Mutual Aid

As market economies become more expensive and predatory, Stephanie Rearick is showing that it’s entirely possible to meet people’s needs effectively through care and cooperation, through a kind of alternative social economy.

For a sliding scale fee, members of the cooperatively-run library have access to a catalogue of about 1,630 items that have been amassed over the past four or so years through donations.

In Ghana, a centuries-old financial system called Susu provides an example of effective bottom-up development that contributes meaningfully to reducing poverty and economic inequality.

Inspired by Shareable’s coverage of the sharing economy, Bibliothèque D’Objets De Montreuil, also known as La BOM, opened its doors as a “Library of Things” in April 2022 in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil. 

Since its inception, Sarvodaya has grown to include more than 15,000 villages and has energized these communities to build more than 5,000 preschools, community health centers, libraries, and cottage industries. It has also established thousands of village banks and more than 100,000 small businesses — all without any government support.

Canadian members of the African diaspora make use of traditional forms of group savings, known as susu, to overcome financial and cultural exclusion in the mainstream system. 

Ebony Gustave interviews Florencio Esquivel of Understory restaurant

Marina Sitrin discusses the concept and practice of "horizontalism" in Argentina.

How food several Dallas food justice organizations joined together to bring healthy food to the city's several food deserts.

We discuss the origins and development of the credit union movement, the unique role of Community Development Credit Unions, and how these member-owned financial co-ops grow community wealth, support economic development, and build resilient local economies.