A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com The approach is holistic. They don't start with technology, but with people. Tools to provide long-term, appropriate and practical answers must be firmly in the hands of local people: people who shape technology and control it for themselves. Practical Action believes that the right idea – however small – can change lives. It can create jobs, improve health and livelihoods, and help people have better lives. The focus is on four key areas: Reducing vulnerability of poor people affected by natural disasters, conflict and environmental degradation. Making markets work for the poor. Helping poor people to make a better living – by enabling producers to improve their production, processing and marketing. Improving access to services. Helping poor communities gain access to basic services – water, sanitation, housing and electricity. New technologies. Helping poor communities respond to the challenges of new technologies, helping them to access effective technologies that can change their lives. Practical Action is implementing over 100 projects worldwide. Their consultancy and educational work further extends their reach. In total, in 2006/2007, they outreached to some 664,000 people. Through their work, they demonstrate alternatives, share knowledge and influence change. Tackling the underlying causes of poverty by campaigning to influence policies, institutions and processes. Through campaigning and advocacy, Practical Action aims to achieve greater and more lasting impact from their work. Technical Information Service, Practical Answers, aims to provide a means of accessing the wealth of technical information held by Practical Action, through technical briefs or the resource centre. Education offering a range of support services for teachers and young people in the UK looking to address sustainable development within their teaching and learning. Lessons from Practical Action's grassroots experience are also spread through consultancy services and publishing activities. Micro Credit Micro Credit inspired by Grameen Bank in Bangladesh whose founder, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, pioneered microfinance loans for poor women in Bangladesh. There are now many similar schemes for poor people to help them start small businesses and lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. The Grameen Bank operates 1,092 branches in 36,000 rural Bangladesh villages, providing credit to over two million of the country's poorest people. It has loaned more than US$2 billion. This new banking system providing unsecured credit to the poorest of the poor began as an action- research project at Chittagong University and later grew into a full-fledged bank. Grameen Bank's patrons are 94% women who have an unparalleled repayment rate of 98%. Likely directions To help poorer countries, the emphasis must be on strengthening local capacity and infrastructure and thinking about how to provide aid in a way that does not undermine local producers and traders. The way ahead becomes clearer and, with appropriate adaptations, applies to countries rich and poor. The Possibility Bioregionalism, working with natural advantages, will be the basis for the global economy 174
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com “Cheap food” , not really cheap, is over; Good food will be the name of the game Global collaboration and cooperation will be seen as essential to survival Global trade will focus on high FEET - Foreign Exchange Earnings per Transport tonne – and whatever cannot be produced locally Inhumane, industrialised rearing of cows, pigs and hens is over Local food shops, selling good, mostly local, food, will become more important Minds will change- food diversity, food security and ecology will become mainstream Organic and eco-agriculture will play a much greater part; industrialised agriculture and food will play a lesser part; it looks unlikely that GM in its present form will contribute Smaller scale or intermediate technology, agriculture and distribution systems will grow Supermarkets will adapt, change their distribution systems and source locally and nationally; some may become market halls for local food suppliers Unfair competition against small retailers and “bearing down” on small suppliers will be addressed We’ll consume less meat and dairy We’ll go back to eating in season- except for luxuries - and more home cooking. We’ll grow more food in gardens, allotments, community food gardens, market gardens and farms again Wealthy nations will stop plundering the rest of the world. World farmers, especially smaller ones, will get a fair deal We need a transformation from Stupid to Not Stupid economics One thing is certain: we are entering an era in which everything will change dramatically. Simple minded “solutions” will not work. The way forward will be much more complex and diverse than dogmas such as free market competition, sourcing for lowest cost, free trade and continuous economic growth. Ways forward will emerge through embracing diversity, sharing and collaboration. This will require Subsidiarity at global, national, bio-regional and local levels. Instead being dominated by multinational corporations, governments and global bodies must represent people’s interests. And, maybe we’ll all be happier, healthier and live a saner life at a saner pace! Global Action: Take personal action and lobby and demonstrate to get our governments, politicians and global institutions to do the right thing. Target the next UN Summit and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to ensure it works for, not against, social, health and environmental benefits and global trade reform. Use: Ethical Consumer, Food and Water Watch, GM Freeze, Jeevika, Janadesh - Retrieving People’s Dignity through Land and Livelihood, La Via Campesina, Practical Action, Slow Food, Vandana Shiva, World Hunger Project. World Family Ning contact: louisishere@msn.com Local Action: City Farms and Community Gardens, Community Gardens, Community Supported Agriculture; Compassion in World Farming, Country Markets, Farmers’ Markets; Farmers’ Supermarkets NEF, Food and Mental Health, Friends of the Earth, Garden Organic, Guerrilla Gardening, Landshare – making spare land available for growing food, Schools Organic, National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association (FARMA), Organic Farmers and Growers, Organic Targets Campaign, Sustain- supporting good food, children’s food, food in cities, London’s Food Link, Soil Association, Sustain and Transition Towns Network. Further reading: For the FEET Index, read Desai, P and Riddlestone, S, 2002, BIOREGIONAL SOLUTIONS – for Living on One Planet, Schumacher Briefing no 8, p 59, Green Books 175
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A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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