Rural School of Economics
trans-local
September 2021

See www.ruralschoolofeconomics.info for Myvillages' new trans-local and collaborative infrastructure.


Lots of People are part of this (and more will come in over the coming years). Myvillages initiators are Wapke Feenstra and Kathrin Böhm.


The school is de-centralised, self-organised, multi-lingual and nomadic. It exists as an international network between geographically distant rural communities, and between rural communities and their local cultural organisations. Knowledge exchange is led by non-linguistic sharing and learning-by-doing. It is trans-disciplinary and inter-generational with a focus un (re-)drawing the way we see and use our environments.

The classrooms happen close to where rural economics are practiced, in small workshops, kitchens, on fields, in the street and in village halls. The pedagogy highlights learning as commoning, and focuses on mutual knowledge exchange, where the roles of teachers and learners are interchangeable.

The Rural School of Economics builds on the extensive experience of Myvillages in trans-local local knowledge exchange with villages and groups who hold rural knowledge. Myvillages has been a leading partner in the Eco Nomadic School (2012 -2018), and has tested and developed numerous methods and tools for community learning and trans-local exchange.

The Rural School of Economics started its research in 2019 and in 2020-21 has set up classrooms in five European regions: the village Zburazh in the Brest Region in Belarus, Zvizzchi in the Kaluga Oblast Region in Russia, Pushkino in the Tver Region of Russia, Pollinaria in Civitella Casanova in the Italian Abruzzo, ruruHaus in Kassel Germany, Lumsden in Scotland, and Alfter near Bonn, the home of Alanus University.

In parallel the school will re-connect with partners and communities that have worked with Myvillages in the past, and extend to new collaborators who want to connect their interest in rural and rural economics to the infrastructure and curriculum of the network. The Rural School of Economics has the ambition to grow into a long-term networked alliance of cultural and civic organisations, who connect traditional and progressive economic cultures.

Colleagues who address community-led economic transformation in South America, South East Asia, USA, Turkey and Scandinavia have also expressed their interest in the wider network building, opening up the possibilities for a globally connected trans-local school.

www.ruralschoolofeconomics.info

This website documents the work of Myvillages from 2003 to 2023.

To find out where Myvillages is working at the moment visit ruralschoolofeconomics.info and villageplay.net.
All our project websites are listed at “about us”.

Contact us at info@myvillages.org