“The world is in dire need of a narrative adjustment; that’s why we write” (Hamid Dabashi) Since How To Thrive In the Next Economy was published in the autumn, my 29 conversations about the book have prompted all kinds of feedback. One question has cropped up repeatedly: In a world filled with melting ice caps, war, species extinctions, and economic peril, […]
transition & design
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 […]
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German Government Think-Tank Supports Fringe Change Agents
Good news from Germany: A ‘global transformation of values has already begun’. It’s proving tough to leverage changing attitudes into sustainable behaviour – but a transition to a more sustainable society ‘would be welcomed by a significant part of world society’. In a 400-page report called World in Transition: A Social Contract for Sustainability, the […]
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Transition Dogville
In Lars von Trier’s 2003 film Dogville (below) there is almost no set. Buildings in the town are represented by a series of white outlines on the floor. Dogville was a to-the-limit exercise in what von Trier calls ‘pure cinema’ – a commitment to use only real locations, and no special effects or background music, when making […]
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The Transition Companion
We can do this the hard way or the easy way. The easy way is that you skip this post and buy the book now. The hard way is that your reviewer attempts to describe a 320 page book whose contents have been shaped by the infinitely varied experiences of self-organising initiatives around the world. […]
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Zürich Eco Lab
As the guest last week of Zurich University of the Arts I set the following task to a group of sixteen masters students: “Create the plan for a social harvest festival that will reconnect Zurich with its natural ecosystems and grassroots social innovators.” The idea was to demonstrate, in practice, and at a city-wide scale, […]
Also posted in city & bioregion
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Knife sharpening
Last week I was taught how to sharpen our kitchen knives by a wood carver, Howard Raybould, who’s been honing his technique for 30 years. It’s the most useful skill I’ve acquired since learning how to ride a bike. Howard arrived bearing: a wooden board; a clamp to attach the board to the table with; […]
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Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It
Five years ago I obtained an extraordinary 736 page book called Lean Logic: A Dictionary For The Future and How To Survive It. Written over a thirty year period by the English ecologist David Fleming, the book had been published in a limited edition after the author’s untimely death. Now, thanks to an heroic, expert […]