Degrowth Stories
Degrowth Stories is a unique report that blends research, expert interviews, and twelve fictional narratives to explore what life in a post-growth world could look like. Across 170+ pages, the report offers 12 future scenarios told through the eyes of everyday characters, alongside 7 in-depth interviews with experts who are actively shaping the transition towards more desirable futures. Instead of abstract academic theory, these stories bring degrowth to life, making it tangible, relatable, and rooted in both imagination and reality.
This report is an invitation to rethink growth, imagine alternative futures, and start conversations that matter. They are not predictions, but tools to expand our collective imagination, designed for anyone ready to explore the possibilities of more just, sustainable, and hopeful worlds.
KEMISARA, 22
Chiang Mai, Thailand
LUBANGI, 86
Kinshasa, Congo
Maureen, 68
Sydney, Australia
DIEGO, 38
Mexico City, Mexico
AMIR, 19
Gaza, Palestine
DANIELA, 29
New York, United States
SIMÓN, 57
Bogotá, Colombia
SU-YEONG, 56
Seoul, South Korea
TOM, 38
London, United Kingdom
TANYA, 36
Paris, France
NICO, 12
Valencia de Alcántara, Spain
CIVIR, 2
Istambul, Turkey
Degrowth Stories is a visual report that reimagines everyday life in a degrowth future. Through global ‘day in the life’ stories, it shows how routines, environments, and values could transform beyond growth. You’ll also learn what degrowth is, why it matters, and the key actors shaping change.
· 170+ pages of content
· 12 post-growth “a day in the life” scenarios
· 7 interviews with visionaries shaping change
BONUS! With your download, you’ll also get a bonus Degrowth Stories Toolkit to create your own character, scenario matrix and a ‘day in the life’ with templates and expert tips to guide you through it.
Degrowth Stories is a visual report that reimagines everyday life in a degrowth future. Through global ‘day in the life’ stories, it shows how routines, environments, and values could transform beyond growth. You’ll also learn what degrowth is, why it matters, and the key actors shaping change.
· 170+ pages of content
· 12 post-growth “a day in the life” scenarios
· 7 interviews with visionaries shaping change
BONUS! With your download, you’ll also get a bonus Degrowth Stories Toolkit to create your own character, scenario matrix and a ‘day in the life’ with templates and expert tips to guide you through it.
In Part 1, you will learn what degrowth really means, why endless economic growth is unsustainable, and how rethinking prosperity can lead to well-being, social equity, and ecological balance. You’ll discover how Indigenous knowledge and emerging trends—from local food systems to shared housing and renewable energy—offer real examples of a post-growth future. We’ll also share recommendations for books, documentaries, and organizations to explore these ideas further.
In Part 2, you’ll explore twelve speculative narratives that imagine life in a post-growth world. Following different characters from around the world, each story offers a glimpse of an ordinary day in a post-growth society, showing how we could live in slower, more sustainable, and fulfilling ways.
The Degrowth Dialogues feature a series of interviews with people and organizations embracing degrowth in diverse ways. Meet Joe Hollier, creator of the low-input mobile device, the Light Phone—a minimalist device designed to reduce digital distractions—, Eteri and Lisa, founders of the Breakfast app, that aims to create meaningful connections in an era of fast-paced, disposable interactions, or Collin Chee, who advocates for more compact ways of living through Never Too Small. From technology, work, and finance, to nature, relationships, and community, these conversations reveal how real-world initiatives are redefining success, consumption, and connection, proving that degrowth is already being put into practice.
To complement the report, we created The Futures Toolkit: a hands-on workbook filled with activities, templates, and practical guidance to help you craft your own scenarios and characters. Whether you’re an educator, researcher, activist, or designer, this toolkit offers structured yet flexible exercises: from building four-quadrant futures to mapping a “day in the life” of your own characters, making it easier to explore how degrowth might unfold in different contexts.
If this report resonates with you and you’d like to create something similar for your company, organization, or community (or collaborating in any other way), we’d love to hear from you!
