Dumbo Feather

The burst of colour from the prayer flags contrasted against the natural hues of the mountain scenery. A second look revealed thousands more flags that had faded to white. Deep in the Himalayan mountains, in the remote Kingdom of Bhutan, people had b

For the past 10 years, I have cultivated a community that supports my most essential human needs with limited exchange of money. Sometimes called the barter and gift economy, sometimes called family, I call it “radical reciprocity.” I came to this li

For many of us who care about living in a just and sustainable world, this past year has been a trial by fire. Many feel we are called to resist and indeed we are. I find myself reflecting on the various forms of resistance available to us and the ma

I first came across the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus in 2009 when a friend gave me a copy of his book, Creating a World Without Poverty. I read it at a time of transition, having just moved to the Middle East to start a job helping set up an offi

Kate Raworth is an economist. A renegade, maverick, rockstar economist. After graduating from Oxford University, she worked in the villages of Zanzibar with micro entrepreneurs, co-authored the Human Development Report for the UNDP and worked for a d

Kate describes her doughnut as “a compass for humanity in the 21st century.” In contrast to the supposed circular flow of goods and money that’s depicted in our current economic model, Kate’s doughnut gives a more holistic picture. The hole of the do

We cannot create a new system with the same mindset that created the old one. Michelle Long taught me that. As the former CEO of BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), Michelle has been at the frontlines of financial innovation for dec

It’s rare for me to meet someone who’s an absolute mastermind—IQ, EQ, the whole genius package—and not feel like the ground beneath my feet is shifting. And yet chatting with Professor Dan Ariely, one of the world’s leading thinkers in behavioural ec

At the age of 10, Ernst “Fritz” Schumacher would queue for bread with his sister, clutching a paper bag stuffed full of billion mark notes. Each time they prayed that when they reached the front of the queue, prices would not have risen again, forcin

If I were a painter with an easel and a brush, my hand-heart-eye co-ordination would know exactly what to do. I would draw soft, sensitive, boyish lines that thicken periodically, sweeping across the canvas into densely populated mathematical equatio

I first met Don Shaffer on a Skype call set up by a mutual friend. It was no ordinary chat. From the minute we spoke about business, philosophy and purpose, it was clear that I had met a kindred spirit. In impact investing circles, Don is regarded

To impress you, I might have started with this: Konda Mason is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Grammy Award-winning music producer and former co-founder and CEO of Impact HUB Oakland. When it comes to finance and the economy, however, it is the fact th

Someone should make a movie about the life of Helena Norberg-Hodge. Born in Sweden, educated in America, working in Paris, Helena specialised in linguistics and loved adventures. When, in 1975, she was invited to join a film crew heading into Ladakh