Springwise reports on the LaidOffCamp initiative: “Unconferences have become increasingly common over the past decade or so, notable in particular for their low-key structure and participant-driven format. LaidOffCamp is one such example, and now—inspired, in fact, by that initiative—the concept has been applied to education with the launch of (un)classes. Aiming to provide a more casual and ad hoc way for people to learn something new during their limited free time, the (un)classes website … [Read more...]
Towards a Dark Mountain reading list
This post by Dougald Hine originally appeared on the Dark Mountain blog Over the last few weeks, a lot of people have asked us to suggest books which pick up on the themes of this project. In time, we’ll add a recommended reading section to the site. As a first step towards that, I thought I’d share a list that I made for a friend who had enjoyed the manifesto and wanted to know where to go next. Writing this, I realise that some people will be surprised by the absence of names like Daniel … [Read more...]
The Pedagogy of Collapse
I owe John Michael Greer a beer, or maybe two. Now that he’s moved to this half of the continent, I may yet have a chance to offer him one. Over the years of writing, Greer and I have argued and allied, worked together and apart, had our books published in the same season (twice now) and never yet met in person. Having a background in lit crit, I tend to think of my relationship with Greer as having a slight taint of Harold Bloom style anxiety of influence to it, causing me to spend more time … [Read more...]
The Edible Schoolyard Book
At a time when our Enviro Schools programe is being challenged by funding cuts, here is some inspiration to show what is possible. Do we need funding to do this, or can we self-organise and bring this sort of wisdom to our local schools, ourselves? This video was created by Mario de La Vega to promote the Edible Schoolyard book, which chronicles the integration of academics with growing, cooking, and sharing wholesome, delicious food over the last 13 years. With inspiring images of the garden … [Read more...]
OSE TV Interview – Austria Tour
We just got a copy of this TV interview that we did back on the OSE tour in Austria. Michaela from Earthship Austria organized this particular event. The interview took place at a local TV station in Bad Kleinkirchheim - a well known ski resort town in Austria. Both Inga and Michaela agree that this is a good, brief introduction (12 minutes) to OSE. We recommend it as a good entry level discussion for those less familiar with open source development - but it also touches on the deeper issues. … [Read more...]
Video Blogging
I'm no expert really (note lack of videos by me on this site!), but I am quite a good researcher and this post should serve as a decent sign-posting intro to good video blogging tips and tools :) This is the best all round guide I know of: https://makeinternettv.org/ Another useful resource is: https://www.ourvideo.org/ Some free software projects worth investigating: https://blog.plumi.org/ (plone) https://plone4artists.org/ (plone) https://wiki.koumbit.net/FilmForge … [Read more...]
Transition Handbook
UPDATE: The Transition Handbook is now online in a wiki! :P UPDATE: download Transition-Handbook.pdf UPDATE: download Transition-Handbook.odt See also: Transition Primer [amtap book:isbn=1900322188] I really can't recommend this book highly enough, but if you need more convincing... "a must-read labelled, 'immediate' " - Jeremy Leggett, founder of Solarcentury and SolarAid "The Transition Handbook will come to be seen as one of the seminal books which emerged at the end of the Oil Age" … [Read more...]
London Free School
A week long London FreeSchool event will be taking place between the 1st and 7th of September with workshops, discussions and skill-sharing. Themes will include Food, Creative Arts, Permaculture, Gender, Science and Languages. The event will be completely free and open to all people willing to respect the ideals of the free school and each other. London FreeSchool aims to confront the hierarchy and inequality which dominates learning. It stems from a belief that the control and … [Read more...]
Dancing with Systems: What to do when systems resist change
What to do when systems resist change; an excerpt from Donella Meadows's unfinished last book. By Donella Meadows (Whole Earth Winter 2001) Quick Summary of Points. Get the beat. Listen to the wisdom of the system. Expose your mental models to the open air. Stay humble. Stay a learner. Honor and protect information. Locate responsibility in the system. Make feedback policies for feedback systems. Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable. Go for the … [Read more...]
Dancing with Systems
Versions of this piece have been published in Whole Earth, winter 2001 and The Systems Thinker, Vol. 13, No. 2 (March 2002). The Dance 1. Get the beat. 2. Listen to the wisdom of the system. 3. Expose your mental models to the open air. 4. Stay humble. Stay a learner. 5. Honor and protect information. 6. Locate responsibility in the system. 7. Make feedback policies for feedback systems. 8. Pay attention to what is important, not just what is … [Read more...]