On May 1st, we had the profound honor of celebrating 50 years of ILSR at the historic Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., ...

ILSR was founded at another precarious time — a moment when there was little faith in either major political party to do what was best for people and their communities. The country was navigating the ...

What is Local Self-Reliance? Local self-reliance means that we, the people, are free to exercise power over our lives — how we provide for our families, how resources are shared and allocated in our ...

Christopher Mitchell is the Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) in Minneapolis. Mitchell is a leading national expert on community ...

Hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in partnership with Rust Belt Riders, over 160 composters, haulers, farmers, regulators, researchers, public servants, industry leaders, and allies from ...

David Morris reflects on 50 years of fostering local self-reliance and ILSR. Those of us who were lucky to have worked with ILSR’s co-founder David Morris over many decades invite you to join us in ...

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Only by relying on one another, cultivating a spirit of togetherness, and taking big, collective action in our communities can we win the future we all deserve. A future where we all have the freedom ...

Chain dollar stores are multiplying rapidly. Since 2011, the two largest U.S. chains — Dollar General and Dollar Tree (which owns Family Dollar) — have grown from about 20,000 locations to almost ...

Compost is the dark, crumbly, earthy smelling material produced by the decomposition of organic materials such as food scraps and yard trimmings. When added to soil, compost sequesters carbon, ...

Composting can take place at many levels – backyard, block, neighborhood, schoolyard, community, and regional – and in urban, suburban, and rural areas. There are many methods and sizes. Large-scale ...