The NORA Knowledge Base of the Commons Abundance Network

Abstract

"Today, we seem trapped in an economy that offers us no alternatives to a market that values only scarce resources and therefore creates incentives to make things scarce - at the cost of individual freedom, social equity, and environmental sustainability. But alternatives exist; it is of critical importance that knowledge about them is widely disseminated and shared. The Commons Abundance Network, co-founded by the speaker, is building a database called NORA (Needs, Organizational forms, and Resources for Abundance) which allows 'approaches toward abundance' to be searched according to the needs to be met, the types of organizational forms to be adopted, or the resources to be managed sustainably. This provides a framework for the organization of case study material, while also providing a gateway for practitioners to access useful information and contact and collaborate with helpful people and organizations. We thus hope to help build bridges among academics as well as people involved in diverse initiatives on the ground."