This is a great article that outlines in detail what the Local Living Economies movement is all about. Fayetteville Goes Local intends to build alliances in our city and region which can support this powerful effective movement. Learn more here
http://www.organicconsumers.org/BTC/whitedog100605.cfm
This is a rough draft of a flier which explains our vision for an upcoming conferences for the purpose of finding solutions to our economic crises and including anyone who wishes to attend:
Join us to work together to put together a strategic plan so that we can make the best of the economic crises before us. Community organizers from all over the state as well as local folks are invited.
Issues to be addressed include:
Time banks and other alternative currencies
Ecology concerns
Food security
Homelessness
Public transportation
Empowering people to get involved
Emergency preparedness
Building social capital, including resolving/preventing conflicts and creating a sense of community
Neighborhood enrichment
Making our government representatives accountable
Shopping locally
Schedule:
Day One: Key note speakers and workshop leaders share examples of work that has been done successfully in our local area and other places to train, inspire, and educate participants.
Day Two: Using open space technology, “experts” as well as anyone passionate about the topics will lead small groups in order to come up with a strategic plan that empowers people to do what they love, make a living at it, and help create a thriving local economy.
Location: Union Ballroom at U of A campus
Date: As soon as possible!
Open Space Technology is one way to enable all kinds of people, in any kind of organization, to create inspired meetings and events. Over the last 20+ years, it has also become clear that opening space, as an intentional leadership practice, can create inspired organizations, where ordinary people work together to create extraordinary results with regularity.
In Open Space meetings, events and organizations, participants create and manage their own agenda of parallel working sessions around a central theme of strategic importance, such as: What is the strategy, group, organization or community that all stakeholders can support and work together to create?
With groups of 5 to 2000+ people — working in one-day workshops, three-day conferences, or the regular weekly staff meeting — the common result is a powerful, effective connecting and strengthening of what’s already happening in the organization: planning and action, learning and doing, passion and responsibility, participation and performance. See also WorkingInOpenSpace (Guided Tour).
Potential sponsors: This is just a handful of groups I want to contact–please let me know of other ideas
Applied Sustainability Center Walton College
Green Party of U of A
Omni U of A
Omni Center for peace and justice
Seven Hills Homeless Center
FIBA: Fayetteville Independent Business Owners Alliance
Fayetteville Goes Local
NWA Livable Future Alliance
Fayetteville Time Banks
Urban homesteads are the cutting edge of how people can live in cities and be self reliant. The Path to Freedom is the best website I have found about urban homesteading. These folks have a beautiful urban homestead that is flourishing in Pasadena, California. Their story is inspiring and informative. The website has just about every resource you can think of to help you to be on your way to having an Urban Homestead.
Fayetteville Goes Local would like to see a Self Reliant Enterprises business get started with the purpose of helping people take steps to create urban homesteads. We want to support you in creating a business which can be both useful and profitable, and provide jobs for low income as well as idealist people who want to make a difference. If you are interested, contact Patricia at patricia@goeslocal.com
The Path to Freedom provides a blueprint and example which we can learn from–please check it out! And let me know what you are doing to create an urban homestead, and if you are willing to be part of a tour we are creating to show examples of urban homesteading–or if you are a business that provides services to help people create urban homesteads.
Come to our Fayetteville Goes Local Networking Meeting at Qdoba’s Mexican Bar and Grill on Dickson and West street, Thursdays 6-7pm. Promote your business and/or cause, and stay later to network more and offer classes and facilitate conversations. I hope to see you there!
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/
What is the Community Food Security Coalition?
The Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3), North American organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people at all times. We seek to develop self-reliance among all communities in obtaining their food and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, making available, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in the principles of justice, democracy, and sustainability. CFSC has over 200 member organizations – join us!
Food security is one of the highest priorities for Fayetteville Goes Local. We will soon be forming a working group which will focus on creating a strategy to encourage local growing so that all may be fed healthy food! Let us know if you are interested by writing Patricia at Patricia@goeslocal.com
This link is just a part of the Community Food Security Coalition–how to apply for a grant to grow food locally. There is a wealth of information just in this section of examples of successful local growing projects. Food security is one of the highest priorities of Fayetteville Goes Local. Let me know what you think and how we can support you.
Come to our weekly networking meeting at Qdoba’s on West and Dickson, Fayetteville, Thursdays 6-7 to connect with others and get support.
I thought this was a great article because it got national attention–it was on yahoo front page–and people are really re-thinking the idea of turning summersaults and stressing out in order to give their children what toys they want for Christmas. The best part was when the suggestion was made–play more with your children this year instead of giving them so many toys! Here is the article
Written by Patricia Mikkelson
Fayetteville Goes Local is all about strengthening our local economy. So why do we choose to hold our networking meetings at Qdoba’s, a chain restaurant that is owned by Jack in the Box? Well, I have listed the reasons below. We would love to find a locally owned place, or a church or some location which has the qualities that are listed below. In fact, what I would really love to have is a place for child care and teens to hang out so that the whole family can come!
