Info, news & debate
Month: November 2015
How about learning how to make a natural heirloom for a special occasion? Wicker baby cradle
We have plenty of basketmaking courses where you can learn to make useful and beautiful things out of wicker. You’ll need a bit of practice before you can make something like this, but who knows, if you get to this level, you can maybe think about making a career out of it.
Review: Julius Nyerere’s ‘Ujamaa’, why a beautiful idea went wrong and how it can be adapted for the 21st century
This is a book that I discovered in my twenties, and it impressed me so much that I ended up making my way to Tanzania in 1991, and staying for a couple of months on two ujamaa villages. Ujamaa means ‘familyhood’, a concept that Nyerere wanted to extend to encompass the whole of humanity,
How TTIP fits perfectly with the Deregulation Act, which can overrule all other laws if they affect growth or corporate interests
The Deregulation Bill, proposed by Tory privatiser Oliver Letwin, slipped into law at the end of the last Parliament. It can change all other law, according to criteria of ‘growth’ i.e. business interests. It fits perfectly with the EU’s deregulatory agenda, and that of TTIP and the other new ‘trade’ agreements, which have largely come …
Microdairies: making them as successful as micro-breweries
A conference on the benefits of small-scale commercial dairy farms of up to 40 cows or the equivalent of sheep or goats. How to establish them and how to promote the concept. For practising and prospective dairy farmers and others with a professional interest in the future of the British dairy industry.
Where do you stand on raw milk? Interview with ‘raw’ dairy farmer
If milk is going to be transported long distances and hanging about a lot rather than being sold locally and drunk quickly, there’s a strong argument for pasteurising it. But there is a growing number of people who are arguing that locally-produced milk doesn’t have to be.
What do you think about about this video by Rob Newman, and what does that say about you?
This is ‘the History of Oil’ by comedian Rob Newman. You might have seen it already, but if not, have a look – it’s very funny, as well as spot-on. He mentions the Radio 4 news item – that there was ‘an American plan to bring democracy to the Middle East’, and marvels at the …
How to make a new axe handle
First, wood selection. The perfect wood is nice straight grain ash fairly fast grown, if it gets more than 6-8 rings per inch it is much more brittle, 4-6 rings per inch is perfect.
Well done for fighting food waste, Hugh; but let’s take it a step further
Have you seen any of the TV programmes about food waste, hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? He’s trying to highlight the amount of food that gets wasted in the UK – which is truly phenomenal, and a ridiculous waste of land, money, energy and time.
Join the people who are fighting back against corporate control of global food production
There’s something seriously wrong with the way most of our food is produced and sold. The corporate sector is gaining control of more and more of global food production, shifting the focus from nutrition, flavour and nature towards profit and profit only.
How to fit a new axe handle
This blog post shows how to fit a new axe handle, it could be a new store bought handle or one you made yourself – more on this soon.
Beware the ‘sharing’ economy – back door for a more rapacious form of capitalism
Something that’s been troubling me for a while. The ‘sharing’ economy must be a good thing, right? I’ve been trying to see the good in it for a while. Sharing anything must mean that fewer resources are used, less waste produced, people get to know each other in their communities. All sounds great, doesn’t it?
Free event in Oxfordshire this Sunday using game theory to explore Trident and the potential for nuclear conflict
An experimental day looking at aspects of game theory in parallel with discussions around the replacement of the Trident nuclear deterrent.
TPP is not secret any more; we can now see the text of the deal, and it’s worse than we thought
The text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (deal similar to TTIP, but for Pacific Rim countries) has been agreed. However, there are some US politicians who are already calling for it to be re-negotiated, because big pharmaceutical corporations don’t think they get enough.
The Yamagishi Association: successful, moneyless, leaderless network of communes in Japan and elsewhere
In the 1990s I visited the headquarters of the Yamagishi Association in Mie-ken in Japan. It’s a federation of intentional communities that is still going strong – but even then it comprised 3000 people in 30 villages all over Japan
How much do you know about TTIP? Take the quiz
Here is a quiz developed by the wonderful Transnational Institute to test your knowledge of TTIP.
Should the international response to mass killings be the same, regardless of where they take place?
I’m guessing that most people’s answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’. There are no countries, surely, whose citizens are more important than the citizens of any other country?
There are plans to water down the Freedom of Information Act; here’s what you can do
In the great state/corporate battle against you, the latest round is an attempt to water down the Freedom of Information Act (other major assaults are TTIP and the Global Redesign Initiative). This is the act that brought you the MPs’ expenses scandal, and the fact that the UK government worked with chemical corporations to block …
Do you know which of these wild berries you can eat?
At Our Edible Landscape, the most recent School of the Wild event, facilitator Milly set us the Wild Berry Challenge, so we’re putting the challenge to you. Identify the berries below, and decide if you’d eat them.
Condensed: Paul Mason’s ‘Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future’
Paul Mason has a book out called Postcapitalism: A Guide to Our Future, and below is a video of a recent public debate at St. Paul’s Cathedral, featuring Mason talking about his book with Ann Pettifor and Phillip Blond.
How Charlie and Meg’s self-built, natural home finally received planning permission with the help of the One Planet Council
You may remember a previous article about Charlie and Meg’s natural home in Pembrokeshire, that the planners decided needed to be bulldozed because it was ‘harmful to the rural character of the locality’. See here.