[Sdpg] The Ojai Economy Group: Investing in the Power of Local Solutions/Ojai Forum on The New Economy Sept 25-27 2009

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

2009 Ojai Forum on the New Economy
  Ojai Forum on The New Economy Sept 25-27 2009


Local healthy communities - Civic engagement - Global sustainability! 
The confluence of various tipping points in global, national and 
local economies have come together to provide an extraordinary 
opening for innovation and positive social change. You are invited to 
participate in an exploration and inquiry into the design of an 
action-based road map leading to new models for a vibrant economy and 
local community empowerment in Ojai and beyond. For more info visit 
WWW.OJAIFORUM.COM


The Ojai Economy Group: Investing in the Power of Local Solutions
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 00:00 Vickie Peters
http://www.hopedance.org/money/the-ojai-economy-group-investing-in-the-power-of-local-solutions


"When a group of people learn how to work together for the common 
good, they discover the power of community and realize that they are 
interdependently wealthy and capable of anything they apply their 
hearts and minds to." - Michael Lindfield, Advisor, Ojai Economy Group
If there is a glimmer of hope to be found in the troubling 
implications of overpopulation, climate change, peak oil, ecological 
devastation and financial meltdown, it may be the growing awareness 
that the global culture and economy are failing to meet our needs. 
Along with this realization comes the opportunity to create local 
economies that are more resilient and sustainable.

Acclaimed monetary systems expert Bernard Lietaer believes that greed 
and fear of scarcity are being continuously created and amplified as 
a direct result of the kind of money we are using, and he isn't 
surprised that the world is suffering from a monetary crisis. "Money 
is like an iron ring that we've put through our noses," he says. 
"We've forgotten that we designed it, and now it's leading us 
around." (www.lietaer.com). According to Lietaer, modern economics 
can be described as "a way of allocating scarce resources through the 
mechanisms of competition and personal greed." Because of the 
inherent inequities of this flawed system, it is failing to meet the 
long-term goals of civilization. In order to turn things around, we 
need to create healthy local communities and economies that share the 
characteristics of healthy ecosystems: their sustainability depends 
not only on their efficiency, but also on their diversity and 
interconnectivity.


Lietaer is convinced that we need to design monetary and social 
systems that support sustainability and community. People everywhere 
who believe in the power of local solutions to global problems are 
embracing this perspective. It's being called localization or 
transition, and it's happening because people are recognizing that 
the unsustainable global economic system is failing to protect 
humans, the environment, and the natural systems on which all life 
depends (www.localfuture.org).

Evolutionary economist Hazel Henderson agrees, and also stresses that 
cooperation is essential for ecologically sustainable development. 
"We are all learning that money, a useful invention of the human 
mind, is not wealth. Real wealth is in human talents, wisdom and 
understanding of the priceless assets and ecological capital of our 
living planet."

Henderson will be a featured presenter (via satellite) at The 2009 
Ojai Forum on the New Economy: Healthy Local Communities, Civic 
Engagement and Global Sustainability (www.ojaiforum.com), which is 
being convened by the Ojai Economy Group (OEG). The forum will begin 
Friday, September 25, with a working dinner of locally grown fare, 
followed by an interactive discussion co-chaired by Henderson 
(www.hazelhenderson.com), socially responsible investment consultant 
Stuart Valentine (www.iowapam.com), and Rinaldo Brutoco, founder of 
the World Business Academy (www.worldbusiness.org). The following two 
days will be structured around intensive workshops dedicated to the 
development of specific action plans for strengthening the local 
economy.

The OEG is comprised of private citizens who share the view that the 
current economic crisis also represents an opportunity to create a 
more resilient, compassionate, and sustainable local economy for the 
Ojai Valley. They envision new levels of thinking, creativity and 
innovation that is based upon principles of goodwill, trust and 
cooperation (www.ojaieconomy.com). According to one of the group's 
founders, Tyler Suchman, "The idea of supporting the local economy 
through various initiatives such as alternative currency and 
bartering has been kicked around by many individuals for many years. 
The OEG hopes to bring together the right people at the right time, 
all of whom have had great success starting and building 
community-oriented companies, projects, and non-profit organizations."

The OEG is exploring the ideas around local economy from four 
directions at this point: alternative currency, bartering, giving and 
investing.  "Ultimately, a systems approach incorporates all of these 
ideas into a cohesive platform for a sustainable local economy," 
Suchman says. The group is still considering how time, skills,and 
service might be woven into the fabric of a supportive, nourishing, 
and resilient local economy, taking into account the demographic, 
economic, cultural and geographic variables involved.

They will be evaluating various types of community currency, 
including a card system (gift cards, cash cards, and debit cards), a 
printed currency (similar to other local currencies like Ithaca Hours 
and BerkShares and the currently inactive SLO Hours) and the 
possibility of a points system that could be tied to bartering, 
service, gifting and volunteering.  Once they're in place, the OEG 
envisions that these complementary forms of community currency will 
provide a local alternative to the dollar that can be used as a tool 
for supporting local businesses and non-profits and even tourism.

The OEG will also be considering the viability of a barter economy, 
where goods and services can be exchanged among multiple parties, 
along with the development of a supportive infrastructure for 
gifting, volunteerism and philanthropy for local community investment 
projects. Ellen Hall, another founding member, is concerned that the 
non-profits that give the Ojai Valley its unique value and soul are 
especially vulnerable due to the economic crisis, and believes that 
strengthening the local economy will help these organizations to 
survive. "The goal of a thriving Ojai goes beyond preservation of the 
quality of life supported by the current economy. A transformed local 
economy based on principles of goodwill and mutual support will 
enhance relationships," she says.

Individually and collectively, members of the OEG are researching how 
to best prioritize and integrate various programs and will be 
exploring these topics during their upcoming forum on the new 
economy. According to conference coordinator Roger Collis, "the new 
economy is not at odds with the old economy; it is not a replacement. 
Elements of the old economy are changing and people are hungry for 
alternatives." The goals of the forum are to convene the community in 
a transformational context and to capture the creativity, ideas and 
vision that are needed to strengthen and support the local economy.
Collis emphasizes the importance of looking at the economy from a 
holistic perspective. "We are not just talking about finances, we are 
talking about a way of life, a new consciousness that embraces all 
facets of human life - cooperating with nature through sustainable 
agricultural practices, education for the whole child, caring for 
elderly, a health system that is affordable for all people, a culture 
of personal creativity and sense of community.  There is so much more 
we can do as people and as a society once we are able to overcome our 
doubts and fears of the future.  The future is ours to shape, and new 
economic strategies are a necessary part of shaping a positive and 
hopeful world.  We start with ourselves and with our communities and 
build from there."   *

Vickie Peters is a writer and editor with expertise in the 
development of public relations and marketing programs for public 
entities, private industry, non-profits and community service 
organizations. She graduated with honors from Cal Poly, SLO, and is 
working toward an MA in geography with an emphasis in political 
ecology.
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