A Space for Sharing Stories of Transformation
I had the privilege of working with Dr. Neenah Estrella-Luna this past year on a project to learn how communities in the Boston area have been building resilience during the pandemic. Thanks to Barr Foundation for commissioning this project. Our final report and recording of our May 25th webinar are now available. Check out BarrContinue reading Lessons from the Pandemic for Building Resilience
By Allie Wainer and Melissa Gordon In May 2019, a group of 18 students and faculty with Tufts New Economy and community members from the Solidarity Economy Initiative traveled to Montreal for a weekend to exchange ideas with organizations putting solidarity economy values into practice. Instead of traveling to an academic-style conference, we explored MontrealContinue reading Seeing Solidarity Economy in Action in Montreal
By Penn Loh This essay is a confession of sorts, from someone who believes that other worlds are possible and has worked in grassroots movements to fight against injustices and unsustainabilities for the last three decades. While we still have plenty to fight against and now aspire to a Just Transition to a new economy,Continue reading Reflections on Radical Transformation: Moving from a Singular System Story to Pluriverse
Read this Juneteenth 2020 post in the Conversation by Tufts colleague Julian Agyeman and Kofi Boone (North Carolina State) on collective ownership and the black commons. Land loss has plagued black America since emancipation – is it time to look again at ‘black commons’ and collective ownership? Underlying the recent unrest sweeping U.S. cities overContinue reading Advancing the Black Commons
I have had the honor of participating in several online panels in April and May relating the coronavirus pandemic to economic justice, Earth Day, and community self-governance. Below are links to the recordings. Imagining and Demanding Economic Justice in the Time of Coronavirus[recorded Monday May 5] The Institute for Research on Race and Public PolicyContinue reading Pandemic Panels April-May 2020
Not all banks are created equal. Most are owned by Wall Street investors, while some are owned by their own customers (such as credit unions). The mutual bank, governed like a trust by a small group of “corporators,” occupies a position somewhere in between. Not beholden to stockholders, these mutuals are more free to act in ways that contribute to their communities, employees, and environmental sustainability. They can be critical catalysts for building community wealth and solidarity economies. Continue reading Mutual Banks: an old model for a new economy?
First and foremost, I hope that you and your loved ones are surviving and getting what you need in this trying time. “Are you okay” and “what can I do to help” are now meaningful questions that many are asking. For those of us fighting for justice and solidarity, these questions have always been real,Continue reading Solidarity is Moving in this Pandemic Moment
Laura Flagg’s 2018 UEP Thesis (“Small-Scale Food Processing’s Role in Farm to Institution: Filling Market Gaps and Moving Toward a Regional Supply Chain”) explores small-scale food processing with a case study of Commonwealth Kitchen and three other processors. Read Laura’s full thesis here. By Laura Flagg Farm-to-institution initiatives are trying to grow the local economyContinue reading Filling the Food Processing Gap Between Local Farms and Institutions
Check out this interview on Labor Vision TV about a new worker-owned cleaning coop in Rhode Island. This coop was incubated by the worker’s center Fuerza Laboral. Healthy Planet Cleaning Co-op is the first worker’s cooperative incorporated in Rhode Island. Tufts UEP alum Janaki Blum helped support the coop’s startup by conducting a feasibility studyContinue reading Rhode Island Cleaning Coop on Labor Vision TV
By Penn Loh and Laura Flagg Despite growing appetites for healthy, sustainable, and local food, workers in the food industry are still among the lowest paid and highly exploited workers in the US. The more than 20 million people (representing 1/6 of the entire US workforce)[i] who are growing, producing, and serving food often workContinue reading Will Work for Food: How Boston is Building a Just Food Economy