This year, we tried something new. Isn’t that the point?

If we know that the current economic system isn’t working for most of us, that it concentrates economic and political power into fewer and fewer hands, that it leads us to consume greater quantities of crappy stuff made in far off lands, that it’s putting too much pollution into the air and oceans, cutting down too many trees, and more – then we know we must try something else that doesn’t do those things. This means supporting local enterprises and local innovations.

So, we tried something new on April 8th, a hack-a-thon designed to help take forward 5 local projects that would, in some measure, provide better alternatives to what’s currently on offer. With the help of energetic Schumacher students, Pricilla and David, we borrowed ideas from innovation design firm IDEO and others and put together an action-packed day of tools, activities, storytelling and models. Lots of models.  Some things worked. Some things didn’t work. Failure is part of the process. Our hack-a-thon was a huge success in teaching us how we might continue to be a catalyst for a new kind of entrepreneurial culture, the kind where solutions to our challenges and alternatives to destructive business-as-usual models can emerge, take root, and thrive. We might have helped these projects along, too.

A huge thanks to Claire, Inez, Bridgette, Ben and Mat for bringing forward their projects to be hacked. And to all our hackers, about 25 local designers, consultants, old business hands, and enthusiastic new enterprise supporters.

Images can be found, here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/rpleft/photos/?tab=album&album_id=498636793593460

This event was part one of our 2017 Local Entrepreneur Forum. Part two is the Community of Dragons on May 11 at the Royal Seven Stars Hotel, networking at 6pm, presentations at 7pm. More info, here: bit.ly/lef2017