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ALBUQUERQUE

Nov.3, 11:30 am -1 pm

Monthly Luncheon – U.S. Green Building Council – NM

MCM Elegante, 2020 Menaul NE

Protecting Our Water with Low Impact Development. Counts as LEED CEU credit. Open to the public. Fees: $25 members, $30 non-members, $18 EP members. http://www.usgbcnm.org

Nov. 6, 5-8 pm

NM Tribal Libraries Fashion Show Fundraiser

Isleta Hard Rock Hotel & Casino,11000 Broadway SE

3rd Annual event. Silent auction: 5 pm; Dinner: 6 pm; Waterlily Fashion Show: 7pm; To RSVP, call 505.362.6463

Nov. 6-7, 8 am-5 pm

PV Design and Installation Class

Yale Blvd., So. of Lead and Coal Aves.

Hands-on rooftop instruction and application. Instructors Marlene Brown of Sandia Solar Programs and Chris Ellis of Positive Energy. Fee: $700. Presented by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Institute. Call 505.554.2641 or visit aseinstitute.org for more info.

Nov. 8-11

National Community Land Trust Conference

Sawmill Community Land Trust

The largest gathering of Community Land Trusts in the country. Learn and share experiences with practitioners, board members, residents, partners and others. Core courses in the CLT Academy curriculum; seminars such as the new model ground lease, homeowner engagement, tribal land ownership, the London CLT, fair housing. Hands-on green rehab practicum. Release party for The Community Land Trust Reader, in collaboration with the Lincoln Institute. Bus tour to Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo to learn about innovative approaches to housing development on tribal lands. Registration is now open. Contact Greg Rosenberg: greg@cltnetwork.org. For more info, go to www.cltnetwork.org to download the conference brochure.

Nov. 10, 8:30-noon

Quivira Pre-Conference Workshop

“Bringing Life Back to Your Land: moisture, microbes, and climate change” Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions, Inc. and Doug Weatherbee, Soil Doctor. 505.820.2544 or visit www.quiviracoalition.org

November 10-12

Quivira Coalition’s 9th Annual Conference

The Carbon Ranch: Using Food and Stewardship To Build Soil and Fight Climate Change. “Carbon pioneers” will speak about how to reduce the atmospheric content of CO2 while producing substantial co-benefits for all living things, including local food production, improved ecosystem services, restored wildlife habitat and rural economic development. Free opening night presentation by Dr. David Montgomery on Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. For complete details and to make online reservations, call 505.820.2544, e-mail Catherine Baca: cbaca@quiviracoalition.org or visit www.quiviracoalition.org.

Nov. 13, 11 am-12:30 pm

Sustainable Energy & Building Talk

SW Green Building Center, 5620-L Venice Ave. NE

Jane Whitmire, Residential Energy/HERS Rater/Green verifier will speak and answer questions about common energy wasters and ways to reduce heating bills. 505.821.6259

Nov. 13 noon-3 pm

Peacecraft Benefit Silent Auction

3215 Central Ave., NE

Albuquerque’s only Fair Trade store. Twenty-one years of serving the greater NM community. Featuring beautiful textiles and the permanent collection of beautiful, unusual global artifacts. Refreshments. Call 505.255. 5229 or e-mail: sharon@peacecraft.org

November 13 • 7 pm

El Otro Lado: The Other Side

National Hispanic Cultural Center

The Academy for the Love of Learning, with partners 516 ARTS and the Natl. Hispanic Cultural Center, present a community storytelling event and exhibit opening for El Otro Lado: The Other Side – Albuquerque, a collaborative, interdisciplinary art project led by artist Chrissie Orr, Academy faculty, and writer Michelle Otero. The event will be emceed by Michelle Otero, and features project participants and NM poets. Free to the public. For more info, contact Chrissie Orr: chrissie@aloveoflearning.org, www.nhccnm.org

Nov. 15-21

Inter-American Conference

The Inter-American Foundation an independent agency of  the U.S. government, has put together this conference featuring five IAF grantee organizations from Bolivia, Mexico, Panama and Peru. The IAF works to improve the quality of life for regions by developing sustainable tourism and economic development programs that involve culture. The conference will include demonstrations, panels, performances and workshops by the visiting groups. The events are open to the public at no cost. For more info, contact Robin Zimberoff at 505.768.7209 or rzimberoff@rodey.com.

Nov. 16, 1-3 pm

Community Forum on Biofuels Standards

NMSU Albuquerque Center Auditorium, 4501 Indian School

Join USDA Officials and help shape America’s Biofuels Roadmap to meet Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022. USDA needs input and feedback on interim plan. Review the plan at http://tinyurl.com/USDABiofuels; RSVP to Maria Zannes, Southwestern Biofuels Assn., 505.400.9747 or mariazannes@hotmail.com

Dec. 2-3

Sustainability Reporting Training

Hotel Andaluz

In partnership with the ISOS Group, Concept Green hosts a Global Reporting Initiative Certification course through group exercises, lectures, group critiques and individual homework assignments for sustainability professionals, watch groups and sustainability students. Call 505.414.9313

Jan 13, 8:30 am – 4 pm

NM Water Dialogue

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

Registration is now open for this event. The focus will be “Economic Stress: Hard Times for Water Planning and Management?” Speakers will discuss market-based transfers of water rights and how planning changes during a time of both scarce finances and water resources. Lunch is catered by the IPCC. Register online at http://www.nmwaterdialogue.org. Fees reduced for early registrants and Dialogue members. The Dialogue is a nonprofit with a diverse statewide board and seeks to foster communication and education about NM water issues.

