How to form an ongoing local economy & livelihood action group

Session III: 2:30-4:00

Convener: Terry

How to form an ongoing local economy & livelihood action group

Including smallmart revolution, local business thriving, local economy to realize self as viable entity

The other two subtopics are important aspects of this

Convener: Claudette

With the local economy, how can we support a local infrastructure?

Take wealth-creation out of the tax system

What are the consequences?

How does a local, place-based system pick up the slack?

Social services: education, welfare

Convener: Adam

Follow-up of Session I: concept of alternative currencies

Application, action items

Working group

Participants

Terry, Jen, Kimberly, Claudette, Adam, Dick, Patty, Bernard, Roger, Adam W., Joe L., Domingo

Discussion & Recommendations

- What are assumptions behind strengthening a local economy

- We are a specialized society

- Goods & services that we don’t generate, we get elsewhere with money

- If we cannot provide the most basic services/goods, what are the implications

- We don’t provide for our own basic needs

- Having an awareness of the limits of our local economy

- We can bring external resources in & provide goods/services in exchange

- Establish links between needs & ways to meet those needs

- One group looking at our needs

o Food, energy, health, transportation, housing, currency/economy

- What is the structure in which these groups can exist?

- Competitive government agencies that accept community currencies

- Alternative currencies: any information form that facilitates exchange of goods & services, the environment, our health, our communities, public resources

- What is real wealth? We are deeply confused about wealth & money

- Gross National Happiness vs. Gross National Product

- Conceptual problems: war is peace

- We are so dependent on money & oil, we are highly vulnerable until we provide for our own needs, generating our own goods & services

- We know that the system is doomed, but we’re in denial

- Increase media presence of our projects

Alternative Currency Action Group: Adam, Terry, Patty, Claudette

- The group turned to discussing decriminalizing recreational marijuana as a way to keep local resources from flowing out of the community. The best paying cash crop in the US since the 60s.

How do we get local corporations or larger businesses in the New Haven community to buy local?

Convener/Leader: Marie Pulito (mariebrenda@sbcglobal.net)

Paticipants: Marie, Jim, Marion, Maria T.

Our larger employers in the New Haven area are the universities and colleges, hopsitals, UI. If they are outsourcing some of their work and buying supplies/food from non-local sources, then they are not fostering our local economy.

We discussed Yale-New Haven hospital as an example. They used to cook their own food for the patients and the cafeteria. They used to have their own laundry service. Now they outsource for packaged foods, laundry. They purchase from outside the local area.

Discussion included ideas from other sources: Yale Sustainable Garden, New Haven schools using local produce or growing own, Sharon CT. Hospital cooking with local produce. Southern CT State U claims to use and buy local but are they really? or how much are they?

Action/links:
1) Grassroots employee actions within the institutions to push for change. "Local" is so attractive today that it could be used as publicity for the institution.
2) Food Action Group as a source of energy/ideas for getting universities and hospitals to use local food.
3)Marydale Dubar from Sharon CT Hospital is an administrator who has brought locally produced fresh foods into the hospital. Contact her as an example and for assistance in approaching Yale-New Haven or St Raphael's to do the same.

How can we raise capital to start local enterprises

Session III; Room 1

Convener: Fred Cervin; fred.cervin@SBCglolbal.net

Alan Brison, Richard Thomas, Justin Pegnataro, Fred Cervin, Randy Inway, Jonathon Parizer, Jaz Lin, Doug Peterson

Credit is hard to come by in the present economic climate and may become even more scarce in future. Our ability to cope in an energy deprived future may require that we ramp up many new productive enterprises locally as globalization unwinds. Startup costs will need to be borne by those who live in this area.

A number of suggestions were made for how this might be done. If a business is viable because it provides something people really need and want. Question: What are our real, basic needs? E.g., water, shelter, food, clothing, etc. Rainwater recovery systems in case the water company lapses. We will have forms of wealth other than money after collapse, which we might share as a kind of capital.

Hard to get credit if you have no track record. Community supported business similar to community supported agriculture. Encourage` local lending by local banks. Coop banks = credit unions. There are investment companies that invest in local enterprises, especially nonprofits.

Capital may become less important in the future.

"Primary productivity" is that which comes from the sunlight and soil of a particular area. We need to live on this current natural income. At present cities may use many times as much.

Outside lenders might be interested on the basis of local collateral not in use, such as streets after we run out of gas.

When the current system ends, people will organize themselves to take care of business.

Co-operative Businesses

Convened by Richard Thomas
In attendance - Fred Cervin, Terry Halwes, Justin, Jaz, Marie, myself, Claudette, I think Roger popped in. Some others.



People came to this with a variety of backgrounds and interests.

The Mill River Valley Farm has incorporated into a co-operative CSA. Others came to the discussion with experience in co-operative living, food co-ops and buying clubs.
Different CT statutes were discussed. Co-op Associations, Marketing co-ops and worker owned co-operatives fall under CT law concerning co-ops. Worker owned co-ops have a definite set of regulations while a Co-op Association is under less specific rules. A membership co-op allows equity through member shares that are a one-time investment.

Willimantic Co-op has a yearly fee.

Co-operatives are S corporations that yield negligible profits. Some states are looking into C corporations that are dedicated to the common good.
Two types of co-ops - consumers & producers. Co-ops are a legitimate alternative way to organize business, but have difficulty getting loans.

Idea: Producer Co-ops working with Consumer co-ops in shared space for mutual benefit.

Unlike for-profit corporations, people buy single shares of a co-operative allowing all to have equal interest. Stock corps can have a majority owner who can take over the business.

Concern: How to peacefully resolve conflicts
Green Haven co-housing uses formal consensus (all agree on issues before decision made)

Idea: Co-operative space that offers many types of consumer goods. Strengthen local businesses.
Idea: Small business networks with co-operation among competitors in the same industry.

Buyers association - support local businesses and enhance local marketplace.
Creating an economy of scale.

Great potential for co-ops to keep externalized costs low. Shared values are built into concept.
Alternative to capitalism? Consumer centered capitalism: customer benefit, community values, sustainability. Capitalism = accumulation :: Co-operative = equal exchange.

Family values, commitment to community, time inputs involved in belonging, relationships formed in the interest of economic partnerships.

Flea markets, salvage economy, trash = treasure.
Some talk of discovering which life necessities are locally produced, supporting those businesses, encouraging more (as co-op idea).

TheGiftEconomy.org

Can the internet enable an online gift economy of unlimited scale?

Session II

Convener:
Hans Schoenburg
hschoenburg@gmail.com

Participants: Marion, Greg, Ethan, Adam, Kimberly, Maria, Bernard and others

I (Hans) opened up the session with a description of the website that I am working to develop with several fellow students. It will be an online gift economy where users list everything they need and everything they have to give away, barter or share. They can then find people nearby who have what they need or need what they have. After interacting with one another in the real world, either giving bartering or sharing, users write reviews of one another, documenting what happened. Other users can then read these histories to determine who to give to.

The participants of the groups asked many questions and brought up ideas, suggestions and criticisms of the idea.
One suggestion was creating community nodes or circles that would be accredit and verify the reputations of their members and provide a greater sense of community connection within the site. Another significant concern was how existing class inequalities would play out and possibly be perpetuated within the system. One response to this is the general dynamic that a gift has greater value when given to the person who needs it most, creating an incentive to redistribute wealth. The site will also provide a means for people currently unemployed to find ways to give or barter their work and be rewarded.

The group also discussed how the site could be used by existing local groups and organizations as a tool for drawing the support of the broader community. It will provide a means for people to direct their generosity to where it is most needed locally. More than anything, the site is an attempt to create a system where people can reward each other for their contributions to the community.

The website is launching Friday Feburary 19th 7pm at Dwight Hall (Yale Campus) in the Library.

and the address is www.TheGiftEconomy.org

How Taxes can/do effect local economy.

Session #2 1:00-2:30
Convener: Laine Harris
tamberlaine@sbcglobal.net
Participants: 3 Eliezer Lee Cruz, Jonathan Parizer and ??

I (Laine) wanted to introduce the concept of "Single Tax" as a useful and necessary component to the transformation of the economy (Local and global).

The "Single Tax" is/was an idea formulated by a man named Henry George in the late 1800's. A simplified way of looking at the concept is looking at economy trough the filter of "to the creator goes that which is created", in particular looking at the creation and distribution of value.

Another basic filter/principle to look at taxes from is; all taxes are a disincentive to whatever is being taxed.

