What we mean by „commons“ and „commoning“.
Through our involvement with building groups and other community projects, we have repeatedly come across the terms „commons“ and „communal creation“. The work of Elinor Ostrom and the German reception by Silke Helfrich have inspired us greatly. At a retreat in September 2020, we deliberately chose the term as the guiding concept for our activities. We want to explain it in this text:
- why we consider commons / commoning to be important and suitable for tackling current social challenges and environmental problems; and
- how we understand the commons / common good, i.e. how we have defined it for ourselves.
To anticipate: the history and present of commons projects shows that the sharing and collaborative development and maintenance of resource systems, such as building groups, food coops and energy communities, but also forest and alpine communities, can achieve both: Satisfy the basic needs of communities for housing, food, energy, etc. AND create and maintain liveable and sustainable habitats, thereby also making a significant contribution to the climate transition.
This text is also available on issuu. >>Download PDF <<
Have fun reading!