Albuquerque Backyard Farms Collaborative

A group of organizers who lead gardening and farming education organizations are coordinating efforts in teaching how to grow and eat healthy foods and herbs, and live a more sustainable lifestyle. Groups include: The Gardeners Guild, Mother Nature Gardens, Mid Region Council on Governments, Sunstone Herbs, Albuquerque Backyard Farms, The Source, Girls Gone Green, Transition Towns NM, UNM Sustainability Studies, San Jose Elementary School Gardens, Zia Elementary School Community Garden, and the Albuquerque Chicken Coop Tour. For more info, visit www.abqbackyardfarms.com/ABQ_Collaborative.html

2012 Edible Albuquerque Gardens Registry

See what people are doing in ABQ. An “edible garden” is any place you grow food near where you live – from growing on your terrace – to having a full-scale frontyard or backyard farm. E-mail: info@abqbackyardfarms.com or visit http://.2012abqgardens.ning.com

Beneficial Farms CSA

Now accepting members in Albuquerque. Weekly distribution at La Montanita Coop Warehouse, 3361 Columbia Dr. NE. Beneficial Farms CSA works with up to 40 regional farms each year, and offers abundant, affordable shares of fresh fruit and vegetables and other local and regionally produced foods year round. All produce is grown with sustainable chemical free methods.

SANTA FE

Nov. 3, 5-8 pm

Develop Planning Skills, Set Goals and Define Strategies

Santa Fe Business Incubator, 3900 Paseo del Sol

Workshop led by Bette Bradbury, WESST Director of Training and No. NM Regional Manager; Fee: $25. Contact Roseanna: 474.6556 or rperea@wesst.org

Nov. 4 Registration

Workshop – Nov. 6, 9 am-3:30 pm

Wetland Restoration Training

Eldorado Community Preserve

This is your chance to learn land restoration firsthand from the innovative experienced agro-ecologist Craig Sponholtz. Craig will provide training to implement the same locally-appropriate, ecological restoration techniques EWI uses for the healing of wetlands and streams throughout Santa Fe County. 505.982.9806, www.earthworksinstitute.org

Nov. 5, 3-6 pm

IAIA Open House

IAIA Campus, 83 Avan Nu Po Rd.

Visit the Institute of American Indian Arts to see their new digital dome (the only one of its kind in the country), classroom demos that highlight their unique facilities, a special screening of award-winning Native films, “Art in the Raw” uncensored student exhibit and more. Also, see six amazing exhibits at IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (open until 7 pm) downtown. Free. More info: 424.2351

Nov. 6, 10 am-4 pm

The Natural Kitchen

Near Cerrillos

Deborah Eden Tull from Creative Green will present this workshop in association with the release of her new book, The Natural Kitchen: Your Guide to the Sustainable Food Revolution. Explore the relationship between our health and the planet’s health in the kitchen. $50 to $65 sliding scale. Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center. 505.780.0535, www.ampersandproject.org

Nov. 6, 1-2 pm

Green Building & Sustainable Development Radio

KTRC, 1260AM

Faren Dancer will host SF County Commissioner Kathy Holian to discuss the upcoming SF County Land Use Plan. Also, NM State Rep. Brian Egolf on the election and outlook for the upcoming session.

Through Nov. 7

Public Review of Transportation Improvement Program

The SF Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has released a proposed amendment to the TIP FY2010-2013. The board will hold a public hearing before taking action at their November 17 meeting. The amendment is available for review on the MPO website: www.santafempo.org.

Nov. 9, 16

SFCC Continuing Education Classes

Nov. 9: Water Harvesting, Nov. 16: A Guide to Successful Building; Non-credit classes taught by Dan Clavio of Architects, Designers & Contractors Network, along with experts in each topic. 3-hour classes are designed for people preparing to build or renovate a home or commercial building. For info, contact SFCC at www.sfccnm.edu or 505.428.1676, or ADC Network at www.adcnetwork.org/classes.html or 505.474.8388.

Nov. 9, 6 pm

Public Hearing on Revised Sustainable Growth Management Plan

SF County Commission Chambers, Grant Ave.

Board of County Commissioners meeting. See revised final draft at www.santafecounty.org. For more info, contact Planning Manager, Robert Griego: 505.986.6215 or e-mail rgriego@santafecounty.org.

Through Nov. 14, 10 am-5 pm (Tues.-Sat.)

Waste/Not

Community Gallery (SF Convention Center)

An exhibit of art created from recycled materials. 50% of all artist materials were destined for a landfill. Presented by the SF Arts Commission in collaboration with the Solid Waste Department and the Recycle Santa Fe Arts Festival. Info: 505.955.6705

November 12-14

Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival

El Museo Cultural

Eco-conscious art market, juried art event, student art show, trash fashion & costume contest (Nov. 12, 7 pm). Art market coordinator Sarah Pierpont: 505.603.0558, skpierpont@yahoo.com. More info: www.recyclesantafe.org

Nov. 13

Congreso de las Acequias

Santa Fe County Fair Building

The NM Acequia Association’s annual meeting. The Congreso is the governing body of the NMAA. The meeting is held to pass resolutions that guide the strategic direction of the NMAA, and to elect the eleven-member Concilio. For more info, contact NMAA at 505.995.9644

November 14, 3-5:30 pm

“Celebrating Our Community” EWI Fundraising Event

Joe’s Diner: 2801 Rodeo Rd.

Join Earth Works Institute in celebrating their community of donors and partners. Find out how you can become one and meet the wider EWI community. Hear about how EWI restores the earth and creates jobs. Learn how you can take action in the new environmental economy. Registration and Fee: Donations in the amount of your choice. To RSVP, call 982-9806 or e-mail: irene@earthworksinstitute.org. More info: www.earthworksinstitute.org

Nov. 20

Flash Flood for a Living River

Santa Fe River

3,000 people carrying blue painted recycled cardboard will position themselves along the dry riverbed for a design to be documented from space by satellite. Organized by the SF Art Institute in coordination with 350.org, the event is part of a global campaign to raise awareness of the human impacts on climate change. The “Flash Flood” will be projected alongside 19 other global aerial designs as part of the Cancun Climate Change Summit Nov. 29 to Dec. 10. For more info, contact mchilds@sfai.org or 424.5050.

