Kosmos Associates is pleased to announce the addition of two new Members to our Board of Directors, Stephanie Shorter and Rhonda Fabian.

by Judy Wicks

We envision a prosperous local economy that supplies basic needs to the local population, works in harmony with our ecosystem, supports vibrant, joyful, and inclusive community life and has broad-based business ownership reflecting the demographics of our population.

The Circle of Aunts & Uncles is a multi-generational project to provide low-interest loans and social capital to under-resourced entrepreneurs in order to co-create a more equitable, compassionate, sustainable, and vibrant local economy in the Greater Philadelphia region.

Story and featured image by Ramnath Shanbhag

“I saw tons of people bring in or take away donations. And as I smiled with them, I found a purpose – maybe not for my life but for that little while that I was there. And that is why I keep coming back. ..As the world moves at an ever faster rate, our isolated and fragmentary lives will require more community initiatives like this to bring us back to our basic humanity”

Unlike debate, dialogue emphasizes listening to deepen understanding. Dialogue invites discovery. It develops common values and allows participants to express their own interests. It expects that participants will grow in understanding and may decide to act together with common goals. In dialogue, participants can question and reevaluate their assumptions. Through this process, people are learning to work together to improve race relations.

Story and Photos by Sherry Ott, via her blog

“When you arrive they give you a butter knife and a seat around a big barrel of water soaked taro along with other volunteers. It’s messy and sort of gross and slimy, but rather simple work. It’s so simple that it allows and encourages you to get to know the people you are sitting around. Not only is Waipa preserving poi making, but they are also preserving the art of visiting.”

by Shweta Vitta, via Your Story

In 2002, New York-based Jessica Mayberry came to India as a W.J. Clinton Fellow of the American India Foundation to train rural Indian women in film-making. Witnessing the creative power of Indian communities to solve their own problems first-hand, she decided to stay back and empower these people. And thus was born Video Volunteers, to create an interface between grassroot and mainstream journalists, give a voice to the unheard, and to empower these unheard voices to change their lives for the better.

By Amanda Froelich, via True Activist
feature image, courtesy modernfarmer.com

“In some of these neighborhoods, that’s the only place people have to plant. Between the concrete, asphalt, and chain link fences, they don’t have any other places. To me, it’s about making food hyperlocal. Not just local, hyperlocal.” – Ron Finley