Running on Local: Build a More Resilient Economy

Local food. Local fuel. Local finance. All these popular ideas can help us build a more resilient local economy, and that means an even better community to live in.

Authors and locavists from North Carolina, Carol Peppe Hewitt (author of Financing Our Foodshed: Growing Local Food with Slow Money, and Lyle Estill (author of numerous books on alternative energy and local activism) are bringing “Running On Local” to Brooklyn for the evening.

“I heard an inspiring idea, in 2010,” Hewitt explains, “of moving money into the hands of farmers and the local food businesses that support local, sustainable farming. It was called Slow Money, and I tried it and it worked.”

If that’s not inspiration enough, Hewitt has teamed up with Lyle Estill, who is well known in alternative energy circles.

“In a world of global doom and gloom,” remarks Estill, “there are ways to localize all aspects of your life.” He should know. He runs one of the few surviving community-scale biofuel operations in the Southeast, turning waste cooking oil into about one million gallons of B100 biofuel each year.

Together they host a powerful conversation they call “Running On Local” and are taking their message and expertise from Miami, to Orlando, to Beaufort and Charleston, SC before heading up to Washington DC, NYC and Western MA.

Don’t miss this rare chance to meet and talk with these pioneers in local food, local fuel, and local finance while they are in our area!

And, as usual, we have presentations from amazing sustainable food entrepreneurs, such as:

• Elisa's Love Bites Dessert Atelier - Elisa Lyew - Boutique dessert shop dedicated to all-natural desserts including gluten-free, natural (non-artificial) sugar-free, vegan, and traditional sweet treats.

• Fresh From The Farm 365 Inc - Karen Sinclair-Key - online farmer's market with convenient home delivery.

• eatKeenwa (http://www.eatkeenwa.com) -Blake Niemann - all natural pure quinoa (keen-wa) products

• Willow Vail Community Farm - Sarah Williford / Kevin Skvorak - Regenerative farm-based intentional community project in Greene Co. Primary business being a Perennial CSA, with on-farm education

• Bien Cuit - Zachary Golper and Kate Wheatcroft - Artisanal bakery using local grains.

• Bare Foot Organics - Phil Stober - Pennsylvania Organic Farm with CSA and branding local organic products.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!