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Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy
In an era when incomprehensibly complex issues like Peak Oil and Climate Change dominate headlines, practical solutions at a local level can seem somehow inadequate.
In response, Lyle Estill's Small is Possible introduces us to "hometown security," with this chronicle of a community-powered response to resource depletion in a fickle global economy. True stories, springing from the soils of Chatham County, North Carolina, offer a positive counter balance to the bleakness of our age.
This is the story of how one small southern US town found actual solutions to actual problems. Unwilling to rely on government and wary of large corporations, these residents discovered it is possible for a community to feed itself, fuel itself, heal itself and govern itself.
This book is filled with newspaper columns, blog entries, letters and essays that have appeared on the margins of small town economies. Tough subjects are handled with humor and finesse. Compelling stories of successful small businesses from the grocery co-op to the biodiesel co-op describe a town and its people on a genuine quest for sustainability.
Everyone interested in sustainability, local economy, small business, and whole foods will be inspired by the success stories in this book.
In response, Lyle Estill's Small is Possible introduces us to "hometown security," with this chronicle of a community-powered response to resource depletion in a fickle global economy. True stories, springing from the soils of Chatham County, North Carolina, offer a positive counter balance to the bleakness of our age.
This is the story of how one small southern US town found actual solutions to actual problems. Unwilling to rely on government and wary of large corporations, these residents discovered it is possible for a community to feed itself, fuel itself, heal itself and govern itself.
This book is filled with newspaper columns, blog entries, letters and essays that have appeared on the margins of small town economies. Tough subjects are handled with humor and finesse. Compelling stories of successful small businesses from the grocery co-op to the biodiesel co-op describe a town and its people on a genuine quest for sustainability.
Everyone interested in sustainability, local economy, small business, and whole foods will be inspired by the success stories in this book.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2008
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140 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 21, 2008
I thought this book was okay, but it dragged ass in some areas and got caught up in boring minutia and autobiographical stories which weren't all that interesting. It's heartening to know that these things are possible in small communities, but I think his particular community has a disproportionate amount of liberal-leaning folks and quirky local businesses...I don't know if a lot of this could be extrapolated to say a small town of a few hundred people in the middle of the corn belt. Maybe worth reading but not as good as Sharon Astyk's book Depletion and Abundance.
November 18, 2008
A little self-conceited, a little more of a small picture than I would have liked, but overall there are a lot of great stories and connections in this book.
September 2, 2020
Small is relative
Still writes about global and local influences, the need for community and community engagement. It would be interesting to read a follow-up in five years.
Still writes about global and local influences, the need for community and community engagement. It would be interesting to read a follow-up in five years.
December 9, 2008
The message of this book is fairly simple: support your local economy. As it turns out, I buy produce from Piedmont Biofarms at the Durham Farmers' Market every week, so I'm taking Lyle Estill's message very much to heart. Estill, however, encourages us all to go one step further. This isn't just about where you shop, but also about how communities govern, educate, and entertain, and in his case, even fuel themselves. Local is, simply put, better...even best. Estill does admit that this somewhat utopian vision does have some problems...here he particularly highlights housing. One person's castle is frequently another person's hell. Buying local is easy because it doesn't necessarily require that we live next to each other in harmony.
In the end, I concede I didn't quite finish this book. It's message, as I noted, was fairly straight-forward and pointedly made throughout. The quality of the book was very uneven. It seemed to have been very poorly edited. Estill also hosts various blogs, and the book had the quality of various blog entries kind of cobbled together at times, or at the very least a very stream-of-consciousness type feel. That might make for a good blog or journal entry, but at times it actually makes for quite difficult reading (not so easy as you might imagine).
Estill's experiment is interesting and definitely worth reading about. But I also wonder about the big unspoken...for a lot of the projects in which Estill engages, he needs money. He finds it, largely by persuading people to invest. And more power to him, I say. But is it really that easy for most of us??? And therein, perhaps, lies the rub.
In the end, I concede I didn't quite finish this book. It's message, as I noted, was fairly straight-forward and pointedly made throughout. The quality of the book was very uneven. It seemed to have been very poorly edited. Estill also hosts various blogs, and the book had the quality of various blog entries kind of cobbled together at times, or at the very least a very stream-of-consciousness type feel. That might make for a good blog or journal entry, but at times it actually makes for quite difficult reading (not so easy as you might imagine).
Estill's experiment is interesting and definitely worth reading about. But I also wonder about the big unspoken...for a lot of the projects in which Estill engages, he needs money. He finds it, largely by persuading people to invest. And more power to him, I say. But is it really that easy for most of us??? And therein, perhaps, lies the rub.
February 28, 2009
This book jumps all over the place under the umbrella of the local economy. Some of the ideas are interesting and exciting- cooperation, local currency, local medicine, but I had a terrible time connecting the dots in a lot of cases. Estill is clearly enthusiastic and energetic, but I just didn't take away much. Here's a sample paragraph that I read over and over trying to understand:
"Cuba, under a communist government, figured out how to feed itself in the absence of petroleum. The United States is a democracy that has not had to face that particular problem. In Cuba, where the eggs come from the rooftop above, people are imprisoned for criticizing government. In the United States, where eggs are plentiful and cheap, and where people are free to throw barbs at their government, people are imprisoned for being terrorists. And we ship the terrorists to our naval base in Cuba."
The context of the chapter didn't help me. I don't think this paragraph was the only confusing one, it's just the one that I fought hardest to figure out. I failed.
