This method of regeneration must be the simplest of all and it’s based on communication which is something we all need more of.
Ultimately, regeneration is about people having things that they want. We often miss this point because we get all tied up in how to create more jobs in rural areas or reduce the number of small businesses going bust.
We forget that building businesses or having jobs is all about making money to spend and buy things we want.
But what about if at least some of the things we want could be free? By free I mean genuinely free not just a marketing ploy as in ‘buy one get one free’ which is just a price for two items. If the item was free, we wouldn’t need to earn the money to buy it.
Amazingly, people have loads of stuff that they don’t really want but would hate to throw away. Here’s an example.
Once upon a time I moved into a new house and it had a load of coal in a coal bunker. Well the chances of me building a fire to use this coal were totally remote. But I didn’t want to throw it away.
The solution was easy but not immediately obvious. I telephoned a local organisation who did work with the elderly and, in hardly any time at all, it had been collected and handed to somebody who really needed the coal.
I felt good. The people who collected the coal and took it to the elderly persons house probably felt happy they were helping somebody. No doubt, some old lady or gentleman warmed their toes before the fire and was also happy as a result of this little bit of recycling.
Well enough said. The point is made.
Here’s the recycling organisation. There may be others as good or better. I merely pass on the idea. They have lots of local groups and if they don’t have one near you, maybe you could start one.
