Building Sustainable Local Economies

Posted by on April 8, 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. Further
information and registration/sponsor form follow this email letter. Details
can also be found at the E. F. Schumacher Society’s web site:
www.smallisbeautiful.org.