We'll never have a peaceful, just and sustainable world (or, as Charles Eisenstein says 'the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible') whilst the land that sustains us all is owned and controlled by a tiny minority of the population. We need to transcend private land ownership. But what is the alternative? Community Land Trusts are a good option and Homes and Hands is a great video that illustrates the different ways that community land trusts operate in the U.S. Produced by Women's … [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...]
Edible City – Grow the Revolution
Just came across this great film: Edible City: Grow the Revolution is a fun, fast-paced, feature-length documentary journey through the local Good Food movement that’s taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Big respect to them for launching the film online for free from the outset. I wish more people would did this. … [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...]
DeSchool, D-Skool, ReallyReally Freeschool
Just got this message from Persons Unknown January - February 2011 Fingers crossed Surrounded by institutions and universities, there is newly occupied space where education can be re-imagined. Amidst the rising fees and mounting pressure for ‘success’, we value knowledge in a different currency; one that everyone can afford to trade. In this school, skills are swapped and information shared, culture cannot be bought or sold. Here is an autonomous space to find each other, to gain momentum, … [Read more...]
Coworking at The Clouds – An Invitation
Every Tuesday from 11am until about 4-5pm (sometime later - lots of good stuff happens here in the evenings too) United Diversity and VisionOn.TV will be hosting upstairs at Passing Clouds (1 Richmond Road, London E8 4AA) as a free Coworking space. Are you working on an intelligent response to climate, energy or economic uncertainty? A community land, money or media project perhaps? Or any other imaginative initiative for a radically better world (hat tip toour friends at The Hub network of … [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...]
Squat Freeshop on Commercial Road
Swap shops, Freeshops, give away shops, they all aim to go against the capitalist framework, and often people can't quite get their heads around the idea, that, yes it is free and you can take it! Illustrations by Thereza Rowe When I dropped by the free shop near Brick Lane, I received firsthand experience of this when a woman asked the way to the ‘trendy’ Shoreditch area and when invited to look around the Freeshop declined with a shrug of the shoulders. It appears it just wasn’t hip enough, … [Read more...]
Save The Spike Surplus Scheme
The Spike in Peckham is under threat. With free permaculture courses, a community garden, recording studio, rehearsal space and much more, Spike is an exemplay example of volunteer community based regeneration. It is an important local resource. If you haven't already done so, please sign the petition to help Save The Spike! If you have already signed the petition, please forward it on to your (e.g. myface) friends and networks. For an idea of how great this space is check out the pictures … [Read more...]
Days of action for squats and autonomous spaces
From https://april2008.squat.net/en/ castellano | catala | czech | dansk | deutsch | english | français | italiano | nederlands | polski | português | pусский On Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of April 2008, we call for two days of demonstration, direct action, public information, street-party, squatting... in defence of free spaces and for an anti-capitalist popular culture. Through these two days, we want to help create more visibility of autonomous spaces and … [Read more...]