As consumers reassess their priorities and increasingly ask themselves what they truly value, a host of major consumer trends have emerged: from the sharing economy to the preference given to experience over possessions, to frugal innovation and trading up and down. This shift towards new priorities, which we have christened “The New Consumerism”, is impacting across a multitude of industry sectors and has the power to transform even the most established markets. The eight trends which are combining to form...
Today, we’re seeing a combination of government action and market forces that could help push clean energy out of the background and onto centre stage. This blog digs into some of those trends. The basic recipe goes like this: cut energy waste as much as possible, and clean up your electricity supply so that it’s as low carbon as possible. Then use that clean electricity as your source of energy for activities that we largely power with fossil fuels today....
The big question often asked is: can agroecological farming really feed the world, with the global population hurtling towards 9.6 billion by 2050? It’s clear that there’s increasing evidence it could. A landmark 2001 study by Jules Pretty and Rachel Hine examined 208 projects from 52 countries and found yield increases of 50-100% for rain-fed crops like maize. The cases studied involved 9 million farmers on around 3% of all of the farmed land in Asia, Africa and Latin America...
It’s been a long time in the making, and James Loucks is about to realize his vision. Loucks has been working on his Community Market idea for three years and on Saturday, Aug. 27 he is opening the doors to the community. Located on County Road 36, the market will be open seven days a week, all year round. “What we are doing is trying to keep things local,” said Loucks. “So we reached out to all the local people...
Hoping to promote healthy eating to local communities was the driving force behind Bryan Hildebrand’s idea to start an organic farm. Hildebrand Farms began in 2010 due to Hildebrand’s interest in organic farming. Hildebrand recruited his father, Len, for support and influence and the plan was put into motion. With the help of his dad and kids Jayde and Skye, the farm is in full swing. Hildebrand Farms specializes in fruits, mainly black raspberry, blueberry, strawberry, plums, pears and cherries...
Called ‘agrihoods,‘ this new type of neighborhood serves up farm-to-table living in a cooperative environment. Instead of being built around a pool, tennis court or golf course, these housing developments are centered around a farm, often using the sweat-equity of residents to create a sustainable food system for the entire community. Of course, community gardens, urban agriculture, and cohousing communities are nothing new. But as the rapidly growing crop of agrihoods demonstrates, families are eager to reimagine these collaborative efforts in a new setting–often at the same...
NewCare Farms Building Yogurt Site At least half a century has come and gone since a rural route in the Township of South Dundas was the address of an honest-to-goodness milk processing plant. But the Biemond family is well on its way to changing that, with an 8,200-square-foot yogurt-making facility rising on their certified organic Waddell Rd. dairy operation — NewCare Farms. Read NewCare Farms Building Yogurt Site in Eastern Ontario AgriNews. Food Hub in Prescott Russell The Eastern...
5. MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO A Community Renaissance is Easier Than you Think It doesn’t take much to start a Renaissance in your neighborhood. In fact, as Dave Marcucci discovered, a simple bench can do the trick. After attending a PPS (Project for Public Spaces) training course in 2005, Marcucci came away inspired by the idea that every neighborhood should have ten great places. He returned home to Mississauga, Ontario determined to make his house, which occupies a prime corner lot, one...
Excerpted from the Policies for Shareable Cities report at Shareable.net The sharing economy offers enormous potential to create jobs. Sharing leverages a wide variety of resources and lowers barriers to starting small businesses. Cities can lower the cost of starting businesses by supporting innovations like shared workspaces, shared commercial kitchens, community-financed start-ups, community-owned commercial centers, and spaces for “pop-up” businesses. Cities can also lower permitting barriers for home-based micro-enterprises. Sharing is also at the heart of the employment model that is designed...