In 1973, British economist E.F. Schumacher wrote “Small is Beautiful – Economics as if People Mattered”, – a book that offered a vision of an economy driven by a desire for harmony, not greed; an economy based on community and ecological values, not global financial derivatives. In the 1970s, “Small is Beautiful” helped launch a back-to-the-land movement that is the ancestor to the Local Food Revolution of today.

For the last three decades, the E.F. Schumacher Society has transformed Schumacher’s ideas into a series of practical innovations – reinventing much of the local economy of Great Barrington, Massachusetts and southern Berkshire County in the process.

Chris Bedford’s 37 minutes film, COMING HOME: E.F. Schumacher and the Reinvention of the Local Economy tells the story of the Society’s remarkable work that includes founding of the nation’s first CSA, economic development based on Community Land Trusts, and the creation of the nation’s most successful local currency – BerkShares.