Nov. 20, 9-11 am

Santa Fe River Cleanup

Meet at Closson Footbridge. Wear long pants, bring water, work gloves. Organized by the SF Watershed Assn. Call or e-mail Greg Lower 699.6893, glower@lanl.gov

Nov. 26, 5-7 pm

Art for Animals Benefit

Hahn Ross Gallery, 409 Canyon Rd.

Benefit for Espanola Valley Humane Society; Exhibition of new works by Elizabeth Hahn, Lynne Loshbaugh, Joel Nakamura, Fran Nicholson and David Phelps. Food, door prizes. Call 984-8434 or 930.1450.

Dec. 1 Application Deadline

Master Gardener and Community Volunteer Training

16-week training begins February 7 or 8 (eve. or day classes). Learn about soils, plant selection, pest management, water conservation and more from NMSU educators and local experts. The mission of the Santa Fe Master Gardener Association is to teach and promote locally sustainable gardening practices. Cost: $175. For more info and an application, call 471.4711 or visit www.sfmga.org

Dec. 18, 10:30 am-12 pm

Storyteller Sunny Dooley (Diné)

New Mexico History Museum exhibition space. Free. www.nmhistorymuseum.org

Santa Fe Creative Tourism Initiatives

Artists and craftsmen who offer workshops and classes within SF County are invited to list their offerings with Santa Fe Creative Tourism at www.SantaFeCreativeTourism.org. See “Get Involved” tab to list. This service is free and provided by the city of SF Arts Commission.

Public Comments on Buckman Direct Diversion Review Draft Invited

Copies of the Draft Independent Peer Review Technical Report, which describes the evaluation of the potential health risks to Santa Fe residents from future tapwater use of the Rio Grande can be obtained on the websites www.bddproject.org and www.chemrisk.com. A Draft Community Summary and a Draft Executive Summary will also be available for review and comment. These are both shortened versions of the Draft Technical Report. Comments for the ChemRisk IPR team should be directed to Matthew H. Le, M.P.H. at MLe@chemrisk.com.

A third public meeting will be held on Dec. 7 from 6–8 pm at the SF Convention Center to present the final BDD IPR reports and the responses to comments received.

TAOS

November through February

Earthship Intern Program

Winter learning opportunities: month-long sessions. Participants work up to 5 days a week on Earthship projects. Those who complete a month will earn a certificate to attend a future Earthship Seminar (a $450 value). This opportunity is open to those who would like to live in an Earthship on site while learning. For dates for each session and an email application, contact Kirsten Jacobsen, Education Director, Earthship Biotecture: 575.751.0462, kirsten@earthship.com

HERE & THERE

Nov. 5-6

Traditional Agriculture & Sustainable Living Conference

Northern NM College Auditorium, Espanola

Keynote speakers, Winona LaDuke, White Earth Land Recovery Project; Oscar Olivera, Water rights activist, Cochabamba, Bolivia; Chaz Wheelock, Oneida Nation; Arty Mangan, Dreaming NM. Workshops, seed exchange Labyrinth walk, vendors. For more info, visit www.foodandseedconference.info or call 505.747.8148 or e-mail: fourbridges@live.com

Nov. 6, 9 am-2 pm

Free Water Clinic

McCurdy School, Espanola

If you live in the Espanola Valley, test your water well now! Free basic testing for private well owners. Free information on recently discovered health risks in Espanola area groundwater. Uranium and arsenic combo test: $45. Bring one quart of water in a clean container. Sponsored by the Community Education Division and Good Water Company. For info, call 505.471.9036

Nov. 6-7

Dixon Studio Tour

Studios & workshops around village of Dixon

Wander among the orchards and visit the 30+ open studios featuring a full spectrum of contemporary and traditional fine art and crafts. Info: www.dixonarts.org

Nov. 14, Dec. 5, 1-4 pm

Camino de Paz School & Farm Open House

Santa Cruz (near Espanola)

Grades 6-8, individualized learning based on Montessori principles. 505.747.9717, patricia@caminodepaz.net, www.caminodepaz.net

Nov. 25, 8 am

NM Agriculture Documentary on KUNM-FM

Examines changes in NM farming and implications for the economy, culture and identity of the region. Hear the voices of farmers, farmworkers, researchers, state ag officials and others.

Dec. 2 Postmark Deadline

Aldo Leopold Writing Contest

Open to students in grades 6-12 in NM. $2,500 in prizes; Tell the story of a local land ethic leader and reveal understanding of Leopold’s land ethic. Winning essays will be read at the national premier of “Green Fire,” a feature length documentary film about Aldo Leopold on February 5, 2011 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. For more contest details and an entry form, visit www.LeopoldCelebration.org.

Dec. 22: Application Due

USDA Rural Community Development Initiative – $6.3 million

Eligible Entities: State governments, local governments, Indian tribes, non-profit organizations, and others. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture requests proposals for the Rural Community Development Initiative. RCDI supports organization capacity and ability to undertake projects related to housing, community facilities, or community and economic development in rural area. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to programs that support micro-enterprise and sustainable development, and programs to assist recipients in completing pre-development requirements for housing, community facilities, or community and economic development projects by providing resources for professional services, e.g., architectural, engineering, or legal. For more info, including state contacts, go to: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=58143.

Gifts from the Source

Visit Rio Grande Return’s online store to order gift packages with products from local farmers and producers. Each gift is in turn a gift back to the source – The Rio Grande. Conservation donations go towards spring and watershed restoration projects at Zia Pueblo and Hamaatsa. Info: www.riograndereturn.com

Veterans Green Jobs Academy

Northern NM College, Espanola

Workforce training and specific degree programs to support military veterans in fully accredited academic certificate and degree programs in areas of environmental science related to renewable energy, hazardous materials response, forestry, sustainable agriculture, wildland fire science, construction trades and others. A partnership with the NM Dept. of Veterans Services. For more info, call Dr. Biggs at 505.747.5453 or visit www.nnmc.edu/vetacademy.htm.

