Reconstruct the concepts of wealth, work and progress – Luisa Kleine about the Project Region im Wandel in Waldkappel/Germany

Short summary:

Luisa Kleine is a founder of the community network which is in the middle of Germany, called Fuchsmühle. There are 35, mostly young, people living there. The special element of this project is that they not only focus on changing the ecological, social or cultural structures but mainly the economical ones. So, they to replace the separation narrative of the capilastic exchange with a focus on commons, sharing and collaboration. In this, not all the particpatns of the project take part but also the locals living in the region. The idea is to build up structures which are useful for the locals such as the community supported agriculture, a food coop, taking care of the empty houses etc. It was intentionally decided to create the community project in a region with problems and challenges. For example, a lot of young people moving away because there are not so many working opportunities, a lot of houses and shops being empty so, people cannot buy things locally etc. This creates unity amongst project members, the locals and the municipality due to sharing the same interests, to build up structures again which are helpful.

A big part of our vision is based on the concept of commons. Commons or commoning is when people come together and create and produce and care for what they really need and what they love and what is meaningful for them. (…) And that seems really easy but in a way it’s really radical because we live in a system where not meaning and needs are in the centre but profit. And it’s really deep in our brains and our culture that we yeah are focused on profit and not our needs.

Luisa Kleine