Remembering Gus Newport

June 21, 2023

“The former mayor of Berkeley, California, he spent his life nourishing community-building initiatives, and fighting to end gentrification and apartheid. His mission was to shift power and translate dreams into reality.”

A Global Grid and World Resource Commons

June 7, 2023

In anticipation of June’s Schumacher Conversation, we revisit two relevant essays from our archive. Together, they connect visionary concepts born of E.F. Schumacher’s generation with the challenge and opportunity of a global renewable energy commons.

Creating a Global Renewable Energy Commons

May 30, 2023

In June, our celebration of Small is Beautiful turns to the theme of Creating a Global Renewable Energy Commons. Our participants for this online conversation are introduced here.

Reinvesting in Communities

May 24, 2023

Alfa Demmellash of Rising Tide Capital, Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies, and Kate Poole of Chordata Capital discuss innovative ways to move money and resources toward enduring community wealth-building. Nwamaka Agbo of Kataly Foundation moderates.

Move the Money

May 13, 2023

With inequality in the U.S. reaching heights not seen in a century, Chuck’s message is clear: “we should be encouraging the flow of money. Move the money. Move it to the nonprofit charity sector…” This theme is shared among the participants of May’s Schumacher Conversation.

Freeing land from market pressures

April 26, 2023

April’s installment of our Schumacher Conversations brought a spirited discussion on freeing land from market pressures and renewing relationships between people and the Earth. The full recording of “Reallocating Land: From Market to Commons” is now available online.

Remembering Jerry Mander

April 19, 2023

A trail-blazing author and activist, once called “the patriarch of the anti-globalization movement,” Jerold Irwin “Jerry” Mander passed away earlier this week at the age of 86.

Health, Beauty, and Permanence

April 17, 2023

“[M]an’s management of the land must be primarily orientated towards three goals – health, beauty, and permanence. The fourth goal – the only one accepted by the experts – productivity, will then be attained almost as a by-product.”

Inaugural Robert Swann Lecture ft. Kali Akuno

April 6, 2023

On the 26th of March, the Schumacher Center hosted Kali Akuno, co-founder of Cooperation Jackson, as our inaugural Robert Swann Lecturer. Kali addressed “Shifting Focus: Organizing for an Ecosocialist Future” to a local Southern Berkshire audience.

Reallocating Land: From Market to Commons

March 30, 2023

April’s panelists are those pioneering radical forms of land tenure that challenge the private property norm. Combined, their experience with voluntary land gifting and community trusteeship of working lands spans three continents.