THE FESTIVAL OF GRASSROOTS ECONOMICS
Saturday, September 26 from 10-4pm
Humanist Hall, 390 27th St, Oakland, CA
Free to the public

Come join us at the first Festival of Grassroots Economics where together we will be celebrating and creating together a new economy for the people and the planet. Over 40 groups will be participating.

Worker cooperatives helping to support new cooperatives, tenants organizing to own housing collectively, people working to grow food in the city together, bicycle mechanics teaching neighborhoods kids, organizations doing renewable energy and greywater installations, people organizing to share resources through timebanks, and many more projects will be there. It is a kind of bottom-up trade fair to show what people working together can do to collectively meet each others' needs at the local level.

Panels will be discussing how to start a worker cooperative, financial and other support resources for the grassroots economy, urban food security, and building the alternative by creating synergies between the different aspects of the grassroots economy and environmental and social justice organizations.

It’s free to the public so bring your friends and family. Se habla espanol. Wheelchair accessible. For more info go to http://www.jasecon.org or contact heather [at] sfbace.org.

Co-op 101: An introduction to worker cooperatives. A brief survey of the organizational, legal and financial aspects. A must for those who are thinking of joining or forming a cooperative.
Kasper Koczab and Dave Karoly - Network of the Bay Area Worker Cooperatives

Resources for the Grassroots Economy: Financial and development resources to meet community economic needs. Panel of experts will discuss the means by which community projects can make use of resources.
Erin Kilmer-Neel One California Foundation
Jenny Kassan - Katovich Law
Ian Winter - North California Land Trust
Rhea Serna - Mission Asset Fund
Moderator - Janelle Orsi – Attorney and author of “The Sharing Solution”

Urban Food Security: Communities must take food back from global capital. How are we building just, sustainable, locally-based food systems that meet our communities’ needs and provide meaningful work?

Building the Alternative: The grassroots economy is a solution to the economic crisis and holds a vision of the world we want to create. How can we nurture a local economy that gives working folks power and control over the economy and their work lives, leveraging available resources? How can social and environmental justice work support the development of a new economic paradigm? How we can create more synergy and interdependence between grassroots economic projects? How can we build a just, sustainable economic alternative to scale?
Moderator/Facilitator: Gopal Dayenini -GAIA and Movement Generation
Panelists:
Ali Ar Rasheed - West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
Rhea Serna - Mission Asset Fund
Tom Wetzel – SF Community Land Trust
Heather Young – Bay Area Community Exchange