Currently people work on resource available to them creating value as they do. People do not live in a vacuum and tend to congregate in community which creates legitimate community needs. Currently we mutually agree to rob each other one and and another to collect the resources needed to meet those needs. This take the form of various taxes, most of which are impediments to production and commerce. However there is a value created by the community. This value is the sight value of land and the mineral resources in and of the earth such as oil in the ground, air in the sky, water in the ground, etc. These resources I'll simply refer to as "Land".

Currently we allow individuals the special privilege of collecting that community created value as "Land Owners". No individual EVER created ANY land value. Land value is ONLY created by and through community.

The concept of "Single Tax" is that the value of the "Land" will meet the legitimate needs created by the community and should be collected and used by and for the community. This shift in thinking can and will have enormous ramifications.

Shifting all the taxes from collective community robbery/thief to collecting the value created by the community will take all the profit out of speculation. It will not be economically sustainable to hold resources out of use and the resources used will tend to be used to their maximum value. It will also take away the one place the people can currently park economic resources without maintenance or attention. Right now the only place someone can store any large amount of wealth is to "invest" in land resource. They will only and always increase in value as long as we continue to create more people. This value will in crease independent of anything the individual does or doesn't do. It is, by far, the single biggest way the rich get richer. This can be through out right land ownership or through land control such as mortgages.

Implementing a shift from property/income/business taxes to a land base tax will free resources for people to work on and create as well as encourage the best most efficient use of those resources and it will tend to put the economic resources currently "invested" in some form of "land" speculation into production/jobs/and real investments.

This has been implemented in a number of places, usually on a very limited and small scale and in each and every instance there has be a correlate improvement in the local economy. There are examples of this in New Zealand, South Africa, and more locally in Pennsylvania. A key element of the Renaissance of Pittsburgh was a shift in the local tax from property to land. These tax shifts are generally revenue neutral but shift the tax burden from the "improvements" on the land to the site, "Land" value.

Here in CT there has been some legislation (the details of which I am not completely clear on) that allows for some level of township/city-hood to implement a "two rate" system in which the municipalities can separate the land value from the property value and tax them at different rates.

While "Single Tax" is not a "Silver Bullet" without it any and all other useful changes will, eventually be absorbed into rent and our community needs will continue to grow as long as the population continues to increase and natural resource (read oil?) are depleted and we will have to continue to collectively steal from each other value we have created in the form of one kind of tax or another to meet those community needs.

This can also have huge implications for the "ecology" conversations. If corporations had to pay the actual retail cost of the "Land" resources they used much of our ecological ills would be addressed over night. For example, if a coal powered generation plant actually had to pay the retail value of the air and water is used we would start to realize the true cost of coal power and the alternatives to that would immediately be recognized as less expensive and therefore more desirable. Shoreline/coastal real estate development would be prohibitively expensive. If the owner of a desirable beach front property had to pay the true economic site rental value that the collective community creates by their collective desire/value the community places on such a resource they would either a. not build on the resource and leave it for the community or b. they would be paying the very high value the community places on the resource and therefore the community, as a whole, is compensated for the loss/degradation of the resource.

This is a very rich and deep conversation and my intent here is to "open the ball" and start the conversation.

Disclaimer/background, I, Laine, was born in Fairhope Al as a 4th generation "Georgist". My great grandfather and grandfather were part of the founding of the city of Fairhope which was an intentional community formed to demonstrate the principles of Single Tax. Fairhope which is still often listed as one of the most desirable places to live has so diluted and abandoned the actual principles of "Single Tax" that now it is, at best a hollow shell of principles.

Resources/Background:
S good source for background and links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgism

A good article on the implementation written by Steven Cord, a person who has dedicated most of his life to this conversation and help implement a "two rate shift" in many areas.
http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/cord-steven_meeting-objections-to-land-value-taxation.html

The web site for the "Center for the Study of Economics"
http://urbantools.org/

You may find a ton of information by googling;
"Single Tax"
"Henry George"
"Two rate tax"
"incentive taxation"
"Georgist" or "Georgism"
and, of course you may contact me to continue and expand the conversation.

