SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
164<br />
The Meaning of Sufficiency Economy <br />
International Conference<br />
employee owned company. At this company, employees are hired with an initial<br />
one-year probationary period. If, at the end of that year, they are going to be hired,<br />
they are given a bike to ride to work and they get to park at the front door of the<br />
building (fueled vehicles are parked at a distance from the building proportionate to<br />
the fuel used) and they become vested in the Employee Stock Ownership Program. <br />
Only one of the founding owners has any formal business training and she<br />
made an intentional choice to give up her MBA career to found a business that was<br />
less stressful and more related to her non-work life. All of the businesses pay a<br />
living wage. Unfortunately, like the majority of small businesses in the US, only<br />
one of the businesses (the largest) offers health care benefits. Employees are<br />
routinely cross-trained in the work required by the business to insure job coverage in<br />
unexpected situations and to allow for scheduling that accommodates people’s home<br />
lives.<br />
Most of the businesses studied were members of the Mile High Business<br />
Alliance (MHBA). MHBA is a member of the Business Alliance for Local Living<br />
Economies (BALLE). This organization is designed to provide intentional network<br />
weaving skills to the community. MHBA and other BALLE networks link like<br />
businesses to provide mentoring and peer-counseling as well as links to other<br />
businesses that might fit in a supply chain or be able to provide business-to-business<br />
services. Neighborhood businesses are linked to provide neighborhood based<br />
promotions. They help link these businesses to the people in their communities.<br />
These local networks not only provide crucial business links but also form a nucleus<br />
and provide leadership for local government action.<br />
BALLE was formed in 2001 as a network of networks to support the<br />
development of strong local living economies. The network was designed to have<br />
open communications in both directions at all levels. As the national network grew,<br />
maintaining this with a very small staff became difficult and by 2009 the national<br />
network was becoming less responsive to local networks and businesses and was<br />
losing its way. After the 2009 national conference in Denver, a number of the local<br />
networks approached the national board and voiced their dissatisfaction with the<br />
announced program direction. After listening to that, the board dismissed all of he<br />
staff and evaluated how they could get back on track as a support organization for<br />
grass-roots networks and businesses. <br />
<br />
Network Analysis <br />
We are all familiar with hierarchical networks. They are often represented as<br />
in Figure 1.