Sorry,this reads a bit better.

I like 1 only for the "Salmon Nation" Keeps the reality of our relationships more in awareness than an abstraction like "Cascadia"
Regarding Economic relocalization,because of the way our society is currently structured,with a huge proportion of our daily interaction revolving around -Money_ for working to change into transition,Because of this fact it's our primary tool.I highly recommend reading The Gift by Louis Hyde.
One piece that needs to brought into the discussion is that we have re-evaluate what are"commodities" and what are NOT.That changes things.

Comment by Jeffrey d Bodony on November 29, 2009 at 7:20pm

I like 1 only for the "Salmon Nation" Keeps the reality of our relationships more in awareness than an abstraction like "Cascadia"
Regarding Economic relocalization,because of the way our society is currently structured,with a huge proportion of our daily interaction revolving around -Money_ So for working to change into transition,it's our primary tool.I highly recommend reading The Giftby Louis Hyde.
One piece that needs to brought into the discussion is that we have re-evaluate what are"commodities" and what are NOT.That changes things.
Homo economicus.Because of this fact

Comment by Tamara SunSong on November 29, 2009 at 12:10pm

I would be into the idea of rotating blog contributions, definitely. Do we really want two blogs for this region, though -- one for Cascadia and one for Salmon Nation? Am I confused in thinking they're really basically the same thing? Maybe we can just call the Cascadia one "Salmon Nation"... or quite possibly there's something I'm missing.

I also agree that the economic relocalization piece is so key to everything else. Local Trading Systems seem like a great idea. What I'm wondering is -- what makes them successful? Victoria already has one, I just discovered recently, and has for awhile. But I think it has few users. Collin, do you have insights into what makes such a system really start rolling?

Comment by Jackie Minchew on November 29, 2009 at 12:06pm

I am also pleased to see this rather sudden burst of activity on this site. We are all so busy in our own locality, as we should be, that this regional level of communication sometimes falls by the wayside.

Here in Everett we started a transition group 11 months ago, as a project of Green Everett which will celebrate its 4th anniversary this coming January. Though still in the mulling stage, we have brought together an excellent group of intelligent and energetic activists, committed to the work at hand.

We recently started a monthly series of "Potlucks with a Purpose" at which we eat local food, view a movie and then discuss. (This idea was borrowed from Transition Whidbey.) The movie we viewed was FRESH (http://www.freshthemovie.com/), which ties in with the most logical local project - gardening and local farming.

Certainly there are many other pressing projects under consideration, even some that are getting under way, but none that get the kind of buy in from such broad segments of the community. Even people who have never heard of peak oil and don't believe in global warming can see the value of fresh, locally grown produce.

I look forward to continuing to follow this thread.

Comment by lane on November 29, 2009 at 12:03pm

I'll look into the process to designate multiple authors in Blogspot blogs.

Perhaps another blog titled Salmon Nation is in order. I think blogs are
a little easier to access and there is a mechanism for comment, and
I think it can be restricted also, if we choose to. I will look into this.

And I totally agree about forming local trade exchanges. The one in
Northwest Washington is called "The Fourth Corner Exchange" and
has been in existence for a long time. It is also now a Transition Group,
listed in Transition United States and the TRANSITION CASCADIA
document I sent around yesterday. "TRANSITION CASCADIA.htm

Comment by Collin Ferguson on November 29, 2009 at 10:49am

#1 on my list is "Developing local economies for resilience." I was invited to join Transition United States by Les Squires because I'm a trade exchange administrator with the Community Exchange Network. I highly, highly encourage everyone to start a trade exchange (a.k.a. local currency/mutual credit clearing program) in their community. My team is developing a business plan for a local trade exchange in Portland, OR. We start our market research in December. A local trade exchange will immediately show your community that it is possible to have your own credit, generate local import substitution (goodbye China), and focus that credit towards sustainable resilient efforts. The Community Exchange Network of Portland (CEN|PDX) needs regional trade exchanges! Please start one today! And, check out Thomas Greco's new book:

"End of Money and the Future of Civilization" by Thomas Greco

Comment by Robert Schultz on November 29, 2009 at 10:04am

In the Spokane area, I see transition occurring slowly, almost unintentionally, as people are trying to "live greener." There are still many driving Hummers, Expeditions, and other gas guzzling SUV's, but more people are driving smaller cars and hybrids. We need a push for better transit options, and increased use of mass transit.
Grocery stores are advertising more locally grown produce, and shoppers are looking for fresh local foods. Community gardens are gaining popularity, and some groups are planting neighborhood gardens, and more homeowners are growing food in their own gardens to save money and eat healthier.

The next steps may be organizing Transition awareness groups, convincing locals that cheap oil really is a thing of the past, and we need to start consciously planning for ways to rebuild our communities and neighborhoods. Developing local economies for resilience, reducing commuter miles, and transportation of goods. Making our local economy more self-sufficient with farmer's markets, and producing more goods from local materials. Not buying the cheapest items from China sold at Walmart, This may be the most difficult habit to break.

Comment by Collin Ferguson on November 29, 2009 at 9:19am

How may we all contribute to the new Transition blog? How about we do a round robin - take turns writing an entry?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• …
• 19
• Next ›
• Page