Economic Sovereignty & Group Economics as Collective Healing
Powerlessness wounds the spirit. Can building together be a form of therapy?
Much of our collective stress is rooted in economic precarity — and dependence on systems that were never built for our thriving. Our ancestors practiced group economics out of necessity and vision: rotating savings clubs, cooperatives, land trusts, Black-owned trade. Rebuilding this is not only about money; it is about dignity, safety and the healing that comes from building something we own together. Share your ideas and experiences: what models of group economics have you seen work? How do we move from consumers to owners and builders?
2 Voices in the Circle
My family runs a susu (rotating savings club) with 12 members. We've funded a food truck, two down payments and a funeral without touching a bank. Group economics isn't theory for us — it's how the West Indians in my building have always survived.
Moving from consumer to owner started when six of us pooled money to buy one duplex. Small, unglamorous, terrifying. But we own something together now and the pride healed something money alone couldn't.