Here you will find the course video that present a background for the different assignments.
Christina Schaffer facebook inlägg
English translation : Masters course by Konstfack Back to the Land 2.0 reconnecting urban and rural through food systems, in almost at home in hjulsjö. The most creative course I’ve ever taught? The most unique dinner I’ve ever been to? IN the past I have had a lot of good courses and dinners. I am still high after a single days experience with a total sync between teachers & students & the site, and that feeling that “we explore together”. I talked about the forest & sustainability and quided students from Sweden, USA, South Africa, Pakistan, Syria , Mexico & Finland to a fairly common skogsbacke. Based on it, we created a meal with the forest as a theme; food, ritual and decoration for everyone else in the course. Have no words for how good it was! On top of this I got to teach with stars like Annika Göran Rödel, Cheryl Akner-Koler, Magnus Westling and John Thackare. Thanks to the Michael Toivio and Rame Maze that broke the first ground. Check out http://www.backtotheland.se/
SWEDISH: Masterkurs på Konstfack Back to the land 2.0 Reconnecting Urban and Rural trough Food Systems , i nästan-hemma i Hjulsjö. Den mest kreativa kurs jag undervisat på? Den mest unika middag jag varit på? Då har jag ändå haft riktigt många bra kurser&middagar. Är fortfarande hög efter att under en endaste dag fått uppleva total synk mellan lärare&studenter&platsen, och den där känslan att “vi utforskar tillsammans”. Jag pratade skog&hållbarhet och lotsade studenter från Sverige, USA, Sydafrika, Pakistan, Syrien, Mexico &Finland till en tämligen vanlig skogsbacke. Utifrån den skapade vi en måltid med skogen som tema; mat, ritual och dekoration för alla andra på kursen. Har icke ord för hur bra det blev! Att därtill få undervisa med stjärnor som Annika Göran Rodell, Cheryl Akner-Koler, Magnus Westling och John Thackare. Tack till Michael Toivio och Ramia Maze som tog första spadtaget. Kolla in Marmar
Article in the local journal Ect. Bergslagen / 25 augusti. Translation on its way.
WEBSITE AND ARTICLES
28 Ways In Which Food Systems Are a Design Opportunity http://www.doorsofperception.com/handouts/28-reasons-why-food-systems-are-a-design-opportunity/#sthash.ad28kEQd.dpuf
It Starts With The Soils, by James Merryweather Ninety-nine percent of all food comes from our soils. As home to an enormous variety of organisms – from bacteria, to mammals – soil health determines the metabolic health of all terrestrial ecosystems. See: Living Soil Forum Sweden http://www.summerofsoil.se/forum/http://www.stourvalleywildlifeactiongroup.org/secrets-soil.JAMES%20MERRYWEATHER1.pdf
Agroecology Agricultural strategies of the past century consistently substituted industrial inputs for biological processes.Underexploited ecological and social opportunities hold promise for a more broadly beneficent agriculture. http://p2pfoundation.net/Six_Proposed_Policy_Principles_for_Scaling_Up_Agroecology
Thinking Like A Forest, by James Drescher If maintaining the fertility of the soil is a core principle of ecological agriculture, so, too, is a commitment to think in longer time frames than markets – or even than individual human lifespans. We need to think like a forest. http://www.windhorsefarm.org/media/files/Enrichment_Forestry.pdf
Hungry City: How Food Shapes Our Lives, by Carolyn Steele The gargantuan effort needed to feed cities across the world on a daily basis has a massive and vastly under appreciated social and physical impact on people and the planet. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3520169-hungry-cityhttp://www.ted.com/talks/carolyn_steel_how_food_shapes_our_cities
World Hunger: 12 Myths, by Francis Moore Lappé It is a myth that “there is not enough food” – and 11 other myths. http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/books/lappe.htm
The Food-Commons Transition, Jose Luis Vivero Pol Treating food as a purely private good is denying millions of people access to this basic resource. Food should therefore be seen as a commons or public good. It could then be produced and distributed more effectively by a governance system combining market rules, public regulations and collective actions. http://www.thebrokeronline.eu/Articles/The-food-commons-transition
AgoBioDiverse Newsletter A treasure trove of stories,. edited by two biodiversity professionals who can also write – about the people and organizations that promote more agrobiodiversity. http://agro.biodiver.se/seed-exchanges/
Open Source Seed Initiative Diversity is the very building block of evolution and adaptation – but the story of seed has become one of loss, control, dependence and debt. It’s time to change the story. These guys have started to do that. http://agro.biodiver.se/2013/07/could-plant-diversity-become-free-as-in-speech/?utm_source=Agro.biodiver.se +subscribers&utm_campaign=8e3f29830b- RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_949cf01306-8e3f29830b-44963957 …
Bioregionalism, by Raymond Dassmann If people were allowed to sort themselves out rationally, a new array of ethnobiotic entities would take the place of nation states. Bioregionalism recognizes, nurtures, sustains and celebrates local connections with: Land, Plants and Animals, Springs, Rivers, Lakes, Groundwater & Oceans, Air, Families, Friends, Neighbors, Community, Native Traditions and Indigenous Systems of Production & Trade. http://www.wholeearth.com/issue/2011/article/363/biogeographical.provinces
