News & Resources

New Economy Roundup: Earth Day Solidarity, Lessons from Rojava, Land Reform & Resistance

Apr 24, 2025

This week we’re talking about Earth Month solidarity, the impact of federal funding freezes on Black and Indigenous farmers, how the Koreatown Popular Assembly built neighborhood power against ICE, an upcoming teach-in on collective governance in Rojava, land reform in Zimbabwe and South Africa, decolonial aid in East Africa, and more!

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Stories from the Field

Art by Crystal Clarity for Creative Wildfire’s Regenerative Economy Poster Portfolio. 

Earth Month: For generations, Indigenous, Black, and land-rooted communities have shown us what it means to live in right relationship with the Earth, what it means to care for the people, free the land, and build the economy on our own terms. Now — despite the Trump administration’s efforts to censor and defund the climate justice movement — frontline communities are “continuing provide mutual support, to organize, resist, and [create] regenerative climate solutions that are replicable.” With even top insurers warning that the climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, this work to build a regenerative economy could not be more urgent. Download the new Creative Wildfire poster collection from 15 movement artists who translated 15 pillars of a regenerative economy into beautiful works of art.

Farmers & the Federal Funding Freeze: In the past months, the federal government has frozen billions of dollars in promised funding to small farmers. As of February, over 30,000 farmers have been denied funds, with Black and Indigenous farming cooperatives being particularly hard hit. Support NEC member Agrarian Trust in their efforts to bridge these funding gaps and demand the federal government release the promised funds. If you’re a farmer or land steward looking for support navigating the funding freeze, check out Land & Liberation’s resource library and WTF?!? office hours. 

Neighborhood Power against ICE: As ICE escalates its assault on immigrant communities, the Koreatown Popular Assembly (KPA) in Los Angeles provides an important case study on how neighborhoods can organize themselves and develop real skills to keep each other safe. Operating from 2016-2022, KPA aimed to build a rapid response network of neighborhood volunteers who were trained and ready to confront ICE. Though, in their own words, “big wins” were few and far between, the group was one of the most successful in blocking deportations and has important lessons to offer about democratic decision-making structures, member onboarding, and deeply inclusive organizing. Read these reflections from KPA organizers, and tune into this upcoming conversation on neighborhood-level base building with NEC member Community Movement Builders.

Solidarity Economies Abroad

Lessons from Rojava: Founded on women’s liberation, ecological sustainability, and direct democracy, Rojava’s political system provides a dramatic alternative to the status quo values of patriarchy, capitalism, and the nation-state. As we descend deeper into fascism across the globe, what lessons and organizing strategies can the left learn from the collective governance and solidarity economies that the people of Rojava have been asserting? Join the Emergency Committee for Rojava (ECR), Movement Generation (MG), and New Economy Coalition (NEC) for a virtual collective study session on Rojava on May 15th. There will be live Spanish interpretation, ASL, and closed captioning.

Land Reform & Resistance: Each year, April 17 is commemorated as the International Day of Peasants’ Struggle, in honor of the 21 landless workers murdered in Brazil on this day in 1996. This year, hundreds of actions took place around the world in defense of land, water, and life. Learn more about the ongoing struggles for land reform in South Africa and Zimbabwe — where U.S.-backed institutions are attempting to force punitive “reverse reparations” payments to white settlers for lands redistributed to Black peasants. 

Toward Decolonial & Cooperative Aid: Following the sudden cuts to USAID, queer mutual aid collectives in East Africa are showing us how to sustain communities beyond traditional dependency-based aid models. The Trans and Queer Fund and Uma Uma Buy Nothing group in Kenya and a collective in Uganda have organized themselves to be independent from foreign donors, while creating real infrastructure for community care. Learn more about what decolonial and cooperative development could look like in a post-USAID world in this great piece by Collective Diaspora.

Movement News

Resource Library

Image from NEC Member Taproot Earth’s recent report back from the Global Climate Reparations Governance Assembly in Nairobi.

PODCASTS & VIDEO

TOOLKITS & RESOURCES 

ART 

Jobs 

Just Leader Fellowship, Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFED)
Membership Program Manager: Basebuilding, Resource Generation
Program Associate, PeoplesHub
Program Officer, Environmental Justice Resource Collective, Kataly Foundation
Senior Pacific Regional Organizer, Resource Generation
Ujima Fund Interns (Unpaid), Boston Ujima Project
Various Positions, The People’s Solar Energy Fund
Various Positions, Social Movement Technologies 

If you’re hiring, consider submitting to The Roundup. For more opportunities, check out this job board from NEC member Post Growth Institute and this one from the U.S. Federation of Worker Co-ops!

