Loconomy - Local economies nonprofit launch

[Ashley Colby]

Hello,

I am writing to announce the launch of my new nonprofit organization The Rizoma Foundation, sponsored by the Millenium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere at Stanford University. 

I especially want to ask you, my community of environmental scholars, to get involved in one of our priority projects Loconomy (loconomy.org). The goal of Loconomy is no less than re-invigorating local economies first in the United States and then around the world. For example, all formal local food sales in the United States accounts for only about 0.1% of all sales. We have a long way to go to develop our local foodsheds, which helps to decrease transport costs, encourages seasonal diets, lowers carbon footprint in both production and consumption of food, and helps to keep economic growth within the community.

But, we are taking baby steps. Our first goal is to build out the capacity of local food producers to discover customers and for us to facilitate easy transactions. 

I am asking you to collaborate in developing an army of citizen scientists we're calling Loconomy Ambassadors (sign up is here). 

I would appreciate it if you could forward this email to groups you know working in local food, local economies, sustainable food systems? Further, I am hoping to collaborate with researchers who teach classes in the social sciences who may want to use this as a project for a research methods class, or to a graduate level student seeking a research project. The goal is to use sound research methods to understand what is happening on the ground, across the United States in terms of production and consumption of local foods, and then to use information provided by producers and consumers to develop tools that will be helpful in advancing local economies.

Please contact me directly with questions: ash...@loconomy.org

Warmly,

Ashley

Ashley Colby Fitzgerald

ash...@rizomafieldschool.com

PhD, Environmental Sociology

Executive Director Rizoma Foundation

Co-founder Rizoma Field School

Colonia, Uruguay

My book: Subsistence Agriculture in the US

Twitter @RizomaSchool @RizomaFound

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