“We are living now inside the imagination of people who thought economic disparity and environmental destruction were acceptable costs for their power. It is our right and responsibility to write ourselves into the future.”
Adrienne Maree Browne, Emergent Strategy
About 1 in every 8 plant and animal species are threatened with extinction—a rate 100x higher than the background rate of extinction loss.
60% of original forest cover remains.
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations are 67 ppm higher than the planetary boundary, with total atmospheric concentrations having increased by 50% since preindustrial values.
The wealthiest 10% of people in the world own 76% of total wealth.
Two thirds of the world’s population have at least one unmet justice need.
One in six people globally experience discrimination based on any grounds. Racial discrimination is the most common.
Creating alternative futures of partnership and regeneration
We live in a world governed by exploitative and extractive systems that serve only a few at the expense of many. None of us alive today have experienced any other kind of system. It is therefore difficult to imagine how things could be any different. However, around the world, there is a growing chorus of thinkers, writers, activists, innovators, leaders and business owners who are slowly weaving the fabric of an alternative vision of society. For lack of a better term, this vision might be called post-capitalism.
This vision is a radical departure from many of the assumptions that have dominated our contemporary thinking. It challenges the neoliberal assumption that we are separate individuals who can best meet our needs through exchanging goods and services on markets. It rejects the notion that there is a scarcity of resources and that life has to be a selfish struggle for survival. It vigorously opposes the ideology of growth which governs every modern economy.
Instead, this vision emphasizes our connectedness and capacity for compassion. It holds that there is enough resources for everyone’s basic needs, if they are shared fairly. It values inclusivity and an appreciation of each person’s unique gifts. It also takes a more realistic account of our material constraints and calls upon us to be wise stewards of our precious environment.
We have two choices: Stick with the current stories of separation and domination, or begin telling new stories of partnership and regeneration.
Imaginal Seeds is all about telling the new stories. We believe that imagination and co-operation are seeds that open the adjacent possibles at life’s evolutionary edge.
Statistics: ScienceAdvances, World Justice Project, UN Statistics, Development Initiatives
An impact investment and mutual aid circle dedicated to creating a post-capitalist future
Imaginal Seeds is an offering from Gaia, our living planet. It is a bridge between the old system that is dying and the new system that is coalescing. Our mission is to de-accumulate our wealth through a spectrum of impact investments and mutual aid giving, in service of social equity, economic justice, and ecological health.
Following the ecologist David Fleming, we believe that our civilisation is headed towards either gradual descent or collapse. In order to avoid collapse, we must “recruit the intelligence and purpose of the people in the extraordinary task of inventing a future.” As such, we support organisations, communities and people who inspire us with their radical visions of a post-capitalist future and who are building transition pathways towards an ecological civilisation.
Read our complete manifesto here
Our Focus Areas
We primarily support six key areas which we believe are foundational to a future built on partnerships and regeneration.
Our Community
Explore the organisations, communities, and people whose work we have supported.
Imagine with us
The first step in our journey is to imagine something different. We are looking for thinkers, writers, activists, innovators, leaders, and business owners who resonate with our vision of an alternative society and who feel the calling to contribute to the difficult task of re-inventing the future and creating transition pathways. If you would like to begin a conversation with us, please send us a message.