"Tools of Change: Building Sustainable
Local Economies"
March 21st, 2005
The E. F. Schumacher Society has a 25-year history of developing
and promoting regional economic institutions that link citizens
and producers in the task of shaping their own local economies.
The Schumacher seminars, Building Sustainable Local Economies,
have provided an opportunity to explore these "tools for
change" in depth. We are pleased to announce a series of
four new seminar training programs designed for engaged
citizens and community organizers. The first training session
will be held May 25th-29th in the Southern Berkshires of
Massachusetts. The seminars will focus on successful citizen-driven
strategies for reconnecting people, land, and community.
Faculty (including Michael Shuman, Chuck Turner, and Susan
Witt) and participants will examine how communities can
regain economic power and create vibrant local economies
by addressing the following issues:
1) Structure, ownership, and community accountability
of businesses
2) Access to land for housing, farming, and appropriate-scale
industry
3) Financing new initiatives that meet social and ecological
criteria
4) Retention of capital within a community
In addition to workshop sessions, participants
will have access to the books and papers of the E. F. Schumacher
Library. The seminar program also incorporates site visits
to local projects, including a community-financed business,
an organic Community Supported Agriculture farm, and an
18-unit neighborhood of affordable owner-occupied homes
built on land owned by the Community Land Trust of the Southern
Berkshires.
Many of the seminar documents and background papers are
at our website. Schumacher staff is adding additional material
in advance of the May program, thereby creating a free collection
of resources for use by communities working to strengthen
their local economies. Seminar participants will train with
experienced practitioners in the use of the materials. Together
we will explore the practical steps for building a new economic
system that values local culture, local ecology, and human-scale.
We hope you can join us! Register soon to secure a place.
If you are unable to attend the May seminar, you may want
to sponsor a seasoned community leader or promising young
activist from your own region. Details can be found at the
seminars page.
Sincerely,
Merrian Fuller
Susan Witt
Dane Springmeyer
Chris Lindstrom
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