Community Economies Lab (CEL)

The Community Economies Lab engages new thinking and alternative practices to build economies that are equitable, cooperative and just. Over the past decade, the Community Economies Lab has explored the challenges presented by current economic crises such as the post-coal transition in Central Appalachia and coffee industry restructuring in Central America and the solidaristic strategies communities use to respond.

Unwilling to stand on the sidelines we have also used participatory action research approaches to learn about and support the development of cooperative and community-centered economic institutions from Firsthand Coffee Cooperative, Cooperativa La Hermandad Indigena, The Working World - Nicaragua, Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective, The RiffRaff Arts Collective and more. Students affiliated with the Community Economies Lab participate in seminars, research, and real-world problem solving through action-research projects. They are encouraged and supported to experiment with new ways of combining learning, research, and action to co-create alternative economic futures. 

There are diverse economic experiments currently underway which seek to transform community life based on principles of care, mutual aid and solidarity. Get involved today!