It is an unwritten law of the universe that when the going gets tough, the tough build community. We all have experienced acts of kindness and generosity that have brought us to tears. These sometimes-small acts give us hope that helps us face even the darkest days. All of us have friends and family members who have lost their jobs or livelihoods during the current economic downturn. Building community is one way of making sure that these loved ones do not lose their dignity and slip through the tears in our social fabric.
Host a local-foods potluck dinner, and suggest these budget-stretching ideas to your friends and family:
Create "work parties." Partygoers would meet each week for an afternoon of work at a different participant's house. Work crews could tackle costly chores such as splitting firewood, painting the house, caulking and weatherproofing the house that the hosting participant otherwise would have to pay for. Attendance is mandatory to ensure that all involved give and receive their fair share. Tasks are completed more quickly, are more fun, and are far less costly than they would be if you hired the work out.
Pool your resources. By sharing things such as tools, lawn mowers, pools, carpet cleaners and other costly items, it eliminates the need for each household in your community to purchase these things. Rules can be attached to the use of each item. For example, "You must clean the pool after each use." "Chain saw must be returned sharpened, oiled and gassed." A community tool chest can be set up online, with a calendar attached for accountability.
If you have small children, host a play date party, and ask the mothers to bring bags of too-small clothes to swap. Why spend the family money on children's clothes, which will be outgrown before their useful lives are over? The same works for adult clothes. Leftover clothes can be donated to immigrant worker services, foster homes or any of the charities that now accept used clothes.
As the summer harvest starts to roll in, host a canning party. Purchase bushels of fresh tomatoes, and spend the day in the kitchen with your closest friends making sauce, canning and enjoying one another's friendship. The same can be done with cornhusking and making pickles, salsa and jams. Each friend brings a box of clean jars and goes home with a share of the goodies. This helps to feed your family well over the winter and positively impacts local farmers economically, guaranteeing food security.
If you already have a well-established network of like-minded people, you can make a big difference in your community by:
Creating a local investment club in which each pool has a certain amount of money. This money can be lent to local entrepreneurs wishing to start new businesses, farmers wishing to convert to organic or cooperatives, or even to save beloved local restaurants on the edge of bankruptcy. Most banks won't make microloans to community members when they need them. Because friends and family would be involved in your club, it may be possible to arrange for farmers to repay the loans with shares of their harvests or for restaurants to repay investors with dinner out once a month. Imagine how that would help your local community. In my community, I am investigating the possibility of a community-owned hydroelectric power plant.
Establishing a green-energy task force that combines a local certified energy auditor with a local banker and local certified contractors who do weatherization and insulation. This "green team" can help homeowners and small businesses reduce their electric and heating bills substantially and take advantage of recent incentives through state and national sources. The rising costs of energy guarantee that people who take advantage of energy efficiency will save more money on their electric bills than they spend on the efficiency improvements. By setting up a green team, you are simplifying the process and generating local economic impact. This may save jobs and livelihoods in your community, as well as keep more money in local pockets.
Starting a "think local first" campaign in your area to create more local jobs, strengthen local businesses, and generate stronger local economies. For more information, see the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies Web site, at http://www.LivingEconomies.org.
This is Sonoma County, Calif.'s, “Think Local First” campaign graphic. Several communities across the country have started similar campaigns to improve local economies and quality of life.
