These aren't theories. These are real organizations and projects around the world already building the systems we need.
184 examples
Providence, Rhode Island, USA · Est. 1981 · 🌱 Food & Land
One of the longest-running agricultural community land trusts in the US, managing urban farms, community gardens, and farmer training programs to strengthen equitable local food access.
Maine, USA · Est. 2013 · 🌱 Food & Land
A nonprofit developing the Agrarian Commons model — community-based land trusts that hold farmland permanently and lease it affordably to working farmers, removing land from the speculative market.
Madison, Wisconsin, USA · Est. 2012 · 🌱 Food & Land
Applies open-source principles to plant breeding with a legal pledge that keeps seed varieties freely available for use, saving, sharing, and further breeding — countering corporate seed consolidation.
Marburg, Germany · Est. 2017 · 🌱 Food & Land
Developed a legally binding Open Source Seed Licence to protect crop varieties from patents. Coordinates with the Global Open Source Seed Initiative network spanning ten countries.
Seattle, Washington, USA · Est. 2012 · 🌱 Food & Land
A 7-acre community-managed public food forest using permaculture design to mimic woodland ecosystems with edible plants. Anyone in the community can forage freely.
Ithaca, New York, USA · Est. 2009 · 🌱 Food & Land
A farm incubator providing beginning farmers — particularly immigrants and refugees — with hands-on education, land access, and mentorship to build sustainable land-based livelihoods.
Madison, Wisconsin, USA · Est. 2013 · 🌱 Food & Land
Advances agroforestry as a mainstream farming practice across the Midwest, demonstrating that tree-based agriculture can restore soil health, sequester carbon, and diversify farm income.
Davis, California, USA · Est. 1978 · 🌱 Food & Land
Builds sustainable local food systems by connecting small and mid-scale family farmers with communities through CSA programs, farm-to-school initiatives, and buy-local campaigns.
Global (Kenya / USA origin) · Est. 2004 · 💚 Health
An open-source electronic medical record platform operating in over 80 countries across 8,100+ health facilities, serving more than 16 million patients in resource-constrained environments.
Las Palmas, Spain (global deployments) · Est. 2006 · 💚 Health
A free hospital information system focused on social medicine and public health determinants. Deployed in national health systems across Argentina, Jamaica, Cameroon, and Laos. Recognized as a UN Digital Public Good.
Ernakulam, India · Est. 2020 · 💚 Health
An open-source healthcare system that grew from a COVID-19 volunteer response into a comprehensive platform operational across 11 Indian states, benefiting over 186 million people.
Boston, USA (10+ countries) · Est. 1987 · 💚 Health
Embeds community health workers in underserved communities to deliver preventive care, with over 12,000 workers conducting 800,000+ home visits per year, proving prevention-first healthcare works everywhere.
Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India · Est. 1976 · 💚 Health
The world's largest eye care provider, conducting community eye camps in remote villages to catch curable conditions early. Over 90 million outpatient visits and 10.8 million surgeries, mostly free.
Harare, Zimbabwe (6+ countries) · Est. 2006 · 💚 Health
Trained lay health workers deliver structured therapy on park benches at clinics. Clients join peer-led support circles combining emotional support with income-generating activities. Has served over 700,000 people.
Uganda, Zambia, Malawi · Est. 2013 · 💚 Health
Treats depression at scale in sub-Saharan Africa through group talk therapy delivered by trained lay facilitators. Treated over 426,000 people in 2024 alone — one of the most cost-effective mental health interventions globally.
Boston, USA · Est. 2022 · 💚 Health
A medical knowledge platform providing healthcare professionals with clinical answers grounded in peer-reviewed research, making evidence-based knowledge accessible at the point of care.
Brooklyn, New York, USA · Est. 2009 · 🤝 Governance
Partners with communities across the US and Canada to design participatory budgeting processes, enabling residents to directly decide how public money is spent.
Paris, France · Est. 2022 · 🤝 Governance
Designs and supports citizens' assemblies worldwide using civic lottery to select demographically representative groups for policy deliberation, including at cooperatives like Mondragon.
Berlin, Germany · Est. 2009 · 🤝 Governance
Develops open-source digital participation tools including the adhocracy+ platform, powering platforms like meinBerlin where hundreds of thousands of residents participate in urban planning decisions.
Barcelona, Spain · Est. 2016 · 🤝 Governance
Open-source digital infrastructure for participatory democracy, providing tools for citizen proposals, assemblies, and participatory budgets. Used by municipalities across Europe and Latin America.
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