CommonBound 2018

This gathering will be a space for rural electric cooperative (REC) member-owners and organizers to meet each other, learn from each other's work, access additional resources, discuss ways to build a new economy narrative through REC work, and plug into opportunities for regional and national collaboration. The focus will be on networking folks who are doing the work; we will also welcome people interested in getting more involved and supporting the work. There are more than 800 rural electric cooperatives owned by 42 million people across almost 75% of America's land area with $45B in annual revenue. REC’s are energy democracies and can be harnessed for broader economic democracy across a large swath of rural and suburban America.

To apply to attend, please contact the coordinators below.

Contact: Nikita Perumal nikita@kftc.org and Liz Veazey liz@weown.it

#OwnOurEnergy

This is an interactive introduction to the Just Transition framework developed for the Our Power Campaign and Climate Justice Alliance. We will discuss ways to think about the current extractive economy and strategies for building local regenerative economies.

Just Transition is an environmental justice framework that insists that, through following leadership of grassroots communities of color and white working class people, we can develop intentional pathways away from extractive economies toward regenerative local living economies. We must confront patriarchy alongside racism and capitalism and recognize gender as a critical lens as we develop an alternative economic model that prioritizes people and planet over profit. Without an insistence on grassroots feminism, we run the risk of transitioning to another economy that thrives off the degradation and exploitation of women, LGBTQ and gender non-conforming people.

How do we shift from investing in to being invested in the next economy? This training will explore relationship- and trust-based approaches to investing, including shifting power, personal anti-oppression work, and centering values in our financial work. We'll draw on the practices and tools developed by Be Invested, Regenerative Finance, and the Buen Vivir Fund to support participants in taking deeper shared risks while they're becoming invested in the next economy.

Over the last 30 years, the Fair Trade movement, which was originally conceived of as a radical form of empowering those most marginalized in international supply chains, has been “greenwashed” and watered down. Fortunately, there are dedicated and innovative leaders in this field working to (re)establish authentic and liberatory forms of transnational trade. Come hear about some exciting models and learn how you can get involved.