Stories

Stories from the Garden: Growing Power, Connection in Indianapolis

In a recent article, LaTasha Boyd-Jones named the community-rooted, "multifaceted Kheprw Institute (KI)—a beacon of hope and transformation nestled in the heart of Indianapolis." Like life itself, Kheprw's portfolio of activity, relationship and impact is truly interdimensional, and a compelling...

Dancing with Shiva

Most of us have been raised in a world and within organizations that follow a "top down" culture. This can stifle creativity, individual agency, and collective intelligence and cohesion. What if we used structures for gathering that release us...

100MLives: Trusting Communities to Author their Solutions

From its start in 2014 to its completion in 2020, the 100 Million Healthier Lives (100MLives) global movement fundamentally transformed the way the world thinks and acts about health, well-being, and equity. Grounded in trust, and interconnected in partnership...

“Nuestra Casa” – from Connection to Community Center

Sometimes, building community can be as straightforward as bringing neighbors together to define a dream they hold in common. Check out this story created by Great Lakes Urban in partnership with UnoDuece Media about how in the Westcore neighborhood in...

Disaster collectivism: How Communities Rise Together to Respond to Crises

When Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on Sept. 20, 2017, Judith Rodriguez was asleep in her home. Or rather, she was trying to sleep, but the sounds of the deadly storm blowing over the island woke her up. “That...

Find Your People

While the ideas and ideals around "community" and living IN community are appealing, are we really ready for it? What fears and hesitations do we hold? What about introverts - does living in community work only for extroverts who...

From Bayanihan to Talkoot: Communal Work Practices from Around the World

For all of human history, societies have depended on communal work to sustain themselves into the (often unpredictable) future. However, at a certain point, that all changed. Market forces took over, and communal projects ceased to have the same...

Why Intergenerational Thinking Is Essential to Heal the Planet

In the state of Meghalaya in northeast India, ingenious elders from the Khasi community spent decades, even centuries, building living root bridges known locally as jingkieng jri. The bridges were shaped by pulling and intertwining the aerial roots of the rubber fig tree...

“El Cambalache” Sparks Exchange of Goods, Skills and Expertise in Chiapas, Mexico

El Cambalache is a moneyless economy project located in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and is made by and for women and everyone who we know. In El Cambalache everything has the same value. Here people exchange things...

Community Ownership in Practice

This recent discussion, hosted by Shareable, Resist & Build’s SE Narrative Circle, the U.S. Solidarity Economy Network, and the New Economy Coalition, offers inspiring examples of what community-ownership can look like in practice in our communities.   Imaginal Cells of the...

Citizens Forge Ahead to Directly Address Housing Crisis

What possibilities exist if we stopped waiting for someone else to take on an issue in our community? Originally published on Axiom News, this story from Ontario gives us a glimpse into the answer regarding the crisis many communities...

Start with What You Have, Where You Are: The Kheprw Story

"Growing community is like growing food. It's a lot of work. You gotta till the soil. You gotta plant the seeds. You gotta have the right weather conditions. Community is just like that. You start with what you have...

Local Business by Benediction

While the world has in some ways shifted from the constraints of early pandemic days, Jonathan Massimi's reflections from his parish stand out as enduring insights into the value local businesses play within our communities, beyond their purely economic...

Generative Journalism

How can the stories we tell about our communities and fellow community members - and the process by which we gather stories - serve to nurture their growth and aspirations while calling forth local support and connectivity? This reflection...

How Four Rural Towns Are Building Vibrant Communities Through the Tools of Creative Placemaking

Whether it manifests in painting murals, repurposing public spaces, or simply rethinking how decisions get made, the art of creative placemaking is helping towns across the country address their challenges and unlock their potential.   In a small town in Minnesota,...

Weaving Global Governance from Below: Neighbourocracy and Children’s Parliaments in India

Originally published on Sociocracy for All, this fascinating case study illustrates the capacity of children to act as effective, engaged decision-makers within their communities as well as the power of the governing tool sociocracy when employed at a neighborhood level.      The Dream,...

The making of La BOM: Montreuil’s new Library of Things and Sharing Hub

Inspired by Shareable’s coverage of the sharing economy, Bibliothèque D’Objets De Montreuil, also known as La BOM, opened its doors as a “Library of Things” in April 2022 in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. La BOM’s president and founder Sylvain Mustaki...

Cooperatives as Ancestral Technology

The article below is the fourth in Nonprofit Quarterly‘s series—“Remember the Future: Culture and Systems Change,” co-produced by Art.coop and NPQ. In this series, queer, trans, and BIPOC artists and cultural bearers reflect upon the unique role that culture has...

We Make Peace

"What if you can still feel a sense of justice without reaching out to the legal system? What if you still can have access to healing without punishment? What if this person who harmed you can do the hard...

Andrea Roberts: Countering Displacement through Collective Memory

Our communities are places rich with layers of history. How can we enter into deeper relationship with our places, opening ourselves to the hurt and harm that the past may hold? How might knowing these histories help us navigate...

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How to Map Assets & Expose Real Wealth for Shared Futures

Harnessed fully, there are more talents and resources within any small group of passionate citizens than are actually needed...