Something’s happening here, and what it is is becoming clear...
We see a lot of folks finding it harder to get by, much less get ahead. Even folks who’re better off aren’t as well off as they used to be. And kids can’t imagine having a life half as good as their parents.
Meanwhile, we got ridiculously wealthy people for no good reason, and a government that’s gotten pretty good at keeping things the way they are for the folks who like keeping them that way. People are getting more frustrated, more tired, and worse – people who should be working together are all too ready to get hot over the smallest things. That’s probably not accident by the way.
But we’ve also seen good people in real places doing things that actually work. Problem is, not enough folks are talking, connecting, and doing. We need more people gathering, talking, helping...actually doing things, and sharing what works, what doesn’t and why. We need more folks working together on the same puzzle.
So that’s what we’re here to do: share what we know and share what we’re thinking about. But we’ve seen enough to know it doesn’t have to be this way. So, if any of this seems on the right path to you...pull up a chair.
-- Cooper & Ash
Name's Jefferson Cooper, but folks just call me Cooper. I grew up in a small border town right on the Rio Grande. After high school I wanted to work with my hands and be outdoors, so wound up landscaping. Got to volunteering with a regional eco-restoration group with some friends and after a while I started getting paid for it.
Then, well, some life happened and I needed to do something different for a bit. Old as I was, I decided to head to New England and finally get a degree. Wanted a bachelors in Community Economic Development and wound up meeting Ash. Came back home with a better sense of where I was headed. Now I teach ecology and economics at the community college and spend my weekends working on community food forests and local re-greening projects.
I spend a lotta time thinking about Community, the Commons, how federated localism might work, and the local and regional strategies and policies to make it all stick.
Hey everyone! Ash Thomas here. I'm originally from The County in Maine where I grew hiking, camping, and snowmobiling. I went to college down in Mass where I double majored in marketing and cultural anthropology. Got my first job with a marketing agency in the city for a few years, then decided to get an MBA. After that I hired on with a private equity firm, helping new portfolio companies with strategy and change management. The work was fun, but the motives and the harm were fucked!
After a few years of that, I needed out. Moved back to Bangor, staying with some friends while I worked at a local bakery days and bar tended nights. It was exactly what I needed. Eventually I settled in a small coastal town near the Canadian border and got back to business, but on my own terms. I started a small non-profit focused on regional food stability using networked food hubs and volunteer with an advocacy group working to keep big business out of small towns.
What I'm into: who has power, who doesn't, and what people without it have always known about working together to get shit done.
