This book deals with a new role that has emerged as communities all over the world struggle to gain more control over their destinies as globalization accelerates.

Community entrepreneurs create organizations that encourage people to learn their way out of poverty, dependency and marginalization. By participating in such innovative ventures, individuals become more self-sustaining and able to create good lives for themselves and others in their own communities or wherever the choose to settle.

Sustainable People moves discussion about social and economic change from abstract terms such as “community” and “development” by focusing on what individuals and groups are actually doing to encourage personal and community development, it documents the background of the role of the entrepreneur, the kinds of organizations they create, their learning process and the moral basis of their initiatives.

Jim Lotz is Senior Research Fellow at the Community Economic Development Institute.