Can
you imagine an economy that is truly life-serving? A local
economy loyal to community, the natural world, and the global human
family? A living economy based
on creativity, connectivity, and the common good?
Gailmarie
Kimmel is tapping into a nation-wide movement in new economics. Her
passion for growing a local living
economy (one that acts more like an ecosystem and less like an empire)
comes from a deeply spiritual and practical commitment to Life.
She
works with the non-profit “Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living
Association (RMSLA) and last year launched the “BE LOCAL
Coupon Book” which promotes locally-owned, independent enterprises
in the Fort Collins area. Not
your typical coupon book, BE LOCAL also acts as a guide to local
sustainability choices. It
features stories of new leadership and innovation, a mini-directory of
quality craftsmen, and an “Eat Local” map of farmers, ranches, dairies
and the local outlets for their products.
BE
LOCAL has been warmly received by Fort Collins businesses and community.
Building on this success, RMSLA
will produce a second edition of “BE LOCAL” and initiate a BALLE
Network (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies), joining
an international alliance of 43 independently operated local business
networks with more than 15,000 members dedicated to building Local Living
Economies. www.livingeconomies.org.
This
work allows Gailmarie to integrate her academic degrees - B.S. Biology,
M.Ed. in Adult Education and M.S. in Creation-based Spirituality – with
a deep call to service. She brings over 30 years of experience as an
educator in non-profit organizations and higher education.
Most recently with CSU, she coordinated green building education
for professionals and worked with the Colorado State Forest Service on
sustainable wood utilization and forest health.
She is a co-author of 147
Tips for Teaching Sustainability (2006).
She
welcomes your participation in this endeavor – it takes a town to grow a
living economy! www.sustainablelivingassociation.org/belocal