Events

Black Atlanta Solidarity Economy Gathering
The Black Atlanta Solidarity Economy Gathering pulls together organizations, businesses and community members working towards transforming Atlanta’s economy in a way that liberates Black people. (Atlanta, GA – April 26-27)

Fractures: Internationalist Teach-Ins
Join our eight-week teach-in series to go beyond the headlines and uncover the deeper forces shaping our world. Leading thinkers and activists from across the globe will analyze the challenges we face and explore the strategies needed to resist injustice and build a just, sustainable future. (Online – April 30 – June 18)

May Day National Day of Action
This May 1, International Workers Day, GGJ members are joining with immigrant rights, organized labor, feminist, Indigenous rights and racial justice movements across the U.S. and the world, mobilizing in solidarity against rising authoritarianism and repression. (Multiple Cities – May 1)

Resist & Build Summit
Join us in Atlanta to explore post-capitalist futures and forge connections between resistance movements and alternative institutions. Features include strategy sessions, workshops, plenaries, and a “Carnival Beyond Capitalism.” (Atlanta – May 2-5)

Our Kind of Investing: Cooperative Finance in the Hands of Black Women
Join us for a book talk on The Banker Ladies by Dr. Caroline Hossein, exploring Black women’s leadership in solidarity finance. Dr. Hossein examines how Black and racialized women have long been at the forefront of informal banking systems, building collective wealth through mutual aid and cooperative finance. This talk will explore the power of community-based banking, its role in economic justice, and how these historical practices continue to shape solidarity economies today. (Boston – May 5) 

Governance for Healthy Communities
Learn how to get your communities’ needs met through governance systems that skillfully direct energy and resources toward fulfilling the community’s mission in the Governance for Healthy Communities course with Yana Ludwig. (Online – May 6 – June 3)

Alternative Models For Funding and Supporting Cultural Spaces and Workers
A new set of models are demonstrating what alternatives to supporting cultural spaces and workers in our cities, towns and communities can look like. Building on the work of authors from the recently released Routledge Handbook of Urban Cultural Planning, this panel will explore a range of approaches being demonstrated from Los Angeles and the Bay Area to Minneapolis to Toronto – from the growth of cultural land trusts, the expansion of guaranteed income for artists programs, and the potential of the solidarity economy and worker and real estate coop. (Online – May 8)

Research Tools for Organizers 2025
Research into the relationships between powerful people, corporations, and institutions – aka power research – is essential if we want to know who we’re really up against in our fights for justice. Research Tools for Organizers is a training curriculum designed to help you level up your toolkit and bring a new perspective to your campaigns by incorporating practical research techniques and a corporate power analysis into your campaign development. (Online – 4 Sessions – May 15 – August 14) 

Discover the Benefits of Housing Co-ops
Local Housing Cooperative expert Ryan Nill, involved in the founding of La Reunion Cooperative as a member, Hardy House Co-op as an investor and advisor, and Asociación de Residentes Northlamar as a technical assistance provider, will begin with the basics of the cooperative model and cooperative principles, and talk through the practical ways that these core values operate in the context of housing. (Virtual – May 21) 

BIPOC Farmers and Intentional Communities Conference
Join this transformative gathering designed to empower, connect, and inspire BIPOC farmers, land stewards, and intentional community builders. Over three dynamic days, we’ll explore sustainable farming practices, land access strategies, community development, and personal wellness — all within a supportive environment rooted in cultural resilience and collective growth. (Virginia – May 30 – June 1)

2025 National Radical Black Organizing Conference
Bigger! Blacker! Better! Black left forces are gathering to organize with our people. The theme for this year’s conference is “Base-Building for Collective Power.” (Indianapolis – May 30 – June 1) 

Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour
Cleveland Owns and the Co-op Circles planning team are kicking off the Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour. Cleveland is the first stop! We’ll visit local co-ops and learn about the work that’s happening here and across the state. Friday morning we’re loading up in the party bus and heading off to Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati, where we’ll end the Ohio Co-op Solidarity Tour with a stop at Co-op Fest, the annual gathering of the groups supported by Co-op Cincy. (Ohio – June 5) 

Shared Resources & Shared Vision: Applying Solidarity Economy Principles and Practices
Join us to gain a deeper understanding of one of the themes of Solidarity Economy Principles and Practices: Shared Resources and Shared Vision. Participants will learn examples of principles and practices that a variety of groups have used to develop collective vision, power and abundance. Whether you’re in a cooperative, a nonprofit, a community garden, or some other kind of organization, the community-sourced wisdom will support your journey. (Online – June 11) 

Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) Conference
EWOC has organized thousands of workers since our start in March 2020. In an effort to connect with even more worker-organizers, and to celebrate our five-year anniversary, we’re hosting our first-ever EWOC conference! This conference is a space for people at all levels of organizing experience — who are interested in organizing non-unionized workplaces — to connect, learn, and share skills. (Detroit – June 27–29)

Socialism Conference 2025
The Socialism conference is a center of political education rooted in ideas, perspectives, and strategic debate. A four-day conference featuring dozens of panels, lectures, and workshops organized by groups from all over the country. (Chicago, IL – July 3-6)

The People’s Academy
The struggle for national liberation and socialism is a story told through the theories and everyday practices of revolutionary movements throughout the history of the Global South. The curriculum of The People’s Academy is structured in Chapters, each dealing with a critical theme on the long road to liberation. (Online – Through Dec 2025) 

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