Presenter: Autumn Brown, Rockdove Collective

All over the country, communities are organizing themselves around new systems of value and new ways to access services beyond the dollar. From timebanking to alternative currencies, folks are turning to each other and away from the capitalist market. We can support these emerging alternative economies by building living systems that can interface with online technology. This caucus is a space for organizers who are participating in or building new economic systems. We will discuss some of the inherent challenges of building an alternative economy: How do you assign value in an alternative economy? What accountability practices ensure safe exchanges? What is the relationship of national/governmental currency to an alternative economy? We will share strategies for answering those questions, and for building and maintaining local economies that can interface with web-based technology but are not bound by it. Join us in this crucial work.