Introducing the Devon Doughnut

Here’s the animation script:

We are the Devon Doughnut Collective. We meet every fortnight for Coffee and Doughnuts, sessions that are adapting the potential of Doughnut Economics for people in Devon–a ‘People’s Doughnut’ that gives agency to neighbours, small business owners, community groups and policy makers in assessing how we’re faring ecologically and economically.

We’re not waiting. Because climate disruption is happening here, now. We have 8 years in which to reconfigure our lives. There is extraordinary work going on in this part of the world. And we know that change only happens in a place. People here are seeing how the Doughnut approach can help build a shared pathway to action so let’s start making them… testing them… and sharing them.

It’s an opportunity to create new metrics for things that citizens think are important and useful to measure. If data doesn’t exist, communities can help create it. Born out of the Regenerate Devon Summit (and the Devon Convergence before that) the Devon Doughnut is led by a mix of people–including students–from cities, towns and villages.

Our Doughnut puts ‘Devon’ at its centre, giving room to show what’s working well… within food systems, energy, waste, equity and equality, and so on so we can track what we are working towards, and the Devon we want to see–one that’s thriving–thriving within limits that apply to vital resources held in common, like quality and quantity of fresh water.

We don’t just want to see where we are failing, but where we need to head.

Because of our combined efforts, the Collective has prototyped a ‘first iteration’ Devon Doughnut that creates a framework that everyone can use.

Creativity is our secret ingredient.

We’re ready to expand the Collective to welcome more people leading change in different places, systems and sectors. We’re ready to launch a public-facing programme and to plan for a Peoples’ Doughnut Assembly. We’ll dig into indicators with changemakers who are highly active within the domains, or segments, of the Doughnut. And see what’s most meaningful to them. Keystone metrics generated by a big handful of groups will start to bring the Devon Doughnut to life. We’ll see just how healthy this place really is… and could be.

We think that by going in the opposite direction to big government, by decentralizing knowledge and power, and showing that process is as important as a result, we’ll develop a more accurate picture of how things work here.

So we know better why, and how we can take action.

Let’s make Doughnuts!