The first Resilience Network* “Funshop” tested the resilience and resourcefulness of group members when the speaker cancelled one day before the session due to the flu. The session was revived when he agreed to appear via Skype.
Jason Bradford, ecological scientist and board member of the Post Carbon Institute, led the session on Financial Resilience–Coping with the End of Growth.
After providing a framework of our economic system, and speculating on what we could expect NOT to have in the future (pensions, cheap flights and just-in-time delivery), he offered ways for individuals and communities to respond to economic challenges. Several of his suggestions (plus many more he solicited from the 60+ attendees) are easier strategies for cohousing residents:
Find non‐monetary ways to cover needs
Have buffers in place, such as bank savings, cash on hand, household storage of food and other supplies
Develop some expertise in one or more necessary skills that others will find valuable
Mentally shift to a personal identify that seeks rewards in developing social connectivity, exposure to nature, and competency in basic skills, as opposed to financial and material metrics
Support for localization initiatives
Storage of critical goods and services to buffer for supply chain disruptions and plans to distribute them
Throw a lot of parties (this suggestion drew some laughs, but also an appreciation that “we are in this together” and social support is essential).
*Resilience Network is a network of people sharing knowledge/skills to prepare for difficult circumstances in the times ahead. The group was launched in October, 2010 at CoHo Ecovillage, Corvallis, OR (cohoecovillage.org) to build a community-based response to the Triple Threat (Peak Oil, climate change, financial collapse).