George Carlin, who was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, author, and actor, raging about stuff. He is noted for often touching taboo topics of American culture and commenting on contemporary political issues. A good laugh! (And thanks Colby for the hint! :)
Filed under: 4/5, Art, Design, Projects for inspiration | Tags: activism, city, consumption, participatory, simple living
ÄOM? What? Ah, Älä Osta Mitään, that’s what it stands for! Yes, Finland also has it, the infamous ‘Buy-Nothing-Day’. Introduced in 1992 by artist Ted Dave and promoted by the consume-critical Adbuster magazine, BND has been celebrated in by now 65 nations worldwide, typically on the Friday following North American Thanksgiving, and the following day internationally. This year, it will take place November 26th. Here a link to the Finnish website about the event, set up by Luonto-liitto ry. Public opinion about the event is divided, but I think it is a very fine occasion to reconsider shopping behaviours, not only for that one day, but in general and in a sustained way.
Which reminds me of a protest action done a few years ago in the busiest shopping street of Vienna, right before Christmas. :)
Filed under: Design, Food, Production, Theories | Tags: agriculture, community, culture, knowledge, nature, permaculture, simple living
Fuji Eco Park Village, Japan, by Cecilia Macaulay
Last night, I attended a lecture about Permaculture at the Hub Helsinki. My mind is blasted. Jerome Osentowski, director of the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute, was speaker of the night. It got me really interested in learning more about Permaculture, which is a whole philosophy including social, economical, technological, cultural, educational, political and spiritual aspects. Basically, it is a concept about a self-sustained life, independent from governments and states, in accord with nature. The term comes from the two words ‘permanent’ and ‘agriculture’, and “aims to design human settlements and agricultural systems that mimic nature”, Osentowski presented in his lecture. Three basic ethics lead Permaculture: care for the earth, care for the people, and sharing the surplus. From the website www.permacultureprinciples.com, you can find very nice and clear descriptions of the principles, presented in the permaculture flower diagram, which are explained more nearly when clicking on them. Those Ecovillages are like small Utopian realities with a holistic philosophy, that I agree with in many aspects. I would only be careful with a too large body of rules and regulations that need to be followed.
In the discussion after the lecture, the question was raised whether is was possible to use only vegan fertilizers, forgoing animal manures, since Osentowski is making use of the rabbits’ and chicken’s dirt for the plants. I was wondering what could be wrong with using animal excrement, and found an answer of sorts in the internet: Using animal manures would support the meat and dairy industries. But if one raises the animals himself and does not make use of any other products but their dirt? Food philosophy at its best, source of discussion and thoughts; I am seriously troubled.
Here an interesting article about Masanobu Fukuoka’s, a Japanese farmer, philosophy, whose agricultural approach is recommended on the Permaculture website. Another interesting aspect are the alternative economic models proposed and encouraged, such as volunteer work, trading without money, and concepts such as WWOOFing (which I plan on doing next year – I hope to find answers to all my questions!).
Filed under: Art, Bread, Design, Theories | Tags: bread, culture, simple living, sourdough
I did it again. I baked. Bread. I just cannot help it. This one is a mix of maybe Finnish, Italian, and German bread. Rye-sourdough with walnuts and olives. Really good with pea soup, another very typical Finnish dish. Hmm, it seems like I am jumping from art theory to ‘bread theory’ today, doesn’t it? But, just a reminder: bread is the basic metaphore of this project, each event had its own special bread that actually connects to a theory; 1/5: Rieska, 2/5: Reikäleipä, 3/5:Piimälimppu, the rest will still be kept in secret. Plus, baking bread is just the most beautiful and relaxing thing to do after getting done with some work. By the way, it is time for true contemplation, since halftime has been crossed – two more out of five events to go!
Filed under: Design, Network | Tags: community, food, local, simple living, slow
Yesterday, I stumbled over Tabea Glahs’, a very good old friend, blog about Simple Living. We studied together in Italy and now she is doing a Master in Communicaton Design in Oslo. Our thoughts about design go in very similar directions, which I find very pleasant. Last year, we shared an experience that had quite an important impact on our lives. We spent some time in a living community in St. Ellero in Tuscany last year (me actually only one day, which was already enough to influence me strongly!). The simple way of living, in generous harmony with others, nature, and oneself felt so light compared to many other styles of living elsewhere. The pizza baking in an old farm house stone oven at night for around 50 people actually inspired me in the process of bringing such an oven (of sorts), together with other dreamers, to Finland. Thanks again to Tabea and Julia for inviting me to the community, and thanks to Fabrizio, Fabio, Leo, and all the others for the hospitality! Tabea actually suggested an oven building workshop for next year in Oslo – what a nice idea!
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