Shopping local and using cash are a great start to building a thriving community, but what if we could localize every slice of the pie? What if we could create a physical and online marketplace for direct trade/barter in our community?
This amazing project is one we can all participate in, and have a blast as we do it!
When we draw a circle on a map around two beautiful bridges and the municipalities on both sides of the river that surround them, we find approximately 25,000 souls and 9,000 households consuming $618,000,000 in resources (products and services) annually.
If we developed a clear view of all the local folks who are enterprising to produce what we are consuming, we’d be amazed to realize that almost everything we needed was here all along.
Community Building Through Food
The Two Bridges Community Gardens project is our first step toward localization of food. We aim to encourage everyone to grow their own food (no matter how small a scale) and facilitate knowledge sharing, preserving and preparing, and even dinner gatherings for food surpluses and community connection.
The next step toward localizing every pie slice is to collaborate on projects and enterprises that locally deliver that slice, and every slice, to our community.
Organizing the Local Marketplace
It will take ALL-HANDS to organize the peer-to-peer marketplace that we envision. We can change our community – and the world! – by creating a system for local artisans, crafts people, service providers, educators, farmers, and more to trade directly on an ongoing basis. We’re currently seeking spaces to serve as a Two Bridges HQ, a maker space, and a gathering place.