IGNYTE Magazine Issue 06 | Page 64

If people have the right infrastructure, ideas and individuals, then they can do citizen innovation. It happens at a grass roots level.

The impact of citizen innovation is seen through entrepreneurship; it’s about people developing their own solutions. We focus on how to experiment with new and alternative ways of what inclusion and poverty means. If we continue to exclude people, there is no systemic change. We research alternative ways of living and ask questions like ‘how much money do we need to live? Can we use time banks, social currencies, Sharing Economy platforms and ideas? We work on the concept of a commons based economy. We have experiments where people are creating their own money, building their own neighbourhoods, growing their own food in community gardens. There’s a whole eco-system that is developing and growing based on citizen innovation. It’s ground up, created by citizens to build the future they want and need.”

REINVENTING

HOW WE WORK

The Food Justice Campaigner: Malik Yakitini

“There are four aspects to food justice. The first is having access to high quality food regardless of economic status. The second is that people working in the food system should be fairly treated. Currently, those who harvest food are paid wages that are deplorable and work in horrible conditions. Thirdly, community members should see the economic benefits of the money that someone pays for food. In my community, people from outside run the stores and money is stripped out of the community. Fourthly, we are not separate from the animals and the birds who we share this earth with. Part of food justice is growing food that is sustainable so that we are good citizens of this earth.

“There are four aspects to food justice. The first is having access to high quality food regardless of economic status. The second is that people working in the food system should be fairly treated. Currently, those who harvest food are paid wages that are deplorable and work in horrible conditions. Thirdly, community members should see the economic benefits of the money that someone pays for food. In my community, people from outside run the stores and money is stripped out of the community. Fourthly, we are not separate from the animals and the birds who we share this earth with. Part of food justice is growing food that is sustainable so that we are good citizens of this earth. s ground up, created by citizens to build the future they want and need.”