October 18, 2019
The stakes really couldn’t be higher, the fate of the world depends on humankind’s ability to collectively govern the global commons of the atmosphere. Public-Common Partnerships (PCPs) represent a training in democracy that, by increasing the capacities of those doing the commoning, can help set the conditions for a democratic solution to the biggest issues … Continued
September 26, 2019
Buckminster Fuller was one of many to recognize how maps shape our worldview, policy, and decisions. The most common map, the Mercator, projects a sphere onto a flat plane with inevitable distortions; Greenland appears as large as all of Africa when, in fact, it is thirteen times smaller. Fuller felt that a … Continued
September 12, 2019
Free, Fair and Alive shows the path to respond to the ecological emergency and the polarization of society economically, socially, culturally. The recovery and co-creation of the commons offers hope for the planet and people. – Vandana Shiva Dear Friend, From cohousing and agroecology to fisheries and land trusts and open-source everything, people around the … Continued
September 3, 2019
A ciénega is a wetland system unique to the American Southwest. Ciénegas are spongy, shallow, wet meadows with permanently saturated soils in otherwise arid landscapes, although few remain in such a healthy state today. One of the goals of a well-managed ranch is to restore the ciénegas. Dear Friend, Sallie Calhoun’s work found her, unfolding … Continued
June 26, 2019
The neighborhood of Lewisham, London, which received mayoral recognition for its CLT program. In a June 4, 2019, article in The Guardian, George Monbiot comments: What is the most neglected issue in British politics? I would say land. Literally and metaphorically, land underlies our lives, but its ownership and control have been captured by a tiny … Continued
May 30, 2019
While reviewing early Schumacher Center newsletters, we found this April 1985 reminder of Martin Buber’s contribution to new economic/social thinking. Buber On The Social Future We came to trust Martin Buber for his careful record of the human spirit in its process of observing itself in relation to the universe. In his book I And Thou, Buber … Continued
May 10, 2019
Fogo Island is located northeast of the island of Newfoundland. 150 square miles in size, it is home to 2,500 persons. Beginning in 1954 the Canadian government introduced a resettlement plan for Newfoundland that encouraged populations in remote areas to relocate to more inhabited centers, arguing that government could not continue to provide needed services … Continued
April 24, 2019
Shallots, radish, peas, chard, lettuce, onions, and cilantro seeds are in the ground. The remaining garden beds must wait until May when the soil is warmer. Our excuse for planting so much is the anticipation of having summer lunches with visitors at the Schumacher Library. But the truth is, planting seeds in April, in the … Continued
February 13, 2019
We are pleased to share Greg Watson’s review of John Todd’s newly released book Healing Earth: An Ecologist’s Journey of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship (2019, North Atlantic Books). John Todd has been a pioneer in the field of ecological design and engineering for nearly five decades. Greg Watson first worked with Todd in the 1970’s at the New Alchemy Institute on Cape … Continued
January 24, 2019
In her June 2018 TEDxYouth talk at Mount Everett Regional School, Alice Maggio, former Director of Programs at the Schumacher Center and Executive Director of BerkShares Inc., described a perennial economy that we can build together. “What could be an image for the kind of economy that we want to build (one that is much more … Continued
December 31, 2018
Forty years ago the Institute for Community Economics, led by Robert Swann in Cambridge, Massachusetts, launched the first investment fund with positive criteria. Until that time investment screens used negative criteria– no alcohol or tobacco stocks, for instance. Pax World Fund excluded military supply companies from its portfolio. Students were lobbying universities to pull out of investments in South … Continued
December 24, 2018
In his article for Non-Profit Quarterly, Steve Dubb examines how community wealth can be built through land. He sees the development of community land trusts as a strategy for achieving broader land redistribution. We are grateful to NPG for their permission to republish Dubb’s article for Schumacher Center friends. Best wishes for the New Year, Schumacher Center Staff … Continued