The hodgepodge club
The Hodgepodge Club aspires to make anything and everything. But what do we mean? And why? And where are we going? And how?
Vinoba, a close associate of Gandhi wrote this about village swaraj, or self-rule: ‘In the future set-up we shall have only two things, the village and the world. We may have the names of countries on the map for the sake of convenience, but in reality, there will be no intermediary between the world and the village. All the authority concerning the material side of life will rest with the village. The village will have power to order its own life... Human society will be organised on the basis of small village communities of say, 2 to 3 thousand souls each. There would be real fraternity and co-operation in the village community... The world centre will be the ultimate co-ordinating link between these primary communities.‘ The self-rule Vinoba is talking about is backed by a measure of self-reliance and that is backed by the Spinning Wheel, symbolically, or the will and ability to spin whatever we can spin into useful and beneficient forms.
I think what Vinoba is saying touches on what Transition movement is doing by localising production and how the Baha’i people are making one world beyond nation states. Coming back to the Spinning Wheel, and the Hodgepodge Club, an intention of the club is certainly sharing skills and local knowledge so that our inner spinning wheel, so to speak, comes alive for us, if it is not yet spinning.
And why Hodgepodge as a name? For me this name encourages a kind of foolhardy daring to do things, and a willingness to mix media and come up with new forms of art and craft. It does not mean being sloppy or careless or blindly putting things together. It is about shaking loose our preconditions so that we could innovate and create freely.
I am very grateful to the Findhorn Foundation for making Chrystal available as a space for art and craft making, and a home for the Hodgepodge Club. I am also grateful to friends and colleagues who came forward with their expertise and enthusiasm to probe a common dream. With Nara Pais’s facilitation we dreamed : ‘ the Hodgepodge Club is a space where we become truly alive by making artcraft as a spiritual path. We cross-pollinate ideas and practices, inspire each other and fulfil our wildest dreams. By using all sorts of materials we transcend our mental / emotional obstacles and attract prosperity through a living economy that encourages us and other communities to outrageous sustainable innovations.’ I hope we are not the only ones who are dreaming thus and that many more Findhornians will join us to plan and create together.
Vinoba, a close associate of Gandhi wrote this about village swaraj, or