Welcome to Growing the Commons
Growing the Commons is a collaboration between organisations and individuals developing tools, ideas and practices that can help grow a commons movement to catalyse a transition as transformative as that from feudalism to capitalism. It's sorely needed.
We'll be posting articles, interviews and news from member organisations, and from like-minded groups and individuals. Please contact us if you'd like to contribute an article or have a suggestion for a reblog, or if you're involved in commons work and have news, or would like to be interviewed.
This Substack has three main objectives:
Introduce the Commons as a viable, bottom-up response to our polycrisis;
Show it in action through real tools, stories, and communities; and
Grow the movement by inviting broader participation and connecting existing practitioners.
Curious to learn more? We wrote the article below to offer a deeper look at what we’re trying to achieve with Growing the Commons.
Why We’re Launching Growing Commons
Originally published on LowImpact.org (August 20, 2025), with minor edits.
Contributors
Here are the founders and the tools they're providing:
Mutual Credit Services (MCS): commons models for economic sectors, including asset locks, debt avoidance, future-use vouchers.
Local Loop Merseyside (LLM): commons 'money', via credit clearing and mutual credit, model clearing city.
Stroud Commons: housing commons, climbing commons, model commons town.
Festival of Commoning: annual commons festival.
Commons Lab: research, toolkits, playbooks, support and advice.
Credit Commons Protocol: federation / interoperability of commons projects.
Credit Commons Society: 'foundation' to nurture/support the protocol.
Lowimpact.org: commons / self-provisioning knowledge, transitioning to knowledge commons.
Katja Durrani of Bristol Commons.
Simon Grant of P2P Foundation.
Michel Rauchs of the Centre for Alternative Finance at Cambridge University.
Growing the Commons is curated by a small editorial team currently made up of Dave Darby, Katja Durrani, Simon Grant, and Michel Rauchs. If you’re interested in helping shape this publication by becoming an editor, please contact us—we’re always open to expanding the team.
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