Why the Village Movement

November 2, 2007

One of our favorite books is Why the Village Movement by Gandhian philosopher and economist J. C. Kumarappa. We turn to it again and again to be reminded of core principles for keeping economic transactions local. Kumarappa’s works are now out of print, but we are lucky to have copies here at the Schumacher Center … Continued

Green the Ghetto

October 3, 2007

Revitalizing urban communities requires developing a local economy that utilizes the skills of its residents. This means casting off an economic model that masks the talents and creativity of individuals by exploiting workers, endangering public health, and consuming open space. Often the most threatened are communities of color that have suffered economic collapse or the … Continued

New Opportunities for Local Economies

October 2, 2007

In his 2002 talk for the Community Land Trust in the Southern Berkshires Michael Shuman stated that this century will “determine who wins the fundamental struggle between cheap goods and place, between the protection of private bottom lines and the protection of families, communities, and the environment.” Concerns over global distribution, rising energy costs, and … Continued

Community Appropriate Industry

October 1, 2007

Instead of a nation that manufactures its own goods, the United States has become a nation of service providers, moving production “off shore” and relying on fossil fuel to transport its goods over long distances—an increasingly fragile supply line whether judged from an ecological, social, economic, or political point of view. While exporting jobs, we … Continued

Living Up to Visionary Statements

September 1, 2007

Since its launch in September of 2006, one million fifty-nine thousand BerkShares have been placed in circulation through participating BerkShare banks. This means that citizens have exchanged over $953,000 for BerkShares. BerkShares are returned to the banks when businesses find they have too many to use for their own purchases. A net amount continues out in circulation, … Continued

Shared Vision | Common Fellowship

September 1, 2007

Every year the Annual E. F. Schumacher Lectures are an opportunity to bring together visionary thinkers and further consider our course as individuals and as a community. The all day event draws together Schumacher members and friends for a celebration of shared vision, common fellowship, and the shaping of practical responses to our most pressing … Continued

Declaration of Independents

August 1, 2007

Stacy Mitchell’s 2006 E. F. Schumacher Lecture ends with the encouraging news that the decline of local enterprise is by no means inevitable. Implemented broadly the initiatives supporting locally owned businesses springing up all over the country have the capability of ushering out the handful of global corporations that have colonized our communities and replacing … Continued

You Must Get It Right

July 30, 2007

On July 15th, BerkShares held a Bash to celebrate the one millionth BerkShare placed in circulation through ten local participating banks. Forty-seven BerkShare businesses exhibited, bands sang and played, Roger the Jester delighted children—all part of a community picnic on the lawns of the historic Searles Castle at the heart of Great Barrington. Rain shortened … Continued

One-Tenth the Energy, Ten Times the Conversations

June 22, 2007

On Tuesday Yahoo.com headlined a Reuters News Service article about BerkShares, creating a stream of media and internet discussion on local currencies in general and BerkShares in particular. You can read and view some of the international coverage at www.berkshares.org. By July one million BerkShares will have been issued through local banks to Berkshire residents … Continued

1972 Community Land Trust Book reprint

June 1, 2007

The story of land is older than the story of man. Land came first; no man created it. Every society, large or small, must devise ways in which its members will share this gift. This is allocation. Members of society must also determine under what conditions the land will be passed on to the next … Continued

50 Million Farmers

May 12, 2007

As the world passes peak oil production we will again be “subject to the net-energy principle: it takes energy to get energy from the environment, and costs have to be subtracted from gross yields.” Richard Heinberg, in his 2006 Schumacher Center lecture, says “we’ve been living on virtually free energy for the past two hundred … Continued

Small Means | Extraordinary Results

April 2, 2007

The cover story for the current issue of Time magazine (April 9, 2007) presents a fifty-one point “Global Warming Survival Guide.” Contributing authors outline steps that range from the simple act of using compact fluorescent light bulbs to the emerging science of geoengineering (earth-system-altering technology). All these steps make clear that a new vision of … Continued