The more we learn about life on earth, the clearer it becomes that the well-being of humans, and of non-humans, is inter-connected. They are a single story. Sustainable design, in this context, means designing for all of life – not just human life. That’s a big step! Not so long ago, human-centered design was considered […]
transition & design
Microbes and Social Equity – Dr Sue Ishaq in conversation with John Thackara
Bottom-Up biodiversity
Whether connecting schools to farms in France, daylighting rivers in Mexico, or rewilding grasslands in Patagonia, we’re learning how to ‘do’ biodiversity well. Fifteen minute read. This text was commissioned by the Swiss Ministry of the Environment, FOEN Illustration © BAFU | Pierre Dubois, collectif Marie-Louise The text is also available online in these other […]
Articles in Resilience
Here is a collection of texts by John Thackara selected by Resilience magazine. How To Thrive In the Next Economy: Preface to the Chinese edition This book is not about pre-cooked solutions. It’s about building on what has already been done, in our various social and cultural histories, and on what’s being done, right now, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Open School for Village Hosts
The Open School for Village Hosts – a pan-European Erasmus+ project – has been launched in Barcelona. Above: project partners meeting at Elisava earlier this month. (This post is a preview: the project’s website will be launched shortly). Village Hosts bring new social, economic and ecological life to small villages and their local economy. They […]