MERCi was started by a group of campaigners in Manchester who were frustrated by the lack of resources available to anyone that wanted to try and make the city a better place. They felt that there were no positive alternatives to promote what they as campaigners were in favour of, only negatives and things to complain about. In the process of setting up an air pollution campaign it became clear to some of MERCi's founders that single issue campaigning still dominated the agenda in the city - nobody was talking about the links between for example poverty and energy, or organic gardening and truancy.
The history of grassroots campaigning in Manchester is a long and successful one - people taking action in small autonomous groups, separate from established membership organisations, have achieved a great deal in the city. But there was little communication between these diverse groups of people - no real sharing of resources, ideas and skills. MERCi intended to address all these obstacles to political and social change - and more.
Of course, anyone analysing the way change happens in Manchester now may say these issues are irrelevant. Or campaigners may say that the same problems exist. And therein lies other core elements of the MERCi project - that it remains flexible and able to respond to cultural shifts in Manchester. And that change can only be achieved with long-term commitment and does not happen overnight.
The founders of MERCi had some very clear ideas about what a Centre for Sustainable Living would be like - and how it would be achieved. Here are their thoughts from the early days of MERCi.