The Buy Nothing Project Gift Economies

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March 26, 2021

a project of ServiceSpace

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.

- Henry David Thoreau -

The Buy Nothing Project Gift Economies

Liesl Clark and her family traveled to Nepal on a "quest to find answers." They returned home with a new perspective on community and a better way of living. Clark saw how the Nepalese cared for each other, insisting on sharing gifts equally within the community and taking responsibility for the aging, fragile, and infirm without regard to family ties. She believed these principles could be applied to their area and possibly beyond. With help from her friend Rebecca Rockefeller, Clark began The Buy Nothing Project with a Facebook page and a list of ideals. Their hope was to focus more on community and connections and less on stuff, thereby removing physical wealth from the equation. The project encourages the feeling that we are all connected and that everyone has something to offer. Some cook meals for others. Some collect food growing on trees and vines in public places, food that may often be left to rot. The movement, started from one collective on Bainbridge Island, Washington, now has more than 1.5 million members and counting. Watch this video to learn more of the backstory behind the local gift economies of this experimental social movement sweeping across the globe. { read more }