The Power of Going Local

“ I have seen caring human hands turn cracked, bone-dry earth into rich soil capable of feeding entire communities, while simultaneously restoring habitat for wildlife.”

Local. A simple concept with the potential to change the world. The antidote to consumer capitalism. The key to solving our seemingly endless ecological crises. A guiding principle to take us back home: to community, to the natural world, and to prosperous, place-based economies.

Throughout human history, our cultural traditions, societies, personalities, even our bodies have evolved in relationship with community and local ecosystems. Our direct reliance on one another and the natural world around us formed the basis for deep, long-lasting connections with other people and with our place on the planet, which in turn supported healthy, grounded identities. Place-based economies also gave rise to worldviews that engendered respect and care for the living Earth.

But since the advent of colonialism and globalisation, the fabric of local interdependence has been steadily unravelling. We have been made dependent on distant bureaucracies and vast technological systems for everything from our food to our jobs, from the information we receive to our means of social interaction. To our own detriment, we have been distanced from the complex, interdependent web of life that is not