As always, with thanks to visionary writer, Wendell Berry who wrote these provocative "Rules for a Sustainable Community" that are presented here as excerpted from the poster of the "Rules" published by Yes! Magazine:
"Make sure that money paid into the local economy circulates within the community for as long as possible before it is paid out."
Supporting your friends and neighbors in the community where you live, by doing business with them instead of the big box stores or on the internet, keeps the money in the community longer. This allows the local economy to be more resilient and less susceptible to the ups and downs of the wider economy.
This concept works even better when the materials for locally produced goods are also produced locally.
These days, it is hard to do all your business locally, but starting small and finding out about local producers of things you need, is the first step.
In my town, our Transition Initiating Committee, aka the Celebrate Bethlehem Committee, is developing a master list of all business people in our town to include producers of primary products such as locally grown food, to producers of secondary products, e.g. yogurt or cheese from local dairy, and non food things as well, such as woodworkers who produce craftsman products from locally harvested wood; service people who provide a service from medical, dental, legal, housecleaning, pet sitting, etc. The list is a first step in a plan to promote buying local within our own community.
No comments:
Post a Comment