“Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are imaginable in any other context.” —Margaret Wheatley
“The economy” is the sum total of transactions between people. And people’s lives and experiences are about much more than just dollars, profit and growth. As the conventional economy continues to crumble, we the people at the grassroots still need to keep a roof over our head, feed our children and maintain a relative degree of peace within our local community. In order to keep things going, we are going to have to use different economic tools than we have in the past: tools to facilitate transactions between people. A citizen economy gives form to the belief that the local exchange of goods and services supports a community’s competence.
A citizen economy is a mixture of a gift exchange and currency economy where people believe that much of what we need we can find locally, which keeps the currency local too. Develop practical life skills which will get you through challenges. Grow food. Now. Everywhere you can. Relocalize: shift to lifestyles that require far less transportation. Powerdown: decrease your energy dependence overall. Develop a supportive community circle around you to fall back on emotionally or more tangibly. Develop Inner Resilience—the character and spiritual base to remain flexible and feel good about it.
For more information on how to build a resilient local economy, visit www.FilmsForAction.org or the Economic Resilience blog.
Circles currently forming (If you would like to join a circle, click the contact to send an email request.)
Axiom News: Engaging Strengths Catalyzing Change, contact Peter Pula
Business Policy and Strategy for Sustainable Development, University of Northern Iowa, contact Adele Santana
Center for Faith and Business, contact Anna Geyer
Center for Faith and Business, contact Lon Marshall
Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, contact Jennifer Pickar
Cedar Rapids Civil Rights Commission, contact Stefanie Munsterman-Robinson or Karl Cassell
GoDaddy, contact Amy Grotewold
Iowa Cultural Corridor, contact Jessica Johnson
Iowa Interfaith Power and Light, contact Rev. Susan Guy
Rockwell Collins, contact Melanie Richert
Source Media, contact Chuck Peters
St. Joseph the Worker Church in Dubuque, contact Constance LaBarbera
Van Meter Inc., contact Jennifer Bleil