If you know of any places where we can meet for free that has similar qualities as Qdobas, please let me know. Patricia Mikkelson 479-313-0414 For now, so that we can move forward with connecting and cooperating, we will meet at Qdoba Mexican Grill, and encourage them to support our local economy in various ways.
Many people have asked, why not a locally owned place? I have yet to find a place large enough and flexible enough.
Others ask, “Why not the library?”
The library is impossible to reserve every week. Even if we met monthly, there is no guarantee of having the room on the first Thursday. Also, closing at 8pm limits our time.
How about someone’s home?
Usually people don’t like to open up their home to the public–but if someone is willing to do that–hey, I would love that!
What about the place that OMNI meets?
We would have to pay rent, which at this time we do not have. Also, it is rather difficult to find, and parking is limited.
What about a church?
The churches I have approached in the past have been reluctant to hold weekly meetings. However, I will be approaching some more churches in the future
The story of why I chose Qdoba’s
When I chose Qdoba’s, I did not think of Qdoba’s as a part of a huge chain, and certainly had no idea it was owned by Jack in the Box. The managers at Qdoba’s are hispanic people who have been very supportive in the past when I was promoting the Ron Paul revolution. I was pleased that they did not have issues with having a group which was politically active, and even called itself a revolution!
When I first got involved with the Ron Paul revolution back in August 2007, I volunteered to be the organizer The first thing I wanted to do was move our meeting location from a dark, windowless, crowded back room of Jim’s Razorback Pizza to somewhere that could be more nurturing. My family and I liked going to Qdoba’s because of the inexpensive prices, the availability of fresh vegetables, internet access, and central location. When I suggested Qdoba’s as a possible location, the college students especially liked that idea.
During the six months that the Ron Paul supporters met at Q’doba’s, we found it to be an excellent location for the following reasons:
1. Those who liked beer could have some! (that is not number one for me, but for many it is important)
2. There was a spacious area where we could spread out, move tables around, and be separate from the rest of the restaurant, yet have access to other tables if we needed them. Sometimes we had as many as thirty adults and eight children, and having a spacious area was invaluable.
3. Having lots of small tables was important. We would always start out with a larger circle of people standing and sitting–and then break up into smaller groups. Sometimes we would even spill out into the other side of the restaurant into various work groups. This made it very flexible. Since Fayetteville Goes Local plans on attracting up to sixty people for our networking group, it will be good to have a place where we can spread out.
4. Wireless is handy. People can bring their lap tops and work on projects or show presentations.
5. Management is flexible and cooperative. They always would turn down the music for us so we could converse more easily. They were always cordial, kind, and helpful.
6. Central location: It was easy for students to come, so the location is good. The parking is not so good, but doable. Dickson Street is fairly centrally located.
7. Time: Qdoba’s is open til 9pm which is very handy.
In the mean time, I feel sad because I need to write to folks at Qdobas to tell them why we are not going have our networking meetings there. I really like the managers and staff. But maybe this can inspire them in some way to get Jack in the Box to think locally! Or perhaps start their own locally owned business:)
Here are some ways we can encourage chain restaurants and stores to benefit the local economy:
1. Support organizations such as FIBA Fayetteville Independent Business Alliance. Even though they can’t join the organization because only locally owned businesses can joined, they can show their good will and even get a bit of publicity by donating.
2. Donate to local causes with food and facilities such as Seven Hills Homeless Shelter.
3. Encourage people to have Conversation Cafes and other activities like our networking meeting that can promote healthy local communities.
4. Employees and managers can commit to buying locally and supporting local economy in various ways in their personal life.
5. Managers can dialog with owners about buying local produce and other items that they use.
Any other ideas on how a non-locally owned business can help produce a self-reliant, healthy economy where everyone can thrive?
What is America Unchained?
America Unchained is primarily a media event
with the goal of helping citizens comprehend the
multiplier effect and the economic benefit locally owned
independent businesses provide the community.
Our Independent Business Alliancess will be urging their entire communities to
shop only locally-owned for just one day, quantifying
for them what that will mean in terms of prosperity for
the community—through services returned, needed
items like fire trucks or schools, etc.
Fayetteville Goes Local will be supporting this event next year, and will support any other buy local days that we and others determine would be beneficial—like how about the day after Christmas!
Learn more about America Unchained here
Declaration of Independents
Together with Lisa Sharp, the owner of Nightbird Books, Lisa Slape founded the Fayetteville Independent Business Alliance, or FIBA, which is an affiliate of the American Independent Business Alliance, or AMIBA.
Started in Boulder, Colo. in 1998, AMIBA now has 47 affiliates in 29 states, plus Ontario, Canada. The group functions like a support network, providing resources, information and advice to its members.
Read more about this group which is in alignment with Fayetteville Goes Local here
We hope to work together with FIBA and are in the process of connecting with them.
I hope you will check out this website about neighborhood enrichment. Livable Neighborhoods Project