What are alternative/local/complementary currencies and how can we make them happen

Session I: 11:00-12:30

Convener: Adam King

Convener email: king@cs.fairfield.edu

Participants
Adam King
Zaac Chavez
Meg Rudne
Terry Halwes
Kimberly Breed
Hans
Bernard Brennen
Laine Harris
Randy Domina
Roger
Siobhan
Greg Catalano

Synopsis
Our working group had great spirit and many ideas. We quickly realized that we could go on with this topic for months and we hope to do so. However, we ended up focusing on the first part of our question. We talked about the concepts and issues behind currencies. We decided to continue today in a session III where we will address more practical issues regarding starting currencies in our community. In this document we will cover some of the major points that were raised. (great big thanks to Meg for taking great notes during the meeting).

Discussion and Recommendations

1) How does the topic relate to our question du jour
It is impossible to discuss our failing economy without addressing the monetary system. Money is the primary medium in our society for making decisions on what we do. It is imperative for us top rethink the centralized, scarce, non-democratic, and unfair system that is in place. Local currencies and democratic currencies will insure that WE THE PEOPLE get what WE WANT. Not what THEY apparently want (wars, disparity between rich and poor, people in debtor’s prison, etc..) Go people!

2) Description of our discussion

We talked a lot about the nature of money. Here are some of the questions and concepts that came up.

- What gives money value?

- People think the US dollar has value, although it has no inherent value

- How do we use money — is it working for us (no!)

- How can we take it back — bring it under democratic control?

- How can we keep money within our community & strengthen our local economy

- Our current federal monetary system is unfair, undemocratic, and destroying communities.

- None of us have enough money. Why not? Why is money so scarce?

- Our current monetary system has gotten us this far, however, it is no longer sustainable.

- How can we transition to a new form of money?

- Money can be viewed as a conversation. What are we trying to say?

- What is the difference between positive interest and negative interest (demurrage).

- Different rules lead to different outcomes. For example, demurrage leads to rapid circulation.

- How do the issues of geographical location and proximity play into how our money works

- How do we generate the possibility of more free exchange

- How does it help to think of money as an information system, where the value comes from US and the agreements made between US. Ultimately, can wealth come from anywhere other than ourselves?

- How does the "growth imperative" drive our current economy and how can we use alternative currencies to combat this exponential growth that is not sustainable on a finite planet?

What are some alternative currencies?

- Let system (Michael Linton of Canada, Riegel and the valun system)

- Dollar can be used as a metric, exchange of units, no inflation

- There doesn’t have to be ONE money system: a diversity of monies with overlapping is the way to go!

Random Stuff

- Track what we have done for each other and the concept of debt disappears

- Can we expand our notion of wealth

- We have limited ideas of ways to use our money because it’s so scarce

- With our scarce money system, we have mimicked the use of commodities and commodity money. Money does not have to be scarce, it should be when & where it’s needed!

- Wealth is effort in exchange for value.

- Money is a conversation.

- How do you create & manage a conversation for wealth/currency, currency as means for exchange of time & distance, informed consumerism.

- we have to be willing to have this conversation, to address our concerns, as communities to decide what we value, what we want, and how we’re going to activate wealth that is inherent and latent in our community

- How do we stimulate the local economy by raising our consciousness about how we do business?

- Legal tender law: if you owe a debt, you are allowed to pay them with US dollars, however we can transact in an alternate system.

- Money economy is in serious jeopardy (book Limits to Growth), exponential functions are not sustainable in a finite world

Ideas

Come up with a set of criteria for currency

Educate ourselves about currency (we’re ignorant about our monetary system)

Start a resource list: websites, groups, books to read

Network systems allow us to exchange things in other ways, set up system where we keep track of our exchanges

Talk to people who could help make it happen or start printing it,

Approach local credit unions & local banks

Have conversations, go to senior representatives

Ask if they would you like to print their own money?

Someone is going to do this here, it could be YOU

Now we have the internet:do we need to quantify value anymore, we can communicate qualitative information instead

Issues

1. Taxes
2. Build in ways of trying these currencies out and connecting about how it’s going. How do we allow these currencies to modify themselves on the fly or at an interval
3. What resources and infrastructure do we need? Money, legal advice, etc?
4. What are the steps for establishing local currency?
5. What is the community that wants to use this currency? (Localness may or may not)
6. How do we develop an economic system that isn’t going to be worth nothing after a crash
7. Will we be able to maintain our currency when the legal currency collapses?
8. How will we set the rules to set a situation of abundance instead of scarcity — one not based on debt.

