Get on Board the Transition Bus

Camille and Charlotte are social activists interested in the juncture between the Transition Movement and social justice. In 2009 they set out with their two young children in The Transition Bus to travel North America. They were especially keen to visit and video projects … [Read more...]

Your Personal Baker — A Bakery CSA (188)

Watch baker Jen Ownbey whip up a batch of zucchini bread while she talks with Janaia about doing what she loves. Every week, members of her bakery CSA (community supported agriculture) get a handmade, local, mostly organic, and even personalized box of breads and bakery … [Read more...]

Local Living Economies – Protecting What We Love (144)

Judy Wicks' love of place has made widening ripples on a global scale. She's the founder of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), a national network of sustainable, small businesses. After moving onto a quaint street in Philadelphia, she learned it was slated … [Read more...]

Middle Class Lifeboat – Careers and Life Choices for Staying Afloat (127)

Paul and Sarah Edwards are authors of a timely book Middle-Class Lifeboat: Careers and Life Choices for Navigating a Changing Economy. In a world of decreasing resources, they ask, how do we financially support ourselves while moving towards sustainable lives? Emphasizing … [Read more...]

Helping Local Food Businesses Thrive (121)

Wendy Siporen coordinates The Rogue Initiative for a Vital Economy (THRIVE), which helps small locally-owned businesses not just to thrive, but be more sustainable as well. A "Food Connection" directory enables local businesses to buy from one another. Their "Rogue Flavor" … [Read more...]

Sustainable Connections – Transforming a Community Through Local Business

Michelle Long shows us how a highly successful local independent business network has transformed Bellingham, Washington, while inspiring other communities. From an initial "Think Local First" program, they have expanded to business peer mentoring, and support for local food … [Read more...]

Human-Scale Tools for a Sustainable World

At Smith and Speed Mercantile on Orcas Island, hand tools line the walls and tables along with organic wool comforters and non-toxic paints. It's an extension of Kathleen Smith and Errol Speed's off-grid homestead where they work at "the speed of living," using hand tools … [Read more...]

BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies

Executive Director Don Shaffer recounts BALLE's vision of local living economies ensuring that economic power resides locally, where it can enhance community life and natural systems - as a counter to economic globalization. BALLE's autonomous networks of local businesses … [Read more...]

The Small-Mart Revolution

Michael Shuman advocates "Going Local," showing how local businesses are beating global competition and helping to create self-reliant communities. One innovative idea: invest locally by moving a portion of pension funds into regional stock exchanges. Episode 44. … [Read more...]