Purpose – In the contribution the authors show how the concept of community-powered co-innovation can successfully be implemented in order to improve the situation of small-scale farmers. The purpose of this paper is to focus on developing countries in consideration of economic, social and ecological sustainability aspects. Design/methodology/approach – All findings are based on an in-depth, detailed examination of one specific case. The case study approach allows analysis of innovation and cooperation within rural societies while considering their contextual conditions. Findings – The case study goes back to an initiative begun in 2011. Stakeholders from Nepal were connected to five Austrian distributors and nine German distributors selling their products in Austria and Germany. In total, about 600 Nepalese farmers are cultivating on average less than 1 ha of agricultural land each. A German entrepreneur founded the first Demeter farm in Nepal and founded an ethical business in Nepal to cooperate with the farmers there. The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU) acted as a knowledge broker. The whole initiative followed the Triple Helix concept. Research limitations/implications – The study shows qualitative results out of an individual initiative. The findings are of a qualitative nature, they are not necessarily transferable to comparable cases. The outcome has to be interpreted as hypotheses, further research activities are required for broader application. Originality/value – The case study shows how the authors can sustainably improve the economic and social situation of underprivileged market participants in the least developed countries by establishing a teaching-based cooperation between a university, an ethical business and farmers.

The article is a case study of a local currency, recently introduced in the rurally situated municipality of Sysmä, Finland. As a small community suffering a gradual population decline since the 1960s, Sysmä municipality has begun to innovate with several projects this millennium. Here, we analyse as a narrative and from the viewpoint of experienced tensions, the introductory phase of one of these projects, which strictly is a hyper-local currency acting as a system of account. It is noted that there are unclarities regarding the purpose of the scheme, and that different stakeholders and other observers do have varying ideas about this purpose. Political decisions over limiting rights of issuance of the local currency to locally registered businesses; and its exclusive use for local association subsidies have created some challenges to the acceptance of the currency. Further, the currency has limited uptake due to technical issues, injudicious use of the marketing mix and difficulties with innovating in a rural area. Noting these issues and the peculiarity of the scheme amidst other typical European local currency schemes, the article also points out benefits of the scheme and potential future developments.

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Humanity is currently faced with the extreme effects of anthropogenic climate change and, within the cultural realm, music and activism have important roles to play. This interaction between musical cultures and those engaged with environmentalism is explored in this paper, which focuses on the concept of the eco-warrior as a driver of direct environmental action, and the relationship between eco-warriors and music activism. Warrior culture is examined through various musical genres, focusing on its manifestation in a range of environmental movements from Earth First! to Extinction Rebellion. We discuss the role of warrior culture in these musical genres in reflecting the eco-warrior archetype, and follow the transition of this music to more mainstream styles, with a parallel activist shift from aggressive action, to nonviolent direct action. We offer a definition of the contemporary ecowarrior-a generalized archetype of an activist for whom musical culture may play an important role in identity shaping and action-via analysis using Collective Action Framing. The findings are contextualised in conclusion through Social Movement Theory proposing a link between musical style and types of action.

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