local economy

Okay. I'm definitely hooked on Go Local Sonoma County's website. There is so much excellent information on there that I couldn't help but make one more post on banking locally. The following information is taken from a post by Kelley Rajala and Terry Garrett.Make sure to follow the link to see a great Prezi on the Local Multiplier Effect. (Background: Prezi is similar to PowerPoint, but is less linear in both layout as well as scope.) Enjoy!

I found this great podcast online today from Equal Time Radio. After listening to it, I've gone into a wee bit of a researching frenzie. Ken has published some really interesting papers, which I'll include links to at the bottom of this post.  Enjoy!

 

Podcast: Local Food Systems Are the Best Driver of Economic Development

Job developer Michael Shuman seeks to rebuild struggling communities with home-grown businesses.

By Tim Holt | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

from the February 9, 2009 edition

Now that we've entered the Twitter era, I find myself more and more inclined towards brief but very informative pieces of information, especially when surfing the internet. I'd liken it to reading Psychology Today Magazine over individual psychological studies. This has led me to read a lot of lists and pointers, undoubtedly feeding my childhood love of Hints from Heloise. 

I found this list today titled: Summer Downsizing: 31 Ways to Jumpstart Your Local Economy.  Not all of the suggestions were actually related to one's local economy; some were just ways to remove yourself from spending money period. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the community-focused section, pasted below:

A friend forwarded this video about local food, produced for Canadians. The animation is great and helps explain the difference between importing fresh food and producing it closer to home: 

This article originally appeared as part of The New Economy, the Summer 2009 issue of Yes! Magazine.



Social activist and local living economies advocate shares her investment secrets

I have always felt uneasy about the stock market. As a longtime organizer and a local restaurant founder and owner, I put nearly all of my money, time, and energy into my local community, rather than into global corporate investments.

Groups say a small share of consumer spending can save local businesses

By Katheleen Conti
Boston Globe Staff / June 11, 2009

This article was originally published in the June 29th 2009 edition of The Nation.
CONCEIVED by WALTER MOSLEY with research by Rae Gomes


"At a time when the financial crisis has eroded any faith we might have had in big business and the capital markets, it is more important than ever to support companies that are having a positive impact on their communities, employees, consumers and the environment..."

Things have really been busy around here for MHBA and our work to build a thriving local economy. Thanks to all of  you who participated in our May 20 event, Partnering for a Thriving Economy. We then hosted the 7th Annual BALLE conference, which brought together 400 local business owners and leaders of networks like MHBA from around the world.