The Food Commons People go hungry not because of a shortage of production, but because the food available is too expensive, or they lack the land to grow it on. In California, the prototype of a combined social, political and technical solution has been launched which promises to unlock the food system crisis. http://www.doorsofperception.com/infrastructure-design/food-as-a-commons/
Small picture…
Nature’s Internet, by Paul Stamets In an old-growth forest, a handful of soil also contains millions of super-delicate mycorrhizal fungi. Linked together with the roots of plants, mycorrhiza form vast subsoil networks – ‘nature’s internet’ – in which mind- bogglingly complex interactions support the flora and food webs upon which we all rely for our existence. This vast, invisible web does more than ferry water and nutrients; it also enables long distance communication between plants. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/ microbiomes_at_the_roots_a_new_look_at_forest_ecology/2699/ …
City As Biotope: Appearing and Disappearing Landscapes A group of architecture and design students were challenged: what is the tiniest example of biological activity youcanfindinthisapparentlyemptylandscape? http://cityasbiotope.blogspot.fr
The Region As Mosaic How is a region to make sense of the myriad proposals being made for its future by artists, activists, and designers? Here is one way: http://www.mosaic-region.com
Lab For Microclimates The Laboratory of Microclimates, a project of the Dutch artist Annechien Meier, brings social and ecological surroundings to peoples’ attention. http://www.facebook.com/microclimates
Design and service innovation opportunities…
Agroecology, by P2P Foundation Agroecological practices require public goods such as extension services; storage facilities; rural infrastructure (roads, electricity, and information and communication technologies) for access to regional and local markets; credit and insurance against weather-related risks; agricultural research and development; education; and support to farmers’ organizations and cooperatives. http://p2pfoundation.net/ Six_Proposed_Policy_Principles_for_Scaling_Up_Agroecology
Turn-key Food Hives (La Ruche Qui Dit Oui) “We see our supporters not as donors, but as social investors with a return on the investment being, not in cash, but in social, economic, and ecological benefits to society at large”. http://www.doorsofperception.com/archives/2011/11/la_ruche_hives.php
From Farmers Markets to Local Food Hubs We need a system of local food hubs that can process and bundle local foods and “deliver them to the places where America eats”. The question arises: Value-added – by intermediaries, or by communities? or both? http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/7807
Community Supported Baking Regional-scale ‘grain sheds’ are being recreated thanks to a proliferation of Community Supported Baking (CSB) schemes. http://www.sustainweb.org/realbread/community_supported_baking/ …
‘Blended value’ at London’s Peoples Supermarket The People’s Supermarket is a cooperative, for-profit convenience store with a strong ethical mission. This text answers questions like: ‘How does The People’s Supermarket operate?’ ‘How can you find and secure the right premises?’ How do you attract members, stock the shop, organise an effective product offer and keep the momentum going? http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/secret-sauce.
Farm Path (EU) Agroecological practices require public goods such as extension services; storage facilities; rural infrastructure (roads, electricity, and information and communication technologies) for access to regional and local markets; and support to farmers’ organizations and cooperatives; region-specific foods and short supply chains; agritourism; nature conservation; landscape management. http://www.farmpath.eu/sites/ www.farmpath.eu/files/Final%20visions.pdf
One Farm, 8000 Landlords How over 8000 shareholders own Fordhall Organic Farm in its entirety. http://www.fordhallfarm.com/ news.php
Food Systems and Design, John Thackara texts http://www.doorsofperception.com/category/food-systems-design/
Food systems – knowledge-sharing as a design task…
From Agroecology to Wind Breaks – hundreds of food system terms explained This impressively long list is also a symptom of the dilemma: how to make sense of all this info? http://foodglossary.pbworks.com/w/page/48934391/Index …
Lexicon Of Sustainability: “Local” Combining visuals with insights, a lexicon of more than 200 agricultural terms and principles is explained by today’s most innovative thought leaders. This book showcases and explores how to create a food system that benefits the environment and the people living in it. http://www.lexiconofsustainability.com/local-the- book/#
The Ecological Knowledge System Ecologically sound agriculture is not just a question of changing farm practices; it also requires a transformation of systems of learning, institutions, and policies. http://ifsa.boku.ac.at/cms/fileadmin/Proceeding1996/1996_WS03_31_Roling.pdf
Nourish Agroecological practices are knowledge-intensive and require the development of ecological literacy not just among farmers, but in the population as a whole. Nourish is an educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability, particularly in schools and communities http:// www.nourishlife.org
Turkish Teachers Learn How To Teach Ecoliteracy How should teachers incorporate environmental ethics and lessons on sustainability into their classrooms? That’s the focus of a four-year educational ecoliteracy project — Turkey’s first — which has just begun.http:// www.greenprophet.com/2011/09/schools-in-turkish-teachers-learn-how-to-teach-ecoliteracy/
