The family of swallows that spent the summer in the eaves behind my office here in France have headed south for the winter. Soon, as Christmas beckons, they’ll reach their destinations: Botswana, Namibia or South Africa. After just two months gorging on insects, they’ll begin the epic journey back. The strongest among them will make […]
How Does This Forest Think?
AUTUMN NEWSLETTER Xskool on Grinda UnBox in India Forthcoming events XSKOOL ON GRINDA Fifty designers, artists and architects spent a week at our Xskool on Grinda last month to explore two questions: What does this food system taste like? and, How does this forest think? One team staged the Soil Tasting Ceremony shown above. They made infusions […]
Posted in transition & design
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Wild Learning: 96 Ecological Learning Resources
Although we’ve allowed the metabolic interaction between man and the earth to wither, educators are working on a cure.
Posted in Handouts & Lists, learning & design
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Food Systems and Design – A Reader
For a Doors of Perception Xskool in 2014, I prepared this reading list for designers, artists and architects. Its divided into four parts: Big Picture, Small Picture, Design Opportunities, and Knowledge Sharing
Posted in food systems & design, Handouts & Lists
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The True And Hidden Costs Of Stuff
Do you simply love iPhones, wind turbines, cloud computing, and electric cars? Good, because the following may be of interest:
Posted in Handouts & Lists, most read
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Reading Small Signals
READING SMALL SIGNALS We’ve invested huge resources over the ages to keep the man-made world, and nature, separate – but there are signs everywhere that those those priorities are changing. Working through the consequences of that is a challenge for us all. Many signals of change are small on their own but, taken together, tell a new story. There’s […]
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When Tech In Care Is Evil
I spent the last two weeks in-and-around a care home in England that looks after people with dementia and terminal illness, and their families – including, this time, mine. In four wings, each with 12 residents, 24/7 care is provided by teams of trained professionals who work 12 hour shifts. During the day, for each wing, […]
Food As A Commons
People go hungry not because of a shortage of production, but because the food available is too expensive, or they lack the land to grow it on. In California, the prototype of a combined social, political and technical solution has been launched which promises to unlock the food system crisis. “This could be it”. The speaker, Dan O‘Connell, is […]
Posted in city & bioregion, food systems & design
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Shelter Without A Concrete Roof
Public performance in Kisangani. Image © Studios Kabako Studios Kabako, a dance company from Africa, is the winner of this year’s 2014 Curry Stone Design Prize, an important international award. Using dance, theater, and music, Studios Kabako help local communities envision positive alternatives in a city that has known devastating armed conflict over many years. […]