Document Actions
How to get involved in the Local Living Economies movement.
Sign up for our mailing list.
Receive our newsletter and get updates about our conferences and trainings.
Attend a BALLE conference.
The 6th annual BALLE conference will be held June 5-7, 2008, in Boston, Massachusetts. Many attendees report BALLE conferences to be the best conference they have ever attended! Sessions from our 5th annual conference, held May 31 - June 2, 2007, at the University of California, Berkeley, are available on CDs and DVDs from Conference Recording.com.
Find a network.
See our map and list of networks to find one near you.
Join a network.
An individual or business does not become a member of BALLE itself but of a local BALLE network. Join a local network already established in your region, and work with others to build a sustainable and prosperous community. To find out whether your area already has a BALLE network, check out our Local Networks page.
Start a network.
No local network in your area? Collaborate with other business leaders to form one!
Work for a network.
Local BALLE networks occasionally have positions open for people who are passionate about building Local Living Economies. Check back here for job openings with networks or the BALLE office.
Volunteer for a network.
Local BALLE networks always need good volunteer help, and really appreciate it. Check with your local network or the BALLE office for volunteer slots.
Buy locally.
Here are ten good reasons to shop at locally owned businesses.
Bank locally.
Stashing your cash in a locally owned bank is one more great way to keep money circulating in your local economy and to support your local businesses and community endeavors.
Eat locally.
The average bite of food in the United States travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Learn from the locavores how you can cut your "food miles" to save energy, eat seasonally, and support local farmers.
Source locally.
Your business, too, can get in on the act. What does your business buy that you could be sourcing from other independent, locally owned businesses in your community?
Invest locally.
You don't have to invest only in the mega-macro roller-coaster. More and more ways to make solid investments in locally owned independent businesses are emerging with the growth of the local economies movement, from Upstream 21 to Slow Money to RSF Social Finance to the Philadelphia Reinvestment Fund - and more are on the way.