9. How many currencies should we start with.

10. How can we make our currencies benefit the local transition economy?

12. When a local currency comes into being, how is it issued such that it has value?

3) Action Items
We decided to treat this session as primarily one of information gathering and idea exchange. We did plan to reconvene is some for or another in the third session to discuss more proactical and implementation oriented issues.

4) Links & Resources
thegifteconomy.org
flowplace.org
Community Way: design involving businesses, people, & charities - currency
ShareHaven.org: Greater New Haven Time Share
metacurrency.org
symbionomics.org
thetransitioner.net

Greg Catalano (Computer Programming) greg@it-all.com
more to come…

As the Global Economy Fails, How do we Address a Resurgance of Hate Crimes?

Session: 2

Convener: Zaac

Convernors contact info: zaacis@gmail.com

Lists of participants: Zaac, Sara, Randy, Shelia; later: Jaz, Ethan, Lynne, Maria, Joe, Jim

Discussion and Recommendations:

1. A brief note of the topics and how they relate:

Hate Crimes and the Economy

In Germany, prior to holocaust, there was a massive economic deline. The KKKs rose during the early twentieth century with the falling economy. what is the correlation between large scale economys falling and hate groups rising?

2. A description of your discussiongs conclusions and recommendations

Discussed going in to tutrle shells to deal with fear during an economic deline to hide from hate groups. Fear spread during McCarthy era worked to isolate people under the label communists. Rather than hiding could we take proactive measures to make sure that hate crimes do not happen?

Blackwater is currently being paid by US to build massive private prisons.

Sophisticated societies and individuals can commit hate crimes on a societal level: Germany prior to WW2 was known for having the highest developed arts. the KKK image we have is media distorted and was made up of many prominant, respected, and even intelligant memebers of society.

Getting the Message out. billboards. working against the corporate voice. When the Middle class is threatened by unemployment it gets angry as the immigrants taking their jobs, not the larger scale policies on which their identities are based. There are ingroups and outgroups. Who is in your in your group? Who do you identify with? Is your job, electricity, fast food, or your car more important to you than allowing the individuals already living in your neighborhood to feel safe? Do your neighbors feel the same?

Alternative vs Oppositional. What economys( and lifestyles food resources choices) do not address or even permit hate crimes? What economy can we form that opposes hate crimes, allowing the inevitable collapse and minimizing the fear that enables hate crimes to be ok.

NY state has prison statistics and dwb(driving while black) implys the default police force is already a negative force. There was an event in westville where leafs were being raked by other people of color who lived down the street. The owner of the house had to leave and on return found a immaculate lawn with a police car interogating the person who just raked the leaves because the neighbor called the police. Arrest was averted here - how many stories like this do we NOT hear about?

Policing policys. In Turkey on buses the community members enforce bus fares which are collected in the center of the bus, not by the bus driver. Some soldiers may be good people, prominant members of society, but then go to poor areas of Iraq to kill woman and children.

The KKK was a self identified love group, working for the love of America and Americans, and and much of the time only meant to scare people in to behaving appropriately. Slippery slope to police anyone, or hire specialized police. could we empower ourselves to be responcible citizens and stand up to unruly neighbors, attempted police arrests, a raid?

Deescalating a violent upsurrgance of hate crimes and raids is important.

3. Action items

empower selves. book references.

4. Links or contacts relevant to the above:

The Authoritarians. a free online book that discusses the psycology of submitting personal authority and applying aggression to those lower on the social hierarchy.

For Your Own Good by Alice Miller. a book discussing the childrens upbrining leading up to the German Nazi era.

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. a book discussing the chicago schools milton freidman ideologies of disaster capitalism and links to various world government policies.

Non Violent Communication by Marshal Rosenburg. Guidebook to non violent communication to establish healthy communication

War and peace on our local livelihood

Session I
Convener: Henry Lowendorf grnhpeacecouncil@gmail.om
Other attendees:
Patty Krajcik
Dick Krajcik
Marion Gehlken
Ben Ross

How this topic relates to the main question of the day (whatever that is):

The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan have sucked $445 million from New Haven, even more from the greater New Haven area. The 2010 defense department budget takes $343 million.

