Video: Crisis, development & ecologies of the new commons

In this discussion event on 7 December 2022, we talked about how people understand and respond to ideas about crisis, global challenges, development and internationalism.

What ideas and experiences do commoners, and commoning initiatives, bring to these issues? And how are these different from the ones that shape dominant research and policy approaches?

The event was hosted by the Institute of Development Studies as part of its Sussex Development Lectures series. Read on for more about the discussion, and watch the full video recording below.

At the event, Amber Huff briefly introduced Future Natures, and we also heard from two different practical experiences.

Firstly, Almendra Cremaschi, from the Argentina-based initiative Bioleft, shared the story of how a community was created around ‘open source’ seeds, challenging the dominance of big seed companies. Strikingly, Almendra explained how feminist and decolonial thinking, as well as speculative fiction, have informed Bioleft’s approaches.

Secondly, Emilia Melville of Praxis Research talked about the challenges of urban housing and community projects with elements of commoning, which have had to negotiate with local authorities in Bristol, UK. Similar to Bioleft, the experiences of Bristol show that commoning initiatives can often involve conflicts and compromises as they change and evolve.

You can find out more from the Bioleft website, the Praxis Research website and the Bristol School of Commoning, which will run its next short course in March to May next year.

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Cover image: Tim Zocco

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