Community Land Trust Forming

For those seeking a truly affordable home, stability and self-sufficiency, the Community Land Trust model provides an alternative to landlessness and its accompanying ills. We are forming a rural, self-sustaining, Community Land Trust in northern NM and seek donations of land/funds, or founding members who can invest at least $10,000. To learn more about CLTs, read Kidnapped by the House, a 6-part series in Green Fire Times beginning in April 2010 at www.greenfiretimes.com or call Rebekah at 505.424.9475.

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As I write this, I’m also thinking about the Alliance’s Local Guide, which hits the streets in late November. As I edit the Local Guide, and in collaboration with GFT editor Seth Roffman, review articles for the GFT November edition, I’m overwhelmed, AGAIN, at the community partnerships and support that help keep the Alliance going year after year. Our members are amazing business owners in this community, and our community partners are working daily on issues of climate change, business development, food and finance, renewable energy, water conservation, sustainable business planning . . . the list goes on and on.

The support of our locally owned media helps the Santa Fe Alliance stay strong by getting our message out. THANK YOU, Green Fire Times team, for helping spread the word and work of the Santa Fe Alliance, and for your ongoing efforts to cover these interrelated issues, which are essential to a local living economy.

Vicki Pozzebon

Executive Director, Santa Fe Alliance

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As part of the package, which includes installation, Schott Solar will provide eight PV panels with four Enphase Microinverters and a UNIRAC roof-mounting system. Consolidated Solar will also provide engineering drawings and necessary permit applications along with assistance in applying for federal and state tax credits. “We are delighted to be able to help our local chapter of USGBC,” said Mike Mattioli of CST. “We’re willing to install this system anywhere in NM and it will be fully coordinated with the local electric utility.”

Raffle tickets are $25 each or five for $100. They are available through the USGBC-NM website (www.usgbcnm.org) or may be purchased by sending a check, payable to USGBC-NM, P.O. Box 25771, Albuquerque, NM 87125. The drawing will be held at the chapter’s annual Green Tie event on December 9. Additional prizes include Energy Star appliances.

“This is an amazing opportunity to win a substantial prize for a small investment,” says Julie Walleisa, chair of USGBC-NM. “This residential solar system will generate clean energy and reduce utility bills for the winner. It will also help raise awareness about the potential of residential solar power systems in NM.”

USGBC-NM and its members are dedicated to transforming the built environment through education, collaboration and outreach. The organization promotes environmentally responsible practices that are economically and socially beneficial to communities statewide. Membership is comprised of a cross-section of the entire design and construction industries – from building material suppliers to contractors and architects. Other members represent energy providers, solar companies, xeriscape firms, water conservation experts and consumers.

USGBC chapters provide workshops, monthly presentations and exam prep for individuals interested in securing their LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accreditation. Additionally, the NM chapter organizes a lecture series and the annual statewide GreenBuilt home tour for the public.

“Despite these difficult economic times, green building continues to expand locally and nationally,” says Walleisa. “Homes and commercial buildings are being sustainably built or remodeled. The number of projects seeking LEED certification has grown and every new project brings increasing awareness to the people that live, work and learn in these green buildings.”

For more information, visit www.usgbcnm.org or call 505.227.0474.

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In Strategies for the New Green Economy, Joel Makower offers insights and inspiration gleaned from his 20 years of experience helping Fortune 500 companies and start-ups alike formulate strategies that align environmental and business goals. Providing a comprehensive and realistic look at both the opportunities and challenges, Makower shows how leadership companies have profitably integrated green thinking into their operations in ways that create value for their shareholders, employees, customers, and communities. This sometimes takes re-imagining not only products and processes, but also the companies themselves.

Strategies systematically tackles the central issues of greening a business:

What does it take to be seen as an environmental leader?

What are the standards, implicit or explicit, that you must meet to be green?

How do you communicate what your business is doing right – and what it’s doing wrong?

How can you overcome consumer, media, and activist distrust?

How can your company be heard amid the green noise in the marketplace?

What are the new opportunities emerging for companies in the green economy?

Also discussed are the dangers of “greenwashing,” a term levied on companies viewed as disingenuous in creating a green image.

Makower is author of more than 20 books, including Beyond the Bottom Line: Putting Social Responsibility to Work for your Business and the World, one of the first business books on corporate social responsibility, published in 1994 and still used in business schools. His new book will strengthen a company’s ability to develop a winning sustainability strategy.

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We all know that the infrastructure of local food systems has been decimated over the past few generations. A few thousand of us, coming together under the banner of Slow Money, have begun working together to generate new sources of capital for the repair and restoration of some of what has been lost.

It’s going to take billions of dollars. Venture capital isn’t enough because the vast majority of small food enterprises don’t have the kind of proprietary technologies or scalability that venture capitalists require. Philanthropy isn’t enough because we are talking about farms and processing plants and distribution businesses and restaurants and seed companies and niche organic brands—all of which need investment capital, not grants. Government programs aren’t enough, because if we are going to build durable solutions to the shortcomings of industrial agriculture, they are going to be built one company and one investor at a time, at the local level, succeeding on the strength of real relationships between people in the places where they live.

How is Slow Money going about it?

We are building national and regional networks of investors, entrepreneurs and farmers. We are developing new financial products and services that will connect investors to their local food systems, enabling small and large investors alike, to support small food enterprises in their regions.

