The People’s
Doughnut for Devon
BLC is leading the co-design of the Devon Doughnut. Convened in October 2020, the Devon Doughnut Collective has grown from 4 to 170 people in just over a year, contributing over £36,000 of in-kind volunteer professional time to the process. The Collective includes individuals, community representatives, NGOs leading the green future of Devon, academics, councillors and outside experts.
Sessions
Months
Doughnut Makers
Hours contributed
The Doughnut model of a regenerative economy was proposed by Kate Raworth in her 2017 book Doughnut Economics. Since then it has gained traction around the world for the way in which it links the Stockholm Resilience Centre’s planetary boundaries and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into a coherent framework for an economy in line with the Paris Agreement.
The first iteration of the Devon Doughnut for demonstration purposes; scores are fictional.
A story of building collective will
In adapting the Doughnut Economics model for Devon we are making a clear distinction between Kate Raworth’s first Doughnut (with indicators drawn from available data) and our regional (urban + rural) Doughnut that specifically relates to the uniqueness of Devon, works into the potential for change and leads with narrative data that people on the ground can relate to. We are establishing contextualized indicators and ‘twinned thresholds’ for each domain with parallel, linked, pathways to action for policy-makers and citizens. These pathways lead into the ‘space for revitalisation’ in the ring of the Doughnut. We are not only creating a baseline, we are revealing innovative actions on human wellbeing and livelihoods, biodiversity and climate change. Now it needs the input of end-users to put the first prototype to use, to refine it and make it work for them and for Devon.
Click around the interactive Devon Doughnut.
The journey so far
The Devon Doughnut has been acknowledged locally, nationally and internationally as the leading example of Doughnut Economics principles as applied to a whole region (urban+rural). In 2021 the Collective won an international Aix-Marseille University placemaking award in the Economy Development category. We have contributed to the following:
- Transition Together Summit with Civic Square and Brussels Donut, 2022
- The EU Regenerative Bioregions Community of Practice
- Trust the People’s community organizing course, 2021 & 2022
- Systems Change Alliance conference
- Plymouth University’s Sustainable Earth 2021: Climate Emergency: The Race to Net Zero Carbon, 2021
- Community Wealth Building in Devon and the South West, 2021
- Bold Change conference (alongside the Amsterdam, Melbourne and Ireland Doughnuts) and the 8th International Degrowth Conference in the Hague, 2021
- Africa Place Marketing Forum event, 2021
Click around the interactive Devon Doughnut.
We work in and at the intersection of economy, ecology, learning, arts and culture and the gaps in between.