In a 2008 interview, activist and Philadelphia restaurateur Judy Wicks described a local living economy as one “in which basic needs are produced close to home in ways that are sustainable and don’t harm the environment.” Creating this requires across-the-board cooperation, she said, because “there’s no such thing as a stand-alone sustainable business; it must be part of a sustainable system. Individuals, or individual businesses, can’t provide for all our basic needs by themselves. We can still have a global economy but it will be a network of thousands of sustainable local economies that trade in products that improve our quality of life.”
What happens if we start taking risks and investing in our local manufacturers? Investing in local food producers? In local restaurants? Providing incentives for locally-owned renewable energy companies? Creating tax benefits for businesses that are incorporating people, the planet and profits into their bottom line?
Locally-owned independent businesses are the backbone of our economy—they create higher-paying jobs, provide better employee benefits and help keep money in our community. The practice of investing in local manufacturing, green industries, food production and local agriculture is the basis of a local living economy and it’s our locally owned businesses and emerging entrepreneurs that will fuel the economy, starting in our own backyards.
In Santa Fe, business and energy cooperatives are sprouting up, food producers are talking to restaurant owners, farmers are forming relationships with chefs and solar companies are looking at how they might manufacture products locally. Green jobs are the new jobs. Innovation in new technology is helping farmers reduce their costs through renewable energy projects.
Schools all over New Mexico are offering training in the green trades in order to further the future of our green economy.
In 2007, when I first heard Van Jones speak about green jobs and about lifting our neglected communities out of poverty through a green economy, I crossed my fingers, hoping that the Bush administration was listening. But then things exploded so that, by 2008, the movement had definitely gained such a momentum that now we have a “green” President who is planting a victory garden at the White House.
When I began this work in 2006, we focused on Buy Local campaigns. Green jobs and triple-bottom-line business practices addressing people, planet and profit were barely a glimmer in our collective eye. Now Santa Fe has become a leader in the national movement toward a local living economy. Our local independent businesses are still struggling, don’t get me wrong, but this community cares about its own. Our focus at Santa Fe Alliance is on taking care of the water that all fish swim in, not just feeding the fish.
Vicki Pozzebon is executive director of the Santa Fe Alliance. Call 505-989-5362 or email info@santafealliance.com.
