Slow Food

Reclaiming Our Local Economic Power
Local Economic Summit Apr. 17-18th

    Petaluma, CA - Reclaiming Our Local Economic Power, a 2-day economic summit
co-produced by Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative (www.sonomacounty.golocal.coop) and Petaluma Independent Business Alliance (PIBA at www.ibuypetaluma.org ), will explore “what going local looks like,” at Petaluma Community Center, 320 N. McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, Friday and Saturday, April 17-18th.  Tickets are available at www.sonomacounty.golocal.coop .
    Keynote speaker and author, Michael Shuman, will share lessons from his in-depth local-economic development experience with participants throughout the conference. Additional speakers include Evelina Molina Director, North Bay Institute of Green Technology/Youth Green Jobs Sonoma and workshop leaders from a host of Sonoma County businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations focused on boosting local economies through food programs, job creation, energy and water use solutions and collaborative efforts.
     A wide coalition of Sonoma County officials, local independent business owners, non-profit leaders and others concerned with finding new and innovative ways to “boot strap” the local economy are sponsoring the conference and the numbers are growing daily. 
    “Most small business owners are pessimistic that the Federal Stimulus plan will have a significant impact on their bottom line any time in the near future and large corporations are dealing with the current downturn by contracting their operations thus further eroding the local tax base.  This leaves our communities fending, to a large extent, for themselves,” according to GoLocal Coop Director, Kelley Rajala.
    “These trends, however, are not universal.  Communities as diverse as Portland, OR, Boulder, CO., Bellingham WA. and Willits, CA. are fairing pretty well right now.  What are these communities doing that allows them to better weather economic cycles?  In a word … localization,” said Rajala.  The summit will explore concrete solutions to challenging economic problems including food security, energy use and renwables and collaborative efforts, including credit unions, time banking, and the “10% solution” calling for 10% more reinvestment in local enterprise – all to help move Sonoma County toward a more sustainable local economy.  “There is a lot of fear of the unknown out there,” said PIBA Director, Wayne Morgenthaler. “We’re planning on busting through that and coming up with a number of practical, doable solutions starting here and now.”
    Local Economic Summit  advisors include mayors, chamber members and entrepreneurs representing Mondragon, Spain, the largest worker-owned cooperative in the world with a joint annual income exceeding $14 billion, the government of Willits, CA, a BALLE member as a city, and
    Sonoma County GoLocal Cooperative and PIBA are in agreement on key reasons for relocalization including research from both BALLE network and AMIBA that shows buying from locally owned businesses rather than chain stores 1) keeps your money circulating 3 times longer in the local economy (called the multiplier effect), 2) investing in locally-owned businesses helps them create (the majority of) new jobs, 3) local businesses offer much more supporters to community projects and non-profits and 4) local businesses provide the best customer service and support.  Additionally, both groups hold that buying locally helps protect the environment because fewer products need to be shipped.  The primary reason both groups advocate localization is that supporting local business and products preserves the character and identity of each community, not allowing for a “cookie-cutter Anyplace, USA” look and feel in shared public spaces.
    For more on the series, to become a sponsor or reserve tickets, visit http://www.sonomacounty.golocal.coop/  go to PIBA’s site, www.ibuyPetaluma.org  or call Connie Madden, 707-781-9311.