Developed by the Post Growth Institute in 2011, the Offers and Needs Market (OANM) is a community process that facilitates inclusivity and rapid connections, even among strangers. Typically facilitated as a guided 2-hour event (online or in-person) the OANM shows how communities can meet their needs, locally and collectively. With basic training, anyone can facilitate an OANM in neighborhoods, workplaces, conferences, schools, cohorts, and more. By strengthening local relationships and mutual support, the OANM reduces dependence on extractive economic systems and carbon-intensive supply chains while nurturing more regenerative, solidarity-based alternatives.
I love the Offers and Needs Market because it taps into the oldest structures by which people exchange goods, services, care, and food. Now more than ever, we need collective strategies to engage in a collaborative economy.
adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute