THIS Is How To Support Evolving And Emerging Economies!

I founded The Cowry Collective five years ago out of the strong desire to feel limitlessly abundant even when I was feeling the pinch of living a full life while being a new, working mother. I continue the work today - spreading the message of capitalizing on our human currency so we can ALL experience a high quality of life. This is my piece of seeking (economic) justice. I believe in timebanking and I need YOUR support to attend a priceless experience - a Jam! Read below, spread the word and support how you can! With Gratitude, Chinyere I am excited to announce that I have been accepted to attend the Evolving & Emerging Economies Jam and Bioneers National Conference in the Bay Area October 13 - 18, 2015. The Jam is a gathering for three different levels of change: the internal (self), the interpersonal (relationships) and the systemic (the whole). It is NOT a conference, seminar or typical meeting....it is a place for participants to share and reflect on their journeys ...participants come together to share our cultures, our stories, our struggles, to deepen in our understanding of each other and ourselves...we become clearer about our vision and work in the world. The Bioneers Conference is a gathering of over 500 leaders, activists, doers and movers-shakers in the fields of ecology, economy, education, arts, and culture. I am truly humbled and elated to have been chosen to be a part of this experience. Between September 1 and October 1, 2015 I aim to raise $2500 to cover  travel expenses and tuition to attend the EEE Jam.  Your tax-deductible contribution of $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 or more will  be used to strengthen the breadth and reach of The Cowry Collective.  At the Jam I'll make priceless and timely connections while highlighting the great  work we are doing here in St. Louis in a restorative setting. Alternatively,  checks may be made out to The Cowry Collective and mailed to  P.O. Box 18711 / St. Louis, MO 63118.  Please reference ‘EEE Jam.’  Thank you for your consideration and support! I will return to St. Louis  re-energized to continue to build the infrastructure of a timebank I founded  5 years ago!  Read more about the cooperative economic connections I am  forging between St. Louis and the Bay Area!

The Cowry Collective Works For The MAN!

The Cowry Collective will travel with other Solidarity Economy St. Louis comrades to Madison Wisconsin this week to take part in the MAN Up Summit and solidify plans for our pilot site launch in St. Louis.  This article was posted originally at Shareable where you can read more from Stephanie Rearick.

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The move to a new economy is underway, whether we like it or not. The many cracks widening in latter-day capitalism are creating new pressures and opportunities for people to do things differently. The real question is whether we patch over those cracks with more of the same, or nurture the seedlings for a more beautiful world that are sprouting up and breaking through.

The amount of work we need to do to solve our social problems, take care of everyone who needs it (all of us), redesign our systems for sustainability, and restore built and natural environments, is vast. But we often have little to no ability to make a living doing this essential work.

Now we're launching a way to change that! Mutual Aid Networks are a new type of cooperative, designed to connect us in a network of mutual support that creates means for us to do exactly what we want to do with our lives, from solving hard problems to taking care of loved ones and neighbors to making art. To launch this effort we will host a MAN Up Summit in Madison Wisconsin August 20-28.

First, we have MAN pilot sites lined up in 16 locations, mostly around the US (including Detroit and St. Louis) but also in UK, Sweden, and France. With interest in Zambia and other farther-flung locations. We are connected to timebanks, transition towns, permaculture practitioners, restorative justice activists, health and wellness projects, and solidarity economy activists. I’m personally most excited by our collaborations with activists against police brutality and the prison industrial complex.

And many of these folks are coming to Madison! This summit will provide opportunities for in-depth exploration, learning, working, and getting to know each other, a rare and valuable treat.

If you can't be here in person you can join some of the activities online, and you're more than welcome to join the Main MAN – the umbrella Mutual Aid Network that connects all of the pilot sites and supporters of the new economy. And you'll see the fruits of the summit as all the pilot sites come online and start sharing their work and learning.

We need all the help we can get raising funds to put on this amazing event! Please contribute and share our crowdfunding site: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mutual-aid-network

Funds go to pay for travel for our out-of-town trainers and co-creators, plus space and food for gatherings.