I <3 the Participatory City Foundation's "Every One Every Day" initiative. There is so much wisdom baked into their approach, wonderfully summed up as creating as many opportunities as possible for people to: Co-produce something tangible as a group of equal peers. Thereby creating a participatory culture. Please watch the below video, take the time to study their Illustrated Guide and delve into their Designed to Scale report. And if you work in central or local Government, be sure to … [Read more...]
Josef’s Journey to John O’Groats
Since this journey has ended up being a major milestone in the development of United Diversity I though I had better re-post this write up I did for the Brake The Cycle blog here too. Enjoy! (note: click on images to enlarge) Last month I cycled about 1200 miles, from the south-easternmost tip of mainland England (Land's End) up to the north-westernmost tip of mainland Scotland (John O'Groats). I thus completed one half of the Brake the Cycle End to End challenge! :) It was the UK's coldest … [Read more...]
COMING HOME: E.F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy
This is one of the best documentaries about Community Supported Agriculture, Community Land Trusts and Community Currencies. COMING HOME: E.F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy, is a new 37 minute film that tells the story of a series of revolutionary innovations by the community of Great Barrington, MA to address, at the local level, some of the economic challenges of our nation’s current hard times. In 1973, British economist E.F. Schumacher wrote “Small is Beautiful – … [Read more...]
Springhill Cohousing
Last Saturday Gloria and I joined members of the North London Sustainable Housing Partnership to visit the lovely Springhill Cohousing community in Stroud. The video above is a quick tour of the site (unfortunately my battery ran out before I got to show you around inside the common house, and I hadn't put the camera in high resolution mode). Below are the photos I took during our tour, where together with lots of outdoor picture you can take a sneak peak inside some of the houses (some of which … [Read more...]
Does Ecosia really have “impeccable ecological credentials”?
UPDATE: Ecosia deserve huge respect for this: Ecosia is now taking concrete steps to facilitate climate activism. Going forward, all Ecosia employees can engage in climate activism during weekdays – they don’t need to take time off or call in sick. If they incur legal problems, Ecosia will support them and cover any related fees. If reasonable, nonviolent civil disobedience should lead any Ecosia employee to be incarcerated, their time behind bars will be counted as work … [Read more...]
Strawbale prefab building timelapse – Strohballen Vorfertigung Zeitraffer
Strawbale prefab building timelapse - Strohballen Vorfertigung Zeitraffer This clip is part of film material for a new film about strawbale building: "Houses of straw - Part 2". Become a sponsor for this project! More information about this film: www.ecofilm.de This timelapse clip shows the build-up of a prefab-strawbale building in Germany, in the ecovillage Siebenlinden. Architect: Dirk Scharmer. The wall elements were built in a hall nearby, transported to the spot and built up … [Read more...]
Supporting a local economy….some observations
Last night I attended a gathering of merchants, service providers and others who support local independent businesses in our town. It was a festive affair of about three dozen featuring a pot luck dinner, good conversation, and a few announcements about the emerging organization. From both a personal and professional perspective, I wholeheartedly support and advocate for this type of group and the movement of local "Indies" as they are called. This particular group is aligned with the American … [Read more...]
Wewow Ltd. launch specialist, eco-friendly packaging arm – weEco.co.uk
[Bradford, UK - 7th August 2009] -- Bradford-based CD and DVD replication company, wewow Ltd., have announced the launch of their dedicated ‘green' media packaging arm weEco.co.uk. www.weEco.co.uk will showcase wewow's rapidly expanding range of bespoke, environmentally friendly packaging solutions for the optical media industry. wewow have proved that bespoke packaging solutions such as WowPak and WowWallet provide added value to CD and DVD projects and as the demand for eco-friendly … [Read more...]
City Repair LA
Mark Lakeman stares down the new Bimini Street salamander.Portland architect and activist Mark Lakeman, founder of the City Repair movement, is in Los Angeles for a week of lectures and activities. Lakeman believes in actions that correct what he believes is our disassociation from nature and our alienation from each other. He's a passionate opponent of the grid, the imposition of street networks and regimented thinking that he traces back to Roman imperialism. He's probably most famous for … [Read more...]
want to start a csa?
In a city? Just Food will help you! Here’s info on an upcoming workshop series: Interested in how to get fresh, local and organic produce in New York City? Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) connects local farmers with New York City residents through a unique, pre-paid share system. Members buy a share at the beginning of the CSA season and in exchange, receive a weekly share of 7-10 types of locally grown, organic vegetables – enough for a family of 2-3 people. Members pick up their … [Read more...]