Notes from the Field: Wealth & Power Rooted in Community
Subtitle: A companion—and a field reply—to the Fields & Wisdom essays
This post connects to an article in the “Rooted In Community” three-part series by Geraldine Cahill and I. The piece looks at how communities are dealing with big challenges—like rising costs, housing struggles, and climate change—by working together and keeping resources in the community. It’s an invitation to learn from each other, bring more people into the conversation, and build shared tools and language for this work.
In the article we share a simple way to think about this work: some ideas have been around for a long time, and some are newer ways of doing things. It explains that community finance is about helping local people and groups get the money they need to build local projects. It also talks about community wealth building—keeping ownership and benefits in the community, instead of having money and power pulled away. The series introduces “community capital” too: the time, skills, relationships, land, buildings, and funds that help communities make their own decisions and build long-term strength.
The articles in this series show (and say) we can’t do this work in isolation. It is much harder to try to do it alone; as the African proverb says “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far go together”. This highlights the need for people, groups, and networks to see each other’s work, learn together, and team up—across communities, organizations, and systems. It names real challenges (like policy rules, funding, and on-the-ground practice not lining up), but it encourages us to keep building connections and trying new approaches. As a whole, the series is meant to support people doing the work by offering shared language, practical ideas, and an invitation to get involved.
How it connects to the two-part Fields & Wisdom essay
When I say this is a “companion,” we mean we’re alongside this work and building on it. And when I say, “field reply,” this means field actors (practitioners and more) read the essay and are engaging with it. This series is a response, from a collective with lived experience and practice, which expands possibility, in a continuing conversation.
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