And we are stirring up a new national conversation about the relationship between money and the soil. Money and the soil? Yes. It turns out that more folks than you’d think are ready for this conversation. “The innate value of this kind of investing is so obvious to me,” stated a woman in Ashland, OR during a Slow Money discussion, “that I don’t care how much money I make.” What she went on to explain is that the benefits to her and to her community—more organic farms, more organic food available locally, a more robust local economy—were so obvious to her that she didn’t need to wait for a group of experts to come around and put it into numbers.

This is simple stuff. And it is radical stuff. Radical in the truest sense of the word. In the root sense.

At Slow Money’s second national gathering in Shelburne Farms, VT last June, 600 people from more than 30 states and several foreign countries came together to hear presentations from 26 small food enterprises and thought leaders including Bill McKibben, Joel Salatin, Eliot Coleman and Gary Hirshberg. A number of processing companies participated, including Vermont Smoke & Cure, Green Mountain Creamery, Snowville Creamery and Modular Food Systems. Overall, more than $1 million had been committed to seven of the presenting companies by mid-September, with more expected. This is just one indicator of the momentum that is building. Another is that in Austin, Seattle, Boston, Madison, Pittsboro, Boulder, Maine and elsewhere, local Slow Money initiatives are emerging.

It’s quite a sausage we’re in the process of making. Part inspiration, part activism, part new-kind-of-financial-prudence. After all, in a world of 1,000-point drops in the Dow in 20 minutes (remember that?) and ultra-fast trading and sovereign nation defaults, a world of GMOs and derivatives and GPS-driven tractors, and farmers who haven’t seen an earthworm on their land in decades, a world in which melamine and salmonella and E. coli are ready to hitchhike into our food from just about anywhere on the planet; what is more prudent than the idea of a million people investing 1% of their money in local food systems within a decade?

This is what we’re up to at Slow Money.

If Thursday at the gathering was a day for inspiration, Friday was a day for perspiration, putting theory into practice. Some of the small food enterprises from around the country were fairly large and had very polished presentations, as expected at investment showcases like this. But many of them were farmers: self-confessed dairy nerds and beef braggarts, feed fanatics and orchard owners, looking not to take over the world or promise lucrative exit strategies, but only to preserve the land and spread the message. One trend was seen in several businesses that aim to bring organic food production to the food deserts of cities. City Fresh Foods, for example, is a Boston-based company that works with underserved communities, bringing organic food to schools, elder facilities and daycare centers in inner-city neighborhoods. Even more inspiring, they are buying up inner-city vacant land, bringing in topsoil, and turning it into farmland.

Jerry Cunningham, a farmer from Austin, Texas, was typical of many presenters in being an atypical entrepreneur. “I’m a farmer growing pasture-raised chicken eggs and grassfed beef,” he says, “and my passion is healthy soil.” He started his business when the CEO of Whole Foods—a personal friend—asked him to produce pastured organic eggs for the stores. “So I started making my plans,” he said, “and I saw that I was going to have to get my feed from Pennsylvania or Virginia or someplace like that, and I decided to make a little feed mill to feed my own chickens. I didn’t have any employees; I just ran it by myself. It’s like the Field of Dreams: build it and they will come. People started to ask me to grind feed for them, and then more and more and more. We’ve grown exponentially over the past few years. It’s just beautiful: people come and say, ‘Thank you for being here.’”

Cunningham says that he had investment offers from four very large investors, “but the one that was most eye opening for me was this one middle-aged woman from Vermont who was obviously a farmer and didn’t have a lot of money of her own. She said, ‘what’s your minimum investment? I’d just like to invest something in your feed mills.’ That’s the kind of people who were there: unselfish, caring people who want to change the way we feed America. It was the event of a lifetime! Amazing energy. I am still buzzing from it.”

One of the most impressive aspects of the gathering was the extraordinary range of people who attended, from extremely wealthy investors to farmers to students and every imaginable social stop in between. Barry Hollister, a lifestyle entrepreneur from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, said, “There was a brilliance to it, a brilliance of connectivity and collaboration and shared commitment to this powerful economic and cultural vision.”

Brian Byrnes, president of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, expressed the same idea: “There was a moment when I looked around the tent to see the wonderful old codgers who have been farming in Vermont for generations, sitting with young environmentalists and food entrepreneurs and New York investment types, all nodding in agreement with Bill McKibben, who said, ‘The only way to heal our increasingly broken world and communities is to come back together, to play together, think together, plan and act together.’ Wow. Talk about being the change we seek. It was a profoundly hopeful moment.”

Attendees also included experienced venture capitalists and investment advisors. Scott Collier, a venture capitalist from Austin, Texas observed: “This is a new way to start thinking about risk, return, and social impact. It is motivating people in powerful ways. A bunch of us are meeting every Friday to explore ways to do slow money investing in our region. Slow Money has already proven catalytic here and we are only at the beginning.”

Mary Carol Rose, an independent professional training and coaching expert from Maryland, said that she first heard about Slow Money when she heard Woody Tasch talking it about it on NPR. “I listen to National Public Radio all the time,” she says, “and there are lots of things that catch my attention, but he caught my attention so much that I pulled over to listen. So I got his book and I read it, and went to the site and called them up and asked if there was anything I could do to raise money and help them do what they’re doing. I just missed the gathering last year, so this year I went.”

Rose says that she started as an investment broker, and first became aware of socially responsible investing when her clients asked her to look into it for them. “The more things progressed,” she says, “the more I progressed, my business developed into something entirely different, where I talk to people about how they’re using money for exchange. The dialogue has an entirely different flavor. It brings people to a consciousness that makes them look at things differently, and I found without exception that people immediately start to pay more attention to the environment and how they spend their money and how they invest their money.”

“What I love with Slow Money and RSF Social Finance,” she says, “is that they are putting together investors and borrowers and creating community. It’s taking the best of what we had many years ago in terms of how we did business, and evolving it to an even better place, especially for smaller investors: people who have $1,000 to invest instead of $5 million.”

