Keepin’ it local

It seems that the buy-local movement is blossoming as fast as the urban garden movement (see more on all of this here). In a spirit of cooperation, several years ago I shut up about not wanting any Walgreens in Eastwood and focused instead on its being designed and built properly. I’m sorry I compromised what I know: single-use buildings like this are not built to last more than about 10 years and they’re difficult to fill with other kinds of businesses after they leave. Witness what has not happened in the empty Pep Boys box they stuck in after demolishing the Genesee Theater.

Also, why would we send our dollars to another state or another country when upstate New York is in such need? We only hurt ourselves when we don’t shop in locally-owned stores. See these “Top Ten reasons to Think Local – Buy Local – Be Local“.

I was recently sent this website by local businesswoman, Janet Lutz, who thinks the challenge posed at this site is an interesting one: The 3/50 Project. It’s a very quick read. What do you think of the idea? Could you do it?

Now, with that in mind, how about the Syracuse First project, with its opening reception this Thursday? Their motto: Think local. Buy local. Be local.

Yesterday, Matthew Bannister of BBC World Outlook interviewed Reverend Billy, or “The Rev” (aka Bill Talen) and his wife Savitri Durkee, of  The Church of Life After Shopping. You can hear the whole interview here, which is quite worthwhile, considering how much meaning The Rev gets across in his delivery.

But for you readers, here’s a particularly apt snippet:

The Rev: The retail consumer world was always hallucinated. We on the ground were supposed to be addicted to shopping. And that came from thousands of marketing events every day that were hitting our brains and our eyes and ears.  We always felt that that was a false thing. And it turned out that the people on the top of the money markets, the billionaires, that they were shopping with the same addiction, if on much larger levels. They were also hallucinating their value. When we’re down in a neighborhood, down in a community, we feel that we see the value in front of us, we have it in our hand, we’re skill swapping, we’re helping each other…

Matthew: Of course, some people are going to argue that Wal-Mart or Tesco, these very big supermarket chains, offer ordinary people goods at a price they can afford that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to buy.

The Rev: I think that people sense now that, after the collapse of the money markets in London and Zurich and Wall Street, that when you give a dollar… to a big box store, that money doesn’t come back to your community. 50% of that money goes away, and it goes to those gamblers up in the clouds with their billions. It goes away. It goes to do things that we don’t think are safe for the earth. We like to spend money in our local community where we see the energy come right back to us.

Savitri: And this is our challenge as well, … to redefine value, so it’s not just now much it costs, it includes a different bottom line, its impact on the earth, for instance, its impact on the workers who make that product…

The Rev: Thank God the independent economies, the local economies, are making a big comeback. The fastest expanding part of the food sector are the farmers markets.

And a little more from the Reverend Billy, speaking in a YouTube video:

To have a healthy neighborhood is a civil right! It’s a right of each and every one of us, to live in a healthy neighborhood! Let’s defend our independent shops! Amen, people! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

To get the details that support The Rev’s assertions, read this article about Supporting Strong Local Economies:

• Transnational chains result in reduced quality of life and community vibrancy
• Low-cost prices means lower wages for the working poor
• Transnational chains place strain on municipal budgets, reduce the local tax base, and impoverish communities in the long term

What three locally-owned Eastwood businesses can you support this month with your $50?