"This video illustrates the interconnectedness and localisation that I have woven into my life. It includes peer-to-peer exchange systems aided by modern technology."

Helen Dew, Living Economies Educational Trust founding member

Helen Dew has spent a lifetime quietly doing what many of us talk about—growing her own food, trading locally, building community, and finding practical alternatives to systems that put profit before people and planet. The video above offers a window into that life and the philosophy behind it.

At its heart is a simple but powerful idea: that the way we exchange goods, skills, and care with one another shapes the kind of communities and the kind of world we create. Helen has explored this not just in theory, but in practice, through time banking, savings pools, local currencies, and the everyday choices of a life lived in conscious relationship with the land and the people around her.

A Message for Every Generation

That same philosophy extends to the youngest members of our communities. Helen is also the subject of a children's illustrated book, Good for You, Helen Dew, published by David Ling, that brings these ideas to life for readers of all ages.

The book grew out of conversations between two of Helen's friends, both published authors, who noticed the way Helen lived and felt it deserved to be shared. Using Helen's life as its starting point, the book encourages children and adults alike to think about their everyday choices, what to buy, what to eat, what to wear, and how those choices ripple outward into the world.

Topics covered include intergenerational play, creativity, responsible use of natural resources, informal trading and the gift economy, healthy food, community resilience, and the importance of both individual and collective action. Readers and reviewers have noted that it often sparks intergenerational conversations between children and the adults reading with them, which may be its greatest strength.

Going Deeper

For those who want to explore further, Helen's memoir Looking Back and Looking Ahead covers the full arc of this thinking in much greater depth. As Helen puts it, the memoir inspires the reader to implement tools that create pathways for a regenerative lifestyle and hope for future generations.

Get the Children's Book

Good for you, Helen Dew is available from Living Economies Book Shop, or through your local library or bookshop. For orders and enquiries, contact Helen directly at helen@livingeconomies.nz or 027 900 9742. ($20 plus postage and packaging.)