Those smaller investors were well represented during the final part of the event, which was devoted to hearing from members and reflecting on the lessons learned. It was a highly emotional outpouring. It seems everyone was touched by what they had heard and moved by being with so many like-minded folks. One woman stood up and explained that the people in her community had pooled their money to send her to the event, including paying her for the days of work she missed. And she was not alone in representing regular folks making sacrifices. Slow Money founder Woody Tasch ended the event by presenting a check he had been handed. Earlier in the gathering there had been a presentation by the CEO of 1% for the Planet, and Woody had suggested that Slow Money establish a Soil Trust on the same model, asking corporations and members to give 1 percent of their revenue to the organization. Now, at this final session, he held up a check for $250 from a woman who had written “1%” on the face of the check. Woody said the woman told him, “You can see how little I make: this is 1 percent of my income, and I’m giving it to the organization.”

In order to enhance food security, food safety and food access; improve nutrition and health; promote cultural, ecological and economic diversity; and accelerate the transition from an economy based on extraction and consumption to an economy based on preservation and restoration, we do hereby affirm the following Principles:

I. We must bring money back down to earth.

II. There is such a thing as money that is too fast, companies that are too big, finance that is too complex. Therefore, we must slow our money down — not all of it, of course, but enough to matter.

To sign the Slow Money Principles, visit http://bit.ly/SlowPrinciples

Woody Tasch is Founder and Chairman of Slow Money, a 501(c)3 non-profit formed in 2008 to catalyze the flow of investment capital to small food enterprises and to promote new principles of fiduciary responsibility to support sustainable agriculture and the emergence of a restorative economy. Tasch is Chairman Emeritus of Investors’ Circle, a nonprofit network of investors that has facilitated the flow of $130 million to 200 sustainability minded, early stage companies and venture funds. His new book “Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money” is available directly from the publisher Chelsea Green.

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When people my age were growing up, progressives had this mindset that everything important had to happen in the margins, not the mainstream. Whether you were thinking about artistic pursuits, politics, or what sorts of professions were offered – people just made that assumption, because so much of the industrial system was still in place. We need to get over that mindset, because so much of it is not marginal anymore. We are the workforce now, and there are plenty of chances to earn a living while doing the things you believe in. A local living economy organizes all of that. It’s a thoughtful people-centered economy that is rapidly becoming our mainstream economy. And there’s no other alternative out there once you realize that we can’t keep shoring up the industrial model.

Localization is not a crusade; it’s a significant evolution of our culture. It’s happening because people are working hard at it. I really think the Santa Fe Alliance is part of a movement that, looking back, won’t be seen as a movement. It will be seen as some huge inevitable turn in the course of our economy. The economy that’s out there isn’t something that inherently can be fair, it’s just not the economy we want, and it’s already falling apart. It’s just never going to make a stable economy for our region. I think the local living economy movement is one place where social justice concerns and environmentalism can come together. The local economy movement is bringing social considerations back into economic decisions.

Social Enterprise

The deal that we perfected in the 19th century was that you could make money on railroads or coal mines or any number of things that have hidden external costs, and then give back to society later by building a library or a museum. With the social enterprise model, we are slowing that process down to say “okay, let’s take some of the profits from every sale, every month, every year, and put it back into hidden environmental and social costs.” A social enterprise benefits society in the course of doing business, and in the way that it does business.

Of course, there are a lot of obstacles in changing this paradigm, and that’s why there’s an advocacy side of Santa Fe Alliance. The Alliance has pushed for a lot of “level-the-playing-field” types of things, like closing tax loopholes for out of state companies. Conventional business models are full of hidden costs, and there is a competitive advantage to keeping them hidden. When we make those costs visible, and make sure everyone has to pay to clean up after themselves, it opens the field to locally owned businesses, social enterprises, and green businesses. It can also lead to significant innovations – if you can find a way not to make the mess in the first place, the cost savings become a competitive advantage.

It takes a mix of regulation and consumer demand to make these changes happen. When people said that they didn’t want hormone disruptors in their plastic water bottles the whole industry transformed in less than twelve months. Consumer demand led the issue, starting with baby bottles. We don’t have a naïve public anymore. When people hear about these things, it spreads in so many different ways, because of social media. The push for supply chain transparency is a great example of the combination of consumer and regulatory pressure. People want to know where the product is from, and who made it, and certification standards are sprouting up to address this demand. Sometimes though, you get sad results when you ask people to vote with their dollars. They buy the cheapest thing that still makes them feel good about the issues on the table.

Localization versus Protectionism

It is easy it is to confuse localization with protectionism. Protectionism is part of an economy of scarcity. There’s a working assumption in most peoples’ model of capitalism that there’s not enough “stuff,” and that supply and demand is a natural mechanism that satisfies unlimited desires with limited resources. You can read that in most economics textbooks. The funny thing is that when you look at the actual mechanics of supply and demand, it turns out everybody always has to manipulate supply and demand because it doesn’t work organically. There’s been a lot written about manufacturing desire and the manipulation of desire. The scarcity model is based on the assumption that we have these insatiable desires. Manufacturing those desires is actually a huge industry that’s failing to keep up right now.

In Mexico, the birthplace of corn, importing U.S. GMO (genetically modified) corn is really pretty outrageous. I’m not even talking about the importing of corn seed, which is another dimension of that fight – just literally bushels of corn grown on industrial farms in Kansas being made into tamales way deep down into Mexico. It makes no sense. Protectionism is a stopgap response to these situations, but it leaves the underlying economic model intact.

The thing that makes the same product from somewhere else cheaper is, in most cases, a hidden environmental or social impact. We can keep making money in this 19th century way where we don’t consider any of the impacts, or we can gradually expose the hidden costs and build them into the business model. The competitive environment adjusts and everyone can still make money. That’s the local living economies model.

