Small Is...

This little gem of a festival ran for the first time this year due to the joint efforts of Engineers Without Borders UK and Practical Action. It was a fantastically jam packed weekend of learning, sharing, practical workshops, inspiring debates and not to mention lots of fun!

The "Small Is..." Festival was a celebration of the ideas of EF Schumacher's Small Is Beautiful (1973). The main debates centered around his views on economics, appropriate technology, politics and personal philosophy.  The Edge of the Forest was one of the most popular films shown over the weekend in the solar cinema - inspiring stuff.  

Over 250 people camped out in the beautiful grounds of Practical Action to take part in activities ranging from diy rocket stoves, knocking up a hexayurt, community mapping, appropriate toilet construction, to discussions on global/local food, transition towns, climate change adaptation and markets and livelihoods. Entertainment was also in abundance with music from Zambian group Kamoto Community Arts followed by a partner swinging ceildh (for all you aussie's out there this is the equivalent to our bush dance) and some cracking local talent - this weekend had it all. 

To read more about who was there and to see some great snaps from the weekend visit here. See you all there next year...! 

it's Friday........

Everyone must love Fridays, right? It's going to be a lovely weekend, with summer well and truly on its way how could it not be?

We are looking forward to Avalon Market day, on Sydney's northern beaches. It's always a fun day, lots of great stalls, people and music.....and for me a great chance to catch up with lots of old friends. This lovely lady is having a stall selling these. Hope that everyone has a lovely weekend wherever they are!

Photos from here.

newtown festival 08

The b+c team possesses two Newtown residents, so if you get down there this Sunday 9th to Camperdown Memorial Park from 9.30am - 6 pm, you are bound to run in to them...

It’s Newtown Festival’s 30th birthday bash - so string those pearls and get your twin sets ready to celebrate Newtown Festival’s ‘pearl’ anniversary, its going to be one very big day...

It is an event jam packed full of entertainment, great stalls and more.... see here for the full program.

For those of us who are into this like we are, don't miss the demonstration sustainable greenhouse - see what you can do to reduce the environmental impact of your home. The walk-through building is made entirely from recycled products and materials, and features a vertical garden, energy and water efficient fittings, solar panels and much more.

We will be there soaking up the atmosphere, so get on down!

music. consciousness. action

Michael Franti featured on triple j today and what a cool dude he is! As Andrew Denton describes him in an Enough Rope interview - “In a pop world dominated by pipe-cleaner bimbos and testosterone-addled rock idiots, every now and then an act of class and substance creeps underneath the wire.”

A rebel with a cause, one of Michael’s many ventures is the Power to the Peaceful Festival. The mission of this festival is to bring people together through music and art to highlight the similarities and celebrate the diversity of all of the world’s inhabitants. It is a not-for-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to the promotion of cultural co-existence, non-violence and environmental sustainability through the arts and music. It has already been on this year BUT good news is, he has announced he is heading to Tanzania to stage a festival in February next year in a bid to combat ethnic tensions in the country. Not only will he will document this journey, he has been travelling the world, asking people what it means to be human to compile his long-term documentary called Stay Human.

This excerpt from Franti sums up his passion for justice perfectly: I feel like right now is an opportunity, because in a time of great turmoil comes opportunity for great change. And so all of us, no matter where we are as musicians, as people sitting around the water cooler at work or amongst our families or school teachers or whoever, we all have a position to play in the world right now in determining the direction that the world is going to go. And things are going to change regardless, but we need to make sure that, as Martin Luther King has said, that peace is not merely the absence of war, but it's the presence of justice.

His latest album All Rebel Rockers is out now and in the words of the man himself "It's easy to pick up a newspaper and get frustrated and be like, 'Man, this world is just going to hell.' But I wanted to make a record that made people feel inspired, so they could wake up every day and be like, 'Man, I can face this day and I want to look to positivity and light.'"

I feel like I can take on the world now!

sydney architecture festival 08

Who else can't wait for the loooong weekend? If you are in Sydney why not pop along on Monday to the Architecture Festival, a celebration of the city's unique built environment. It aims to engage with the public about architecture and to explore critical aspects of sustainability in the built environment.

The 2008 Sydney Architecture Festival will be held on Monday 6 October World Architecture Day. The Festival features architectural tours of the city; talks and activities at the World Heritage listed Sydney Opera House; lectures, exhibitions and kids activities at Customs House; tours of Cockatoo Island and much more.

Of particular interest is the headline talk - A forum discussing the past, present and future of Circular Quay, its architecture and urban design. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating will be joined by architect Richard Leplastrier, Sydney City Councillor John McInerney (himself an architect and town planner) and Sydney Morning Herald architecture critic Elizabeth Farrelly together in conversation with Alan Saunders, presenter of ABC Radio National's By Design program.

There will be an exhibition of the NSW Chapter Award Winners and our friends at AWF (featured here) will have an informative display at Customs House which is also a must see!

Visit here for the full program.