The Scottish Degrowth Network is emerging and emergent.
We are building it with those who want to build it with us – meaning its development is a little bit messy and not always in a straight line. It’s definitely not a finished product yet and we don’t expect it will ever be perfect! These are the early contours we have so far shaped together with lots more to be done!
Come and join us in cultivating a root system of alternatives in Scotland.
Who
For people with an anti-capitalist approach and who are interested in or already exploring ideas and practices related to degrowth and decolonisation*.
While you may not describe your work as ‘degrowth’, if you are developing alternative ways of thinking about and/or doing things, which disrupt profit-driven and growth-at-all-costs work, you are probably close.
Scottish Degrowth Network Vision 1.0
The Scotland we are seeking to create and recover is a place of care, joy and equity with material sufficiency and relational abundance. A degrowth Scotland is one in which there is an equitable downscaling of production and consumption that has increased human well-being and enhanced ecological conditions at the local and global level, in the short and long term. (Schneider et al. 2010)
Scottish Degrowth Network Purpose 1.0
It exists to:
- bridge academics, activists, practitioners, rural communities, city streets and all degrowth-minded folx so we can (re)imagine, rediscover and (re)build together our vision for a degrowth society in Scotland.
- connect across struggles, share and learn from each other’s experience and develop our collective practices
- spread ideas, demystify language and shift discourse so we can bring others with us in building a degrowth future.
- make visible, nurture, connect and amplify the seeds of a degrowth society that are already here, building our readiness to collectively respond to crises with viable alternatives
- intentionally align degrowth discussions with an understanding of colonialism and climate justice in Scotland
- develop together an emerging praxis which nourishes and sustains, with a focus on creating and stewarding a shared commons, care, joy and equity
What
The ‘What we do together’ of the Network is still very much taking shape. So far, it is:
- Degrowth Network meetings which are supporting connections between people and are exploring different themes of degrowth and decolonisation in Scotland e.g. embodied practice, independence, tourism
- Organising the Offers and Needs Facilitator Training through the Network to support the connecting of those who are already active in degrowth and those whose work is aligned with degrowth values though they may not be engaging with the theory.
- Supporting an online Hylo community for members to connect, share
- Encouraging an offline communication practice
- Much more still to be developed
Next Meeting: Degrowth and Tourism in Scotland, Monday 24th May, 1pm – 2.30pm
Notes on Degrowth & Decolonisation
- Degrowth is a challenge to growth-based capitalism. While you may not describe your work as ‘degrowth’, if you are developing alternative ways of doing things which disrupt profit-driven and growth-at-all-costs work, you are probably close. See: Enough’s Call to Embrace Degrowth Thinking in Scotland; Enough’s Open Letter on Economic Recovery
- Decolonisation. We understand the work of decolonisation as both internal and external – internal work reclaiming – without appropriation – lost practices and ways of being, and external work recognising that there is much to be done on racism and white supremacy – and specifically anti-Black – racism in Scotland. We recognise Scotland’s past and present as coloniser and of a land and people whose history and ways of being/knowing have been erased. We also recognise that a decolonised global climate justice is vital.
While we recognise that there are different perspectives, we are clear that by taking part in this network you must be committed to be in inquiry and learning around these issues.