Community & Activism Archives

Making The Nettle Dress: a creative journey of attention, magic and loss with Allan Brown and Dylan Howitt

Allan Brown’s exploration into how we could feed and clothe ourselves as we head towards a world of localism and increasing self reliance led to his spending seven years of his life making a a dress from the fibres of the nettles that grew locally.

It was an extraordinary process of experimentation, discovery and ensoulment – a journey into possibility that would be hard to match in our current, frenetic world. And we know about this: the patience of it, the wonder, the loss, the grief, the resilience, the alchemy… the sheer magic, because Dylan made a film, ‘The Nettle Dress’ which also took 7 years and is also a process of emergence and ensoulment and magic and discovery.

Inspiring the climate majority with Prof. Rupert Read

What can we do to unite the overwhelming majority of people who understand that we’re on the edge of the cliff and want to *do something* but don’t know what or how? Rupert Read has a project to give them all a voice…

A Green New Deal that works for People and Planet with Max Ajl

What would a genuinely progressive, regenerative Green New Deal look like if it took into account he well-being of all life on the planet? We discuss the options with Max Ajl, author of A People’s Green New Deal.

Becoming a Stag Beetle! Living the Interspecies Treaty of Finsbury Park with Ruth Catlow

How does it feel really to step into the feet (or roots, or wings) of other species, to speak on their behalf, to negotiate with humans for a better world?

No More Fairy Stories: Writing the way through, one tale at a time with Denise Baden

We know we have most of the answers to the poly crisis. Our challenge is getting them into the mainstream. And that means we need to understand what works when we craft our new narratives of how the world could look and feel.

Proudly Mad: exploring mental health and the climate emergency with Charlie Hertzog Young

How did one man make the shift from Not wanting to live in this world, to refusing to live in ‘this’ world? Manda and Charlie discuss the interface between mental health, the climate emergency and what we now call eco-anxiety (but which needs a rather stronger name than that implies).

The Fine Art of Huddles: multiplying our potential by the power of our peers with Zahra Davidson of Huddlecraft

How can we begin to shift away from the old hierarchical dominance structures of our past 2,000 years, towards something where everyone brings the best of themselves and embraces and celebrates the best in other people?

Meshworks of Being: Building Community on the DAO

We know that the future is based on Community. What we lack are practical routes to creating communities of community on a worldwide scale – ones that can form and will be resilient enough to survive

Be Kind, Be Useful : transforming community

How can we bring hope and agency and a sense of awe and wonder back into a world that feels perpetually on the verge of breakdown? Alan Lane and the team at the Slung Low theatre company are embedded in the culture and creativity of one of the most deprived areas in the nation – and are utterly committed to bringing magic into their world.

Cultures of Commoning: Quadratic voting, indigenous connectivity and pacifist chess

How can we create more connection with the people who matter – locally, nationally and internationally? Ruth Catlow of Furtherfield has designed 3-person chess where the pawns can declare world peace, set up the Treaty of Finsbury Park between humans and other species – and experimented with quadratic voting on the blockchain to create real local democracy.

Being the Change: Journeys in Service to Life with Gail Bradbrook

How can we shift our mindsets away from service to a destructive and extractive culture and offer ourselves fully in service to life.

Plan. Pause. Reset: Real Steps to Radical Transformation

The world is changing: we all know this, but knowing what we can do, how theories of change actually apply… that’s harder. Eva Schonveld and Justin Kenrick are deeply embedded in applying the theory of change in ways that work and from which we can all learn.