About community action for sustainability

Community action for sustainability, or CASwiki, is information and knowledge sharing, but with a focus on what might be useful to community groups and active citizens. You can help. What can we do to make our communities more sustainable and in support of environmental, social and economic wellbeing?

"Only We CAN imagine and build the future that works for us all."^[1]

In brief[edit | edit source]

Community action for sustainability, or CASwiki is a collection of information that's

• free, and free to reuse
• about all aspects of local and community-run sustainability action
• collaborative and inclusive
• action or activism focussed

and adopts

• a positive, 'can do' approach

Some starting points - Places, Topics, Resources

Who?[edit | edit source]

CASwiki is for, and can be by, anyone and everyone interested in sustainability, but especially ordinary people and community groups.

Sustainability isn't just something for experts. It's about everyone's quality of life and we all have a part to play. Community involvement, inclusion and empowerment are seen here as an integral part of sustainability.

It's also about joining up or networking and collaboration. / Join our community

Where?[edit | edit source]

CASwiki aims to link up community and personal action for sustainability worldwide.

Local, personal and global - It's about local sustainability - any size area from local community to the whole planet, but in a way which interconnects the personal and the global.

When?[edit | edit source]

Now. This stuff matters. Some would say it's urgent. If you can help, do it now. Your planetary community needs you!

We began 6/12/04, but there's massive potential for further development.

How and why?[edit | edit source]

"Only connect"

Joining up - the highly interlinked nature of the wiki can be especially useful in developing holistic or integrated awareness.

To help with seeing the bigger picture, articles which provide an overview or summary can be especially useful. / Why grow community action for sustainability?

Sustainability?[edit | edit source]

At its most fundamental essence, sustainability is about breaking problematic routines centered on isolation, automobile dependency, overwork, digital addiction, and mindless resource consumption. It is about building up social practices that have become atrophied by underuse and are in desperate need of exercise. Sustainability strives to envision a better life for ourselves and our global brothers and sisters that is less reliant on faceless and impersonal institutions, long-distance commerce, and passive conformity to customary ways of getting along.^[2]

See also: CASwiki topics and Appropedia's sustainability portal

Do[edit | edit source]

Do share! Do please share your knowledge and ideas for action to help bring about more sustainable communities and a more sustainable world. This might be about how to make where you find yourself a better place to live, work or visit.

Sharing is good. Share YOUR knowledge - so's those of us interested in local sustainability don't have to keep reinventing the wheel. Together we're stronger. The more sustainability information we share, the more we all benefit.

Action ideas, information and inspiration[edit | edit source]

• Develop and share ideas, collaborate to bring them to fruition
• Find out what others are doing already, in your own area or elsewhere
• Find or share inspiration
• Find, share and grow resources for your very own sustainability action project, or to move your very own community more towards sustainability
• develop local, regional or national directories and stakeholder listings
• Signpost to further information and resources

CASwiki is run as a community project, and strives towards consensus as the primary means for organizing the wiki.

Other languages[edit | edit source]

While this wiki is predominantly in English, there is a little content in other languages. We'd be delighted to hear of any plans to develop similar content in other languages.

External links[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia: Why Wikipedia is so great

Contact[edit | edit source]

Any questions or comments? Please ask or comment via our talk page, or founder's talk page if you prefer

A brief history of CASwiki[edit | edit source]

2015

As of mid-December all scheduled CASwiki articles have been copied across, updated or set up.

As of early September all CASwiki topic articles have been copied across, updated or set up.

August, wiki name changed to Community action for sustainability, CASwiki (from Sustainable community action, scawiki)

As of May 2015 half of around 60 topic articles have been set up, as well as all 269 location articles. The remaining topic articles and Sustainable community action Resources articles should get set up during 2015. After that the focus can switch to developing the wiki and its community of editors.

2014

As of December 2014 all 269 location articles and 9 out of around 60 topic articles have been set up.

December 6, 2014, was the scawiki's tenth birthday!

2013

Towards the end of 2013, some 300-400 articles from Wiser and Wikia being ported or merged to Appropedia, after it became clear that Wiser would not remain a viable option to host the wiki.

2012

Sca wiki version 2 started on Wiser ^W, to be about 200 - 300 articles merged from selected content from version 1

2004 - 2012

Sca wiki started in 2004 on Wikia, formerly Wikicities. Upwards of 2,600 articles but little updating beyond 2010. Levels of editing by a variety of contributors gradually declined seemingly in parallel as the host site increasingly supported itself with advertising.

Early beginnings

A stakeholder gathering organised by Sustainable NI took place in Birmingham, UK on 16 November 2004. Sustainable NI presented their proposal for a new UK network and resource for people working within communities.

Other organizations giving presentations included London 21 Sustainability Network, Time Bank UK, Forward Scotland, a former sustainability Networking Magazine, Community Environment Associates, the Association for Progressive Communications and the Wiki Foundation.

Open discussion focussed on a variety of options for the form and structure of the proposed network. A temporary discussion board was set up by one of the participants to enable continuing discussion after the event, which included Sustainable NI's report from the day.

Although no actual network was formed, the gathering, learning about Wikia (formerly Wikicities), the discussion board and the availability of some 'starter material' from a previous independent project, involving an online magazine and directory, led to the beginning of this wiki.

References