Community Supported Manufacturing

Community Supported Manufacturing

Definition

As defined by the Post-Carbon Institute, at http://www.postcarbon.org/relocalize/manufacturing

"The concept of Community Supported Manufacturing, means taking back the means of production in a socially and environmentally responsible way. It means we must return to a reliance on local production systems as the primary source of our basic goods. It means we have to resurrect the traditional production and distribution knowledge that has been eroded by our dependence and support of global corporations. It means that communities must work together to overhaul their infrastructure in order to support community based manufacturing.

CSM is an extension of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, where local production is basically extended from the farm to the workshop. These production systems will likely have multilayered ownership, where municipalities, co-operatives, family businesses and local firms mutually support each other. The primary focus of CSM is to Relocalize production and manufacturing, in order to reduce the environmental damage and the cultural erosion that has occured from our reliance on a cheap energy source, that may soon be unavailable." (http://www.postcarbon.org/relocalize/manufacturing)

Key Book to Read

When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance and Planetary Survival. by Matt Stein. Clear Light Books, 2000.