Farm Hack: open source technology for small-scale resilient agriculture

 How can small-scale farmers network to share ideas, innovations, and inventions to increase the resilience of sustainable agriculture and rural economies? Before the industrial revolution, low-input agriculture was the norm, but now, farmers must make a conscious choice if they want to avoid large scale mechanization.  Many small-scale farmers in the US are discovering new means of food production and in the process, innovating tools and equipment. Innovations can range [...]

2016-08-02T14:00:42+00:00sustainable living, United States|Comments Off on Farm Hack: open source technology for small-scale resilient agriculture

Social change through “Social Ecology” in Montreal

By Théo Rouhette How can a citizen community use popular education and social action in order to transform society and its institutions toward an ecological, egalitarian and democratic future? Challenges such as climate change and global inequity can be so overwhelming, individuals may feel powerless to respond and create positive change. But what if there was a way to organize ourselves so that together we can make more of a difference than [...]

2016-07-12T17:34:34+00:00Education, social movement, sustainable living, Urban|Comments Off on Social change through “Social Ecology” in Montreal

Makapads

How can reconfiguring small-scale industrial production enable a community to tap local ecosystems services sustainably to address social challenges? In Uganda, and in much of the developing world, when school-aged girls hit puberty, they are often forced to miss school during menstruation due to the inaccessibility of affordable sanitation products. Fifteen years ago Moses Musaazi, an engineering lecturer from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, was asked by social [...]

2016-05-06T18:41:56+00:00business, health, sustainable living, urban ecology|Comments Off on Makapads

Fairphone

Can items we use every day be more sustainable? Can we, as consumers, promote and invest in more socially conscious products to diversify the marketplace? Fairphone is a non-profit company that produces phones that are ecologically and socially conscious. They aim to create a positive social impact at each step of production, which includes mining, design, manufacturing, life cycle and social entrepreneurship. They are expanding the market for products that [...]

Mandated Multi-functionality

Can mandated multi-functionality, supported by government at multiple scales, address multiple Anthropocene challenges while building social capital? Mandated multi-functionality is a concept being studied and implemented by researchers and partners in British Columbia, Canada developed through the Solutions Agenda Research Project. The general concept is to re-think spaces and land-use in ways that better accommodates multiple functions, and ultimately mandate the implementation of multi-functionality in communities. This can include interior spaces that [...]

MEGA

Can an online gaming platfom lead to real-world learning and behavioural change? How widespread can its impact be? MEGA Game is a gamified web platform & smartphone app that give you knowledge, skills, and power to create sustainable world by playing for impact.  The Moldovan Environmental Governance Academy (MEGA) represents an innovative solution to the world’s most pressing social and environmental issues, such as inefficient natural resource management, environmental pollution with [...]

GIVEWATTS

Can aid that focuses on decreasing reliance on traditional energy sources be a sustainable solution? GIVEWATTS is a non-profit organisation / Social Enterprise bringing clean and safe energy to people in developing countries, starting with East Africa. GIVEWATTS distributes solar lamps and efficient stoves in places that would otherwise rely on daylight, firewood and kerosene. The GIVEWATTS vision is to make renewable energy available to all households across the off-grid [...]

Heartwood Cohousing

Building a sense of community, stewardship and sharing through cohousing communities: can alternative ways of living and making decisions found within intentional communities scale up?  How? Heartwood Cohousing is one of many cohousing communities throughout the world. There are about 150 in the USA alone. Heartwood's goal is to recreate an old-fashioned neighbourhood where neighbours cooperate to live more sustainably. Heartwood has 100 hectares of land, 25 irrigated, with an organic farm that [...]

2015-11-24T18:58:04+00:00Food, Integrated social-environmental, Social Seeds, sustainable living, United States|Comments Off on Heartwood Cohousing

Intentional Community in Gaviotas, Colombia

Can a thriving community be created in a harsh, socially hostile environment, and can it last? What lessons can be learned from Gaviotas, Colombia? Gaviotas is an intentional community in eastern Columbia established by Paulo Lugari in the mid 60’s. The ecosystem consisted of “llanos”, savannas that seasonally flood. The intent of the community was to find ways to make the region more habitable. Through Colombian and UNDP grants in the 70’s [...]

Schyst Resande (Fair Travel)

Can tourism be remodelled to encourage learning about sustainable, ethical travel?  Tourism is a global industry, and also seen as an important part of economic growth, especially in developing countries. It can be a very positive thing, but it needs to be done in a fair and sustainable way. That is not the case in most places today, and getting the information on how to be a responsible traveller out [...]

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