Our current economic paradigm is that people have desires, someone makes a product that satisfies that desire, and we do a cash transaction. I pay for my costs and take a profit. And there is nothing wrong with that model, necessarily. It’s just that it’s not how human beings really work; it doesn’t match an anthropologist’s view of what economic exchanges are really about.

What social enterprise takes into account is that all these economic decisions also actually mean something to people. There is a cultural and social dimension to it. The localization movement is a deeper look into “what does all this mean for me?”

Community Livelihood

Livelihood is actually the central concept for me in all of this. It’s being able to supply whatever needs your family has while at the same time having actual satisfaction in your work. Livelihood is everything that makes a more meaningful work experience for everyone in your community. One of the things the local living economy is pushing back against is the commodification of everything – the fact that everything is measured in dollars. If you switch away from the scarcity model and from the assumption that endless desires drive purchases, and from the assumption that you have to measure it in dollars for it to be part of our economy, then you rediscover a whole set of activities that people have always done for and with each other that have economic value. When you look at this from a community economic perspective, you can actually measure and visualize the benefits to the community’s collective livelihood. Measuring things helps us to be more strategic, and there are ways to measure our economy and our economic health in units other than dollars.

The local economy movement has made itself comfortable with the idea that some of these things are actually better to do outside of the dollar economy; that you get all kinds of positive network effects from letting things happen in a family circle, in a friends circle, in a local cooperative circle, rather than pushing things into the dollar economy. Offering a product or service with a dollar price tag on it is going to still be the majority of how people make their living. But there are big categories (childcare, entertainment, etc.) that are arguably better left to an informal economy. There should be a protective layer of informal economy around any given set of formal (dollar) activities. So in healthcare, for example, we need a layer of commonsense mutual care that kicks in before you have to go to the hospital. The irony is that the cost savings in U.S. dollars of even a modest social intervention in community health is tremendous.

Let’s look at local investing. People want to be able to measure risk, and it is harder for banks to assess the risks of local investments. As we move from an image of investing as a form of gambling to an image of investing as a form of community building, we discover new measures for risk. Community resilience is one of the strongest of these measures – does the investment increase stability and prosperity in the community? We’ve learned a lot from micro-finance about the impact of social factors on the success of investments. Its time to bring those lessons home to our own economies.

New Motivations

There are gross inequalities and injustices built into our current system, and people are inspired to correct them. How can we build a culture around the satisfaction that people get from being intimately involved – from having positions of responsibility in supplying basic community needs?

We are building an economy that is more efficient and more resilient, a system that considers long-term impacts, but that’s still a very functionalist way of looking at the world. If you want to live in a more magical and deeply personal world, then the exercise becomes how to bring meaning to each little part of our collective livelihood. And that in itself becomes a reason to change the system – and it’s actually a deeper motivation. There’s nothing wrong with the motivation of, “hey, let’s do this better.” But let’s also do it in a more meaningful way. Let’s do this in a way that can bring acknowledgment and social satisfaction to more of the people involved.

Every job does something to benefit the people around you. But most jobs aren’t set up to acknowledge the meaning of the work, especially basic jobs. If you drive a truck or maintain a power plant, you should be acknowledged as the person who brings food and energy to the community. We have to allow it to mean something socially. When the bakers get to come out of the back room and actually meet the people eating the bread, that’s what makes the job meaningful. We have to cultivate a layer of social-cultural “informal economy” activities around the core of livelihood activities. That’s where the satisfaction is, and that’s what creates the economic value.

Roy Wroth is the Board President of Santa Fe Alliance. He has worked in urbanism and community development in Santa Fe for 14 years, and is currently the Executive Director of Santa Fe Complex, an economic development organization that supports independent workers in science, technology and the arts.

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“Jewelry was once considered a talisman imbued with the energy of the earth, the maker and the divine,” notes the Reflective Images website, where quantum physics research that supports this notion is cited (www.celticjewelry.com). As founder and creative director of the jewelry line, Helen wanted the deep symbolism in her Celtic designs to be reflected not only artistically, but also in the manner in which the pieces are produced. Wearing a piece of Helen’s jewelry brings the customer in contact with sacred geometric design as well as with the ethical and earth-conscious principles upon which Reflective Images jewelry is based.

The Choyts have put into place extensive ecological practices and principles in their local manufacturing facility and store. All the silver and gold is 100% recycled, both locally and internationally, thus avoiding tons of toxic sludge. Non-harmful chemicals are used and their waste fluids are filtered and dehydrated. Each worker controls his/her own state of the art ventilation system, which conserves energy. Office waste is recycled and 100% recycled paper materials are purchased. A monstrous concrete slab outside their building was removed and replaced with an attractive xeriscaped garden, enhancing local neighborhood charm. A green space was created in the courtyard for social gathering. Wild Earth Guardians and Hamaatsa, two nonprofits that help restore local natural habitat and have extensive local tree planting programs, have been chosen by the Choyts as recipients of their carbon footprint offset donation.

It’s not much of a mystery why a typical employee at Reflective Images remains with the company for 10 years or more. The pay scale is significantly above the living wage; locally,

five of their employees have been financially strong enough to purchase their own houses. Reflective Images covers 50% of employee health insurance, and gives employees year-end bonuses based upon the success of the year. During these tight economic times, the owners had to postpone the retirement plan benefit; at times they have foregone their own compensation to avoid laying off any of their employees. With most of their customers being out of state, this company brings money into our local economy from out of town. In 2008 the city of Santa Fe gave Reflective Images a business of the year award for its treatment of employees, business practices and leadership in the jewelry industry.

