Keeping the World Alive: An Alternative Story for Funding Community Networks
| Autor | Nicola J. Bidwell |
| Páginas | 99-105 |
99
Keeping the World Alive: An Alternative Story for Funding CNs
7 Keeping the World Alive: An Alternative
Story for Funding Community Networks
Nicola J. Bidwell53
7.1 Abstract
In this essay I reflect on my prior studies of rural Community Networks
(CNs) in the global souths and international advocacy for CNs to
consider the question “what do sustainable funding models really
encourage CNs to sustain?” I suggest that current financial models
bind CNs in a story that contributes to anthropogenic climate crisis
because it does not value, what Stefania Barca calls, the “forces
of reproduction”. Tensions emerge between local practices that
sustain the commons and the market logics that shape how CNs
value, locate and scale the technologies they use and the work
done in maintaining them. Yet, CNs also offer an opportunity to
reimagine how funding models might support collectively keeping
the world alive; such as by combining CNs with financial technologies
in radically different ways.
7.2 Introduction
“…linking connectivity to certain economic enterprises distracted
from our original need, which was about defending the forest to
sustain life”, he sighed. In the decade since that downriver trip to
a South East Asian village, I’ve heard various people in the Global
Souths speak about the difficulties in reconciling socio-environmental
sustainability with resourcing Community Networks (CNs). Sobered
by the IPCC report for 2021, I am left asking “what do sustainable
funding models really encourage us to sustain?” In this essay I
suggest that CNs are bound in a master story that contributes to
anthropogenic climate crisis because they emphasise the forces
of production, and not what Stefania Barca calls the “forces of
reproduction”. I suggest, however, that CNs offer an important
opportunity to reimagine funding models in ways that contribute
to keeping the world alive. To do so I reflect on my prior studies
of rural CNs and international advocacy for CNs and my hands-on
53 International University of Management, Namibia and Aalborg University, Denmark.
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