Els espais buits no fan Gràcia : The empty spaces are not funny
So read the new banner that now hangs on the end wall of the new Hort Comunitari, or community garden in Catalan, that was opened in Gracia on Saturday morning. From just being another quite and dry street, theres now a hive of activity in Caller Banyoles; people, laughter, color, sounds, music, dancing, kids playing. Being there one knows that Patcha Mama smiles again in Gracia.
Well over a hundred people entered a site that had been left derelict for the last 5 years. The concrete ground was smashed apart and the soil underneath was broken open with pics, forks, spades and hoes. People arrived in with recycled large construction bags with soil inside, once inside these bags had young plants put into them and were watered. that was lovely and brown and full of nutrientsdue to having horse manure mixed into it. Other soil was added to the freshly broken red earth and new plants were inserted here too. a large heap of soil at the end wall gave endless hours of healthy mucky enjoyment to kids who dug tunnells and rolled around, laughing and shrieking with delight as they did so.
The advent of Peak oil and solutions to it are perhaps one of the most critical issues we are facing today. A recent movement has exploded in Britain, transition towns. It began in Kinsale in Ireland with Rob Hopkins who set up the Permaculture college there. They set up the Kinsale Energy descent plan, looking at how their town could make the transition to less oil dependancy over a 20 year time frame. From there Rob went back to Witness in the UK and from there the model has exploded. You can find out whats going on on their WIKI (with translations) and they have set up a fantastic website Transition Culture.
Here is an excellent short video made by —- as part of the Lewes Transition town movement. It was shown in the local cinema of Lewes before all the films. It starts by asking the townspeople what are the causes of climate change and finishes with a rap about how oil is now used for the production of nearly everything we use
Rob Hopkins elaborates on the origins, the growth of and the future of the transition towns movement
As part of the last few days of GEF 08 (Global Eco Forum) there will be a gathering in La Teixadora (a squatted social centre in the Poble Nou barrio (neighbourhood) of Barcelona) during which we will talk about the origins and very successful growth of the Climate Camp movement that originated in the UK 2 years ago and whats being talked about for Copenhagen in December 2009, COP 15
Peaceful protestors meet heavy handed police??? see 2.45 of following
“The day the political landscape changed forever“, was how Fritjof Capra referred to events ofN30, Tuesday 30th of November 1999, in his book The Hidden Connections. He was referring to the day when 1000´s of global justice activists came together and succeeded in shutting down the first WTO talks in the US using (mostly) non violent direct actions (NVDA) in the north western US city of Seattle. This was the event which brought the “globalisation” debate to the mainstream. It has been misleadingly described as anti-globalisation, what it should be accurately described as is anti corporate globalisation.
Question: What do you get if you throw a few colorful Latinos, a load of Rebel Langers, a “Jack” with his radio stuff and a load of cans of paint together? (Sounds like the recipe for one huge messy disaster, no?)
Answer: Perhaps one of most amazing community arts projects in the history of the Peoples Republic of Cork, a load of murals thrown up in the streets of Roy Keane land, many many things learned, much friendships forged, many memories created to last till the end of days…
Dublin’s Mayday 2004 saw thousands of opponents to fortress Europe beaten away by riot cops and water cannons. Days later, RED ARCHIVE, a strange OPEN communication space seeking all inputs, was asking: What is art, what is politics?
As activists, we used this space to communicate and build in and out of, to wander from and bring people to, to share critical ideas, to widen the discussion. Our ongoing war is one of communication against today’s culture of ignorance and apathy. Seven million people continue to die needlessly every year, perhaps our actions helped?
Barcelona, London, the boat to Rosslare
Limerick, Ennis, West Clare
The people, the laughs, the pints, the adventure
Strangers whose paths briefly cross
All coming and going on their separate ways
Just as the waters of the river Fergus
Earlier rained down in a hale of warm drops
On an old man in his green fields
Working, working, working
Cold red hands
Opening gates, shutting gates
Wellies, cap and jacket
Held together by bailing twine knots
Two thousand five hundred years ago
And that oldest wandering Dharma bum of them all
Lao Tzu, said:
“A thousand mile journey
Starts with the first step”
And its for that reason
Ive journeyed these last two near sleepless
Funny and memorable days
To be here now
Anseo anois
To give my gifts of Hope
And words of thanks
To two I love dearly:
Father Finbarr and little sis G
As they take their own
New first courageous
And perhaps even a little frightening first step
Each on their own new journey
On this beautiful rock Gaia
As she takes her own journey
That three hundred and sixty five and
A quarter day revolution
Around her firey brother
In that most strangest and most beautiful
Journey of them all:
Lila
The infinite cycle of kalpa
Bang, Out, Crunch, In,
Bang, Out, Crunch, In,
Bang, Out, Crunch, In,
All on their own journeys
All coming and going
All with their own destinations
Like the Tao,
All flowing
But all in the safe and loving arms
Of this simple miracle
This beautiful and funny existence
And knowing that
We smile.
(Written @ Lahinch, August, Bank holiday weekend 2007)
The first Global Eco Forum is underway, yesterday was the meeting in the real world in Barcelona (BCN), a very interesting, mostly inspiring, sometimes frightening, sometimes conflictive event that went on all day. I think its unanimous that the Michael Braungart (Cradle to Cradle) and Gunter Pauli (Zeri Foundation) discussion was the highlight: content, ideas, passion for radically changing the way the world works, doing not just talking…
Michael Braungart: 2008 Interview – becoming native to the planet
Now that the flawed financial system has taken its first fall due to absurd reliance on endless cheap energy, and the financial crisis has hit and is hitting further, now that the climate camp movement is growing, now that we are preparing for COP 15 in Denmark (cop15 call out + The Other call on COP – Nov 30 ‘09 global day of action: 10 year aniversary from N30 @ Seattle), …
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So read the new banner that now hangs on the end wall of the new 
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The advent of 
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