Local Economy
At the Project Day on Sunday 18 May 2008, some of us started a discussion on Local Economy, which we hope to bring forward over the coming months. Below are some notes from the discussion.
If you are interested in getting involved in this group, please contact Pete North (P.J.North@liv.ac.uk)
A few of us discussed ways that Transition South Liverpool could help move Liverpool's economy away from reliance on super-unsustainable developments like L1, airport expansion, housing developments like that planned for the old Festival Garden Site etc. Even the Capital of Culture, which is in many ways to be welcomed, is basically unsustainable, based as it is on encouraging visitors to burn carbon coming here for a week end while we earn our living serving them lattes. We need an economy in Liverpool that is based more on meeting people's needs more locally.
We discussed:
Alternative currencies, like the LETS schemes tried before in Liverpool, which did not reach a critical mass of people with practical skills or involve local businesses. There are forms of local money now, like the Totnes Pound or the local money developed by the EM Schumacher Society in Massachusetts that do involve local businesses. We need to develop more practical skills so we can meet our own needs locally, and talk to local businesses about getting involved. One of the key issues is supporting people and local businesses in thinking through what they could buy and sell locally, and thinking about just how big an area is 'local'. We need to talk to the Chamber of Commerce and Liverpool Business Network
It would also be good if people could spend local money on local council services, like paying library fines, swimming and sports centre tickets etc. For example, Curitiba in Brazil has developed a scheme for rewarding recycling with recycling credits which people can use on busses, while in Rotterdam they have a credit card through which points can be earned for recycling and spent on local travel and public services. Shame the busses have been privatised!
We could also use Social Networking Sites like Neetz, e-bay, Facebook or Freecycle to link people up and share things more, like tools, lifts, skips etc It could be used to promote healthy eating, share surplus veg etc
We also talked about Time Banks, which are currencies based on time, not money, and used a lot by local authorities to reward volunteers.
An early priority would be growing food locally, and we need to talk to the allotments and local food group about that.