Lately, we’ve been reflecting on The Stove as an opportunity to align our actions with our values and consider the society we live in. We’ve drawn inspiration from the New Economics Foundation to rethink the way we work and, crucially, invest in local services and people.
Money, like other aspects of life, has become controlled by distant organisations who, as the recent economic turmoil has demonstrated, do not necessarily have our best interests at heart. As the New Economics Foundation put it, our economies have become like ‘leaky buckets’, money that should be staying and circulating locally being sucked out to distant corporations and shareholders. This all adds to our vulnerability in times of increasing uncertainty, rather than reducing it.
Local enterprises are more likely to employ local people, provide services to improve the local quality of life, spend money locally and so circulate wealth in the community, promote community cohesion and, by reducing transportation of goods from across communities, are likely to have a smaller environmental footprint.
Lets use the resources of The Stove to give the maximum effect in our local economy and society – if you’ve got ideas about ways The Stove could be effective in assisting regeneration locally then please do get in touch [email protected]
