Category: Local Living Economy

Building Our Local Living Economy

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Who is missing?

These local organizations, businesses and community groups are already contributing to our local economy and community in diverse and important ways.

Contributions such as:

  • Encouraging charitable giving
  • Paying staff to volunteer for local agencies
  • Purchasing local products, when possible
  • Giving incentives for walking or biking to school or work
  • Offering support to local businesses
  • Supporting farmers and a healthy regional food system
  • Encouraging citizen participation
  • Growing a community garden
  • Marketing local events and products
  • Developing community-wide health education initiatives
  • Supporting smart growth policies
  • Contributing to our community’s guiding documents (master plan, land use regulations)
  • Setting policies and guidelines to support our local economy
  • Promoting conservation of our natural resources
  • Providing jobs and contributing dollars to the local economy through a locally-owned business
  • Bringing people together to network and solve local problems

This collage of logos continues to grow!  If you are a business owner or leader of a non-profit or community initiative and would like to be added to this collage, please send an electronic version your logo (JPG) to jen(at)hannahgrimes.com.

Feel free to forward this announcement to other businesses, non-profits and community initiatives helping to build the Monadnock Region’s local economy and community.

What Does a Local Living Economy Mean to Us?

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In November 2009, a group of community members gathered to explore the concept of a Local Living Economy.  The BALLE Network has its own definition, but what does it mean to us – citizens of the Monadnock Region?

Here is a small sample of ideas to describe a Monadnock Local Living Economy – What would you add?

The Monadnock Local Living Economy is a place where:

  • All citizens can have a great quality of life.
  • Our basic needs are met within our community and region.
  • Individuals realize that they are beyond the worth of their jobs.
  • Leadership helps identify common ground and overarching community goals.
  • Citizens are creating a new definition of what our needs really are.
  • Individuals and banks are investing in social capital.
  • We are working cooperatively and collaboratively.
  • All citizens are engaged and feel included.
  • Celebrating our community.
  • We are thinking of our community as a system.

Monadnock Buy Local Grows Regional Effort to Support Local and Independent Businesses

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Monadnock citizens and local business owners are invited to help grow a grassroots movement in our region: Monadnock Buy Local (MBL).

A MBL Steering Committee is forming and current members are reaching out to towns beyond Keene to make this truly a regional effort.  For more information, contact MonadnockBuyLocal@gmail.com.

Monadnock Buy Local’s roots lie with the Keene Buy Local Initiative – a project of the Keene Downtown Group.   The Keene Buy Local Initiative launched a 10% Shift Challenge the week of July 1-7, 2009, to coincide with other nationwide celebrations of “Independents Week”.  For more information visit http://keenelocal.com.

The Keene Downtown Group is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to insure the vibrancy and vitality of Downtown Keene: http://keenedowntown.com.