Perhaps this book isn't the appropriate starting point for thinking about the local economy. Maybe I need a primer.
"Cuba, under a communist government, figured out how to feed itself in the absence of petroleum. The United States is a democracy that has not had to face that particular problem. In Cuba, where the eggs come from the rooftop above, people are imprisoned for criticizing government. In the United States, where eggs are plentiful and cheap, and where people are free to throw barbs at their government, people are imprisoned for being terrorists. And we ship the terrorists to our naval base in Cuba."
The context of the chapter didn't help me. I don't think this paragraph was the only confusing one, it's just the one that I fought hardest to figure out. I failed.
Perhaps this book isn't the appropriate starting point for thinking about the local economy. Maybe I need a primer.
February 15, 2015
Estill provides a comprehensive study of local economy in his home county of Chatham, North Carolina. If his narrative appears scattered at times, he more than makes up for it in detail. His own story is fascinating and serves as the frame of reference for this book. Overall, this book was an interesting and informative read. The only thing I wish he'd done better is focus on one narrative rather than doing a scatter shot. While I understand the need to cover such a breadth within the framework of his local community, at the end of nearly every chapter I felt as though there was more to say. His writing is very descriptive but does not seem to answer the question of why this economic/social/political situation works.
May 29, 2009
I liked the idea of this book more than I enjoyed reading the book. I agree with the author on the idea of creating more sustainable communities, and I'm impressed with all that he and others in a small town in North Carolina have managed to accomplish. While reading the book I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the non-stop praise the author showers on everyone in his community, and blatant self-promotion. I find it amazing to have such an ambitious and innovative leader in a community, but he should have written an autobiography. This book is 200 pages of his accomplishments and business ventures and his idea of creating a "community".
January 25, 2010
I definitely read quite a collection of books this year! I would call this one the anti-thesis of Friedman's text on the global community. It is inspiring in respect to sustainability, community, and the power of those two combined. Refreshing to the point that I wish more people would join them! It was local and tangible but also a bit bragging/boasting at how successful they've been. The prose is not the most enthralling but it moves along without many hiccups. One may complain about the organization but it is a recollection of a number of years work. I would recommend if you're interested in how a fully sustainable community might function within the modern world.
July 23, 2008
I have posted reviews at Amazon.com and my opensource.org blog: http://opensource.org/node/342
The greatest thing about this book for me is that in my daily business world, the term "community" has become very 1-dimensional, not unlike "good, honest, hard-working Americans", which describes everybody a candidate wants to reach and nobody in particular. This book restores real dimension to the description and discussion of community.
The greatest thing about this book for me is that in my daily business world, the term "community" has become very 1-dimensional, not unlike "good, honest, hard-working Americans", which describes everybody a candidate wants to reach and nobody in particular. This book restores real dimension to the description and discussion of community.
October 24, 2009
Excellent book about the often hidden importance of local economy in order to have a thriving local (Main street) culture. Thw Author shows how when money spent in a small hardware store, or local restaurant, or local food co-op that money stays i the community, providing work and sustaining the community.
The author uises examples from his own life experiences, starting as a international software provider, to a local bio-diesel factory co-owner.
The author uises examples from his own life experiences, starting as a international software provider, to a local bio-diesel factory co-owner.
July 1, 2010
Good ideas and inspiring things happening in this one North Carolina county, but Estill conveys them in such a rambly way that I lost interest very quickly. I was also none too impressed with his regular quoting of his own newspaper columns, all of which came across as rants at how the entrenched elements of local government couldn't get with the program. (I'm pretty amazed he's been able to get anything done with that kind of confrontational and snotty attitude toward his neighbors.)
December 3, 2009
A collection, mostly of essays, by a man deeply rooted in renewable energy, community and small business. There were a few times that I felt like he was patting himself on the back. Then, I thought, "Good. He should." Like the book. Would recommend mainly to those in smaller communities interested in learning about the benefits of buying locally, sustainability and starting a small business.
April 24, 2010
This book isn't so much about how to build a local economy as a memoir on how this man (and some of his neighbors) contributed to build the local economy of his place of residence. If you know nothing about what local economy is this book may be useful, if you're looking for actions to take as a consumer this isn't the book to read.
May 21, 2012
Reads as a collection of short stories. All relevant to the local community, with some interesting characters and anecdotes that teach some good lessons about living local.
A bit jumpy, but an easy, light and entertaining read with some good examples the rest of us could follow to build local communities.
A bit jumpy, but an easy, light and entertaining read with some good examples the rest of us could follow to build local communities.
December 15, 2010
While it was exciting to read about the many things folks in Chatham County, North Carolina, are doing to build a vibrant local community, Estill's writing was far too often disorganized, self-aggrandizing and insular.
June 25, 2009
more of a collection of stories/memories than a blueprint to doing it. Lyle and much of the community has made the commitment to make it work
September 12, 2009
A story of developing a local economy in a sustainable fashion.
While the book doesn't provide an actionable plan, it outlines some relevant ideas and ways they had been brought to life.
While the book doesn't provide an actionable plan, it outlines some relevant ideas and ways they had been brought to life.
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November 18, 2009Dudeguy just seemed a little too smug like your average white a-hole on the San Juans.
Read
September 7, 2010Saw this and thought it looked awesome. I have it on order now.
February 3, 2016
This book was best at inspiring my own questions. I think I read it at the right time for me personally.
July 7, 2015
Awesome book since I recently moved to Pittsboro NC. It really details how this area is special and great.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews