Sites de l’ESS en UK / sites of social economy in UK

follow these links - not all immediately local to us - but all grown out of  a common desire for radical change..... enjoy the reading - and as you say you are

'an ordinary member of a hippie-prone, though still quite bourgeois, little community of free spirits' 

please give us examples from your situation, we would love to learn more.

http://www.moelyci.org/en/

http://www.cwmharrylandtrust.org.uk

http://www.caepost.co.uk (note the dual language option - chose English!)

http://www.textiletechniques.co.uk

http://www.lightfoot.org.uk/page/home/

and the big one - started as a commune & now an international centre

http://www.cat.org.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/jul/18/wales-institute-sustainable-education-review

http://www.montwt.co.uk

(this is associated with a national organisation.... but it was created by the same type of people as all the others - and is supported by the same people now - having close association with CAT & other bodies)

http://www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk

http://www.rwtwales.org

 BUT - all the above struggle to survive (textile traders is a private business and is probably secure) - Moelyci tells you why, CAT has just made a large number of people redundant and closed a shop in a local town (which had survived for at least 25 years), Cwm Harry Trust is being assisted to re-shape itself, by one of our Pathways members.

Further: all these agencies require considerable volunteer support - and could not survive without such input.