Relocalize to Connect

“Relocalization is a strategy to build societies based on the local production of food, energy and goods, and the local development of currency, governance and culture.”—Post Carbon Institute

I heard plenty of music as a child, but one little song from Sesame Street has become a go-to theme on my playlist as I walk through the day encountering folks from all walks of life. “People in the Neighborhood” is a simple little song, but it is a reminder of the value of diversity in the service of community resilience.

Relocalization is more than just an economic strategy. It’s a cultural claiming of the very things that make us all human: a declaration of active, conscious humanity over passive, unconscious conformity. In our very local spaces, under the thin veil of business-as-usual, there is an entire land to understand as more than just a place for strip malls.

We are not alone when we choose to connect with our geography. Like-minded change agents are farming in fields and on rooftops; they are bringing wildlife back with plants; they are inviting fireflies to appear from piles of branches once again; they are listening to the land. We can hear the hum of the bees. We might spot a lone bald eagle over our own neighborhood. Everything we need is all here.

Yes, business has a role. Government has a role. We citizens also have a role.

Citizens create the cultural identity of our geography.

Though it may sometimes seem like we are powerless, together, we truly are the soul of this land.