Some of you may be interested in following what is happening in Bhutan after it has decided to become a democratic nation. The concept of “Gross National Happiness” as against GNP that they have adopted has been much talked …
Zumbara is an internet community time-banking system. In this system no money is exchanged, only talents and experiences are shared in return for time.
This is only one such time banking system currently happening all over the world with local …
High in the mountains of Taiwan, is the remote village of Smangus. Inhabited by a unique group of indigenous people called the Tayal, Smangus is the only place in Taiwan that now practices common ownership of land and property.
Global …
Taking Charge is a selection of case studies of small-scale, decentralised renewable energy systems in India in 2010. The strength of these stories lies in their diversity. One is a diversity of the context in which they are based, including
Andhra Pradesh is home to a diversity of exquisite handloom weaves renowned for their craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal. However, this beauty is hardly reflected in the lives of weavers, where motifs of distress and deprivation are dominant. Though they toil …
In Bastar, Chhattisgarh, whatever development projects and schemes are prepared and implemented by the government there is no substitute for the availability of proximate forests. The majority of people require firewood to cook; seasonal foods such as mushrooms and fish …
Following the Rs. 700 crore pulses scam in Odisha in January 2011, the State government decided to decentralise the procurement of all the items in the supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and the Mid …
This paper examines and analyses the organization and functioning of subaltern peasant sanghams (grassroot associations of the poor) and their place-based as well as network-based strategies in building autonomous local communities that challenge the consequences of neoliberal globalization in general …
From an economy addicted to coal and nuclear energy, Germany is fast transforming into one driven by renewables. Its aim is to demonstrate to the world that growth and decarbonisation can go hand in hand. People in Germany are pooling …
An unemployed man, a retired pharmacist and an upholsterer took their stations, behind tables covered in red gingham. Screwdrivers and sewing machines stood at the ready. Coffee, tea and cookies circulated. Hilij Held, a neighbor, wheeled in a zebra-striped suitcase …
The Longo Mai movement is a group of agricultural cooperatives with a basic grass-roots, alternative, rural, laic and sustainable ideology. It has its origins in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and France. Young people from the “generation 68” founded the first settlement …
Based on his work in mountain communities in Mexico (and in other parts of Latin America), David Barkin suggests the need for a ‘‘dialogue of knowledge systems’’ or dialogo de saberes, a concept used in Latin America that is …