Marc is an international leader in fair trade jewelry production and sourcing. His fair trade principles are based on FRE: Fairly made, Responsible socially, and Eco friendly. In Bali, where their jewelry chain is made, the workers earn wages 75% above the minimum wage, have free housing for singles, have a medical fund and receive a free lunch. Sapphires, included in many Reflective Images wedding rings, come from a mining cooperative in Sri Lanka that practices “beneficiation. “ This means that from mine to finished product the downstream economy is kept in the local community as much as possible for local economic benefits. Marc’s leadership has helped establish guidelines for other jewelry businesses to follow in order to become sustainable; this is the essence of the triple bottom line business philosophy of “teaching your competitors” as part of a wholistic approach to commerce.

Marc’s compassionate business philosophy is reflected in his “Circle Manifesto” – a written plan in which businesses operate in a circular paradigm rather than a linear one. The goal is to create a company that profits through a circle of mutually beneficial relationships in support of economy, ecology and community. “In a circle-based economy everyone is radically equal in their humanity,” says Marc. “Altruism and integrity can be a foundation for profitability. Internal satisfaction rather than separation is the result.” Customers of Reflective Images have joined the circle and been given the opportunity to shop according to their passions and beliefs.

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“We have a great opportunity to reduce the amount of waste we send to the landfill. We have weekly recycling collection for homes and businesses; we have a recycling center; and we have people that care,” says the city of Santa Fe Solid Waste Director Regina Wheeler. “Not only will we save water, energy and land, but recycling creates jobs! We are excited to launch the Save A Ton campaign to double recycling tonnage in Santa Fe in one year.”

Save A Ton kicks off on America Recycles Day, November 15, the national day of recycling education. “I invite everyone to get creative and double their recycling this year, Wheeler said. “Businesses and homes should put out plastic bottles, cardboard, tin and aluminum cans and paper for weekly pick up. Glass can be put out too, as long as it is in a separate bin.

Call 955.2200 or email rawheeler@santafenm.gov to setup business recycling or come to 1142 Siler Road to get a residential recycling bin. Electronics, phone books, green waste, books and fluorescent bulbs can be recycled at the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station (BuRRT). More information and directions are at www.sfswma.org and www.santafenm.gov.

People can support recycling and have fun with the following activities:

• Shop at the Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival a hip, eco-conscious art market and juried art event at El Museo Cultural on November 12, 13 and 14.

• Watch the Trash Fashion & Costume Contest on Friday, November 12th, 2010 at 7 pm. This show is a highlight of the Recycle Santa Fe Art Festival at El Museo Cultural.

• Register to be part of the Traveling Ton Tour by calling 505.955.2200. A ton of recycled material will come to your school or businesses to raise awareness and gather pledges to recycle.

• Pledge to recycle at the America Recycles Day website www.americarecyclesday.org.

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• The Idea Bank – “I could make millions on that!”

Have you ever been joking around with friends and come up with what seems like a great moneymaking idea? I have. But I forgot what it was. I even have a friend who tosses them off… “Oh well, there goes another million dollar idea…” He’ll never make the ideas happen and he knows it. He doesn’t want to start any business. He’s happy doing what he’s doing. And who’s to say that the ideas would really make money, but…what if they would? If we could only remember what they were…

“I’ve always wanted to start a business… but I’m not sure what kind of business to start.”

Some of us have what it takes to start our own job or our own business but would love some ideas, if only to pique our imaginations. In this economy, with so many people underemployed, quite a few of us would like to run our own small business to generate income. Imagine folks with ideas they would be happy to share with you. You could see if an idea was really feasible for you to start it up. Each successful initiative helps us all in our entrepreneurial ecosystem.

• The Think Tank

3.5 billion years of Research and Development are worth noticing! Nature shows us that when we link our mutual benefits, we get a more resilient ecosystem. By buying locally, eating locally, fueling locally – we keep the nutrients of value within our local system. By buying imports or buying beyond our local area, we leak value out of our communities.

Zero Waste Nature shows us where and how to look for valuable opportunities. In nature, nothing is wasted. What is a waste for one kingdom of nature is a nutrient to somebody else. In our entrepreneurial ecosystem, we can look at our abundance – the abundance of what we’re throwing away – and see who would find value in it.

Once we change our view of “trash” and realize it for what it really is – glass, paper, food wastes, cardboard, metals – we can begin to identify new valuable uses for those materials. Of course we know to recycle many of those materials at the curbside on trash day. But what if the recycling center could sell those materials to a local business rather than shipping them out of state to recycling markets?

• Mapping The Linked Entrepreneurs

Already there are great examples in Santa Fe like Tim White’s Caesars’ Stucco. An ingredient in his locally manufactured stucco is our curbside glass that he picks up after it’s ground up at the Buckman Road Recycling & Transfer Station (BuRRT). He trains installers and exports stucco products around the United States. He’s exporting what was our trash – for profit!

Another example is Holly Roach’s Green Production Resource, which hauls recyclables and compostables from movie sets. She’s working to green the movies in New Mexico, one trailer at a time! (http://greenproductionresource.net)

• Who We Are / What We Do

WAV-Links (Waste-As-Value Links) is a project of a zero-waste non-profit called Sustainable Communities / ZERI NM, Inc. that’s been around for 15 years. We look for, study and coordinate opportunities that help locals use wastes to create saleable products, creating jobs in the process. We’re starting an Idea Bank of creative business ideas, (focused on but not exclusive to zero waste ideas), a Think Tank for creative crowd-sourced problem solving of technical issues, and a Links Map of the businesses who are turning our wastes into stuff they sell… and creating jobs.

We’re looking for volunteers – folks who’d like to improve our local economy together by freely sharing our creativity and ideas. Do you have an idea? Do you want an idea? Do you want to see if you can help a zero-waste entrepreneur solve a technical problem? Do you want to help us get this up and running (through a website and in-person)? Might you know of others such as students or retirees who’d like to play? If this sounds exciting, contact Margo Covington, Executive Director, WAV-Links (Waste-As-Value Links) at 505.982.0044, margo@covingtonconsulting.com, or visit http://www.scizeri-nm.org/.

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