All this money could be available for local needs - more teachers, more health care, more head start, more college scholarships, more police and fire fighters, more sustainable energy, more affordable housing, more music and art.

A sustainable New Haven will be far more likely when so much of our resources are focused not on destruction but on the desperate needs of our cities.

Figures on how much the military takes from New Haven come from the national priorities project www.nationalpriorities.org/ .

The growth of military spending and the influence of the military in the U.S. was described in 1961 by outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower. He coined the term "military industrial complex."

In polls a large majority of those in the U.S. want our military out of Iraq, a small majority want our military out of Afghanistan. But most people don't realize that half of all Federal spending is on war and war-related activities. Most people don't realize that the U.S. spends as much on military as the rest of the world combined, and with its NATO allies over 70% of what all countries spend on military.

Surely we are not more secure with all this spending. Surely our city could use the hundreds of millions of dollars for needed projects and needed jobs.

What can we do locally?

1. Attend and speak out at a public hearing at city hall on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, at 6:00 pm. This hearing is being held by the City of New Haven Peace Commission (a real commission, like zoning) to explore how New Haven is hurt by military spending and how it could prosper were that spending actually creating what we need instead of destroying.

2. Tell your elected representatives in Washington to stop funding the military. As a first step, accept and act on the proposal of Congressman Barney Frank (MA) to cut the military budget by 25%. Call Rosa DeLauro, Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman.

3. Participate in vigils, demonstrations, letter writing, petitions, visits to our elected representatives at all levels, outreach with local peace groups, e.g. Greater New Haven Peace Council grnhpeacecouncil@gmail.com. Reach out to your neighbors, friends, colleagues - educate what the military budget is doing to us - and urge them to speak out. Participate in the demonstration at the UN on Sunday, May 2, calling to "Disarm Now! For Peace and Human Needs." www.peaceandjustice.org

4. Support social initiatives, green jobs bills and insist that they be paid for by cutting the military budget and transferring savings to things we need.

Land for Sale - How can we help the owner to turn land into public space?

Land for Sale - How can we help the owner to turn land into public space?

Session I: 11:00-12:30

Discussion & Recommendations
Groups that help conserve land:
CT Fund for the Environment
American Farm Land
CT Farm Land Trust
American Land Trust
Work Force Alliance
Growing Home Inc. in Chicago, got federal land

Soil testing important
Land rebatement

Tim Ciprano - head of New Haven public schools food

Groups interests: East Haddam Community Garden, CSAs, co-housing, open space left alone for wildlife vs. farming, East Haddam Green Committee, WOOF, Town regs, non-permanent structures, Bill Brown and Eli Whitney museum, fertile ground usa (website), how to get kids onto land, Jack Healy - after school, programs in NH, Chatham Sq in Fair Haven, How to expand the menu of options for land owners? Farm vs. open space for wildlife vs. development.

Road Blocks - property values, taxes, town regulations, building regs, ignorance

Refarming schools in NH - Mayor's program, Community Foundation of Grter NH, Promise (city pays for college education). United Way - to get support staff around schools, old or new programs, focus on achievement gaps in NH. Lee Cruise is the charge of funding green spaces and community gardens in NH. Connecting Common Ground students to their neighborhood gardens - this would help get the broader community connected to youth.

Judy - offered to the group free documentation through her photography. "Power of pictures to story."

Soil Testing needed - UConn Ag station

Farmer - useful occupation

Basement of Branford College @ Yale complete Woodworkers shop

Stay in touch thru http://www.gnhcommunity.ning.com/ - non-profit - a place to share info

Motivators of Landowner:
Flattery
Community Garden
Common Values we share
We get to decide - cultural values
Education of Interdependence
As economy goes down - how do we help relationships
Need each other
Building Community

Grants for Gardens:
Rockfall Foundation
Grass Roots Environmental Fund

Creating a Menu of Options:
Land Use Regulation - subdivide for houses or commercial
Create More Categories

What makes it work legally and politically among neighbors to have town land used for community garden?
Land Use Bill for CT - if land wanted for recreation use, landowner protected from liability

Fall Creek Consulting:
The Healthy Neighborhood- framework for uses, declare a vision

Participants:
Martha Hansen
Jonathan Parizer
Melissa Waldron
Sue Staehly
Richard Thomas
Valerie Bannister
Lee Cruz
Marie Pulito
Ben Ross

What do we need that can't be made in another country?

Convener: Lynne Bonnett, Session I, attendees: Jen, Tony, Shula, Drew, Fred, Ben, Ethan, Sara
email for convener: lybonnett@gmail.com

I: It is important to consider growing jobs based on what we need (we also considered what those things might be) with a focus on opportunities for local business development in the form of cottage industry and consideration of broader issues of the need for manufacturing. As transportation costs grow goods may become more expensive and without local production we will pay more for our standard of living. We have also lost jobs because of globalization and job exportation; there must be businesses that will meet our needs that are not easily exportable.

II: Our needs center around food and shelter.
A: The foods we eat influence our health and well being. Many people live on prepared food that is quick to fix but not nutrionally balanced.
Local business opportunity: offer to shop, cook, prepare a nutritious meal based upon local food production for people that request it based on trust of the people involved in the same way that one would hire a babysitter to take care of their children for a night out.
Start a cooking school focusing on local food, nutritious eating, food shopping and preparation.
Currently there are businesses that offer coaching, personal fitness training, exercise physiology that could expand to include a focus on health and wellness through food`preparation.

B: shelter
heating/cooling issues, weatherization
local business opportunity: investment in capital equipment and network of workers could do energy audits ($5000 for heat images; $10000 for blower fans to assess leakiness) and provide information to help homeowners make good decisions to make their home use resources more efficiently.
Insulating materials: ceramic paint, new or old technologies, cob buildings. Old homes in New Haven are definitely a challenge to make more energy efficient; any business that could figure ways to do this for a reasonable cost are greatly needed.
Water use: technologies exist for cleaning storm runoff in order to reuse it for home vegetable gardening.
Building demolition: disassemble buildings in order to save materials for reuse instead of demolishing them; Urban Miners and Reclamation on Grand Ave support this idea. There is a good supply of old buildings.
Custom window covers that insulate in summer and winter save money on heating/cooling; do not require special hardware to put up; could be made locally (measured and manufactured locally) as a cottage industry.

C: Surplus materials:
Urban leaves: currently New Haven sends its leaves to West Haven for composting. The city supports a new initiative to plant new trees. We need to compost our own leaves and make the compost available to residents for use- residents now have to purchase our composted leaves from West Haven.
Urban gardening: Gardeners need to be able to test their soil for toxins. Currently residents have to send their samples to the University of CT in Storrs for a fee. We need a local business that can test our soil, tell us what the levels of toxins are and what would those levels mean for growing our own vegetables. People need information about how best to deal with toxins found in their soil samples.
Pragmites: anyone know what to do with these?
Intellectual waste: Workers in Germany contribute to corporate decision making but not here.

D Local manufacturing and or cottage industry.
making pickles canned in glass containers (avoid BPA toxins from cans and plastic).
Sustainable harvest in water authority property converted to crafts, furniture, other?
Could car generators be refurbished to be used for renewable energy?
We may not be able to get things in the future due to globalization and some things are too big and heavy to be made in other countries such as sewer covers.

ACTION ITEMS: Fred asks if we should make this a new group. Our focus was on thinking of cottage industries that we could do now with little capital investment. Would people be interested in trying to start new businesses based on some of these ideas? Drew mentioned that he currently works in personal training and would like to expand into the health and wellness arena through healthy eating. Tony is currently exploring home weatherization/energy audit on a personal level but has not yet decided about whether to offer it as a business. Jen has education in chemistry, is definitely interested in a business that would help a local person get started in healthy eating through gardening. Future action to be determined. Lynne has made window coverings that insulate in summer and winter and really help keep the temperature moderate inside.

List of contacts relevant to the above. To be determined.

REPORTING FORMAT (please follow this example)

Title

Topic: idea, question or opportunity that the group addressed

Session

pick from list:

Session I: 11:00-12:30

Session II: 1:00-2:30

Session III: 2:30-4:00

Convener

Leader’s name

Convener’s contact information

Email (preferred) or telephone number

List of participants

Those who attended

This is the body of the report

Please include:

Discussion & Recommendations

This is the body of the report

Please include:

1. A brief note on how the topic relates to the main question for the day

2. A description of your discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations

3. Action items (next steps)

4. Links or contacts relevant to the above