Expanding the Frontiers of Commoning | Schumacher Conversations

As the 50th anniversary of the book Small is Beautiful, 2023 is our opportunity to advance solutions to today’s social, economic, and environmental challenges that build on Schumacher’s original vision. To meet this calling, the Schumacher Center is convening a monthly series featuring New Economic thinkers, builders and activists from a range of fields. November’s theme is Expanding the Frontiers of Commoning.
The Conversation features three visionaries developing novel organizational forms and infrastructures to extend the enlivening, social dynamics of the commons:
- Kathryn Milun, University of Minnesota and the Solar Commons Project
- Dorn Cox, Co-Founder of Farm Hack, author of The Great Regeneration
- Sanda Niessen, Co-Founder of Fashion Act Now!
- David Bollier, Program Director, Reinventing the Commons at the Schumacher Center for New Economics (host)
From open source technologies for smallholder agriculture, to degrowth fashion initiatives disrupting conventional garment production, to local solar commons managed as trusts for community benefit, these participants’ projects show how innovative organizational structures and design can empower people while respecting planetary limits, avoiding the harmful dynamics of global capital and corporate systems.