(RPG-009) “PROSUMER COMMUNITY”

How could ordinary consumers save money as they buy their day to day needs? Two old words now combine to form a new word, representing a totally new concept in the buying and selling of goods and services. From the words “producer” and “consumer” now comes the new word of “prosumer”, meaning a producer who is also a consumer, and vice versa, a consumer who is also a producer.

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The term was coined in 1980 by the futurist Alvin Toffler, in his book “The Third Wave”, a blend of producer and consumer. He used it to describe a future consumer who would have a hand in the outcome of products. In these present times, we could possibly describe it as the consumer who has the power to buy what he wants to buy, possibly from other consumers who are also producers of one product or the other.

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As I understand it, the concept does not necessarily exclude big producers from the overall equation, since these big companies could also become large consumers for their corporate needs. This is actually an advantage, because it would enable us to improve coordination with these companies, as we try to have a hand in the outcome of their products, following Toffler’s definition.

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Inspired by this idea, I am going to build a prosumer community within and among the members of the Inter-Charity Network (ICN), starting with our initial membership which is already close to a million. As it is now, many of our members are already producing several goods and services that could already be sold within the community.

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Under the leadership of the Agro Amigo Movement, we are already producing organic food items such as chicken, pork and vegetables which could already be patronized by our prosumer community. As more members enter into the field of organic farming, there is no reason why we could not cope with the demand, as consumption grows within the community. As an added advantage, we are also going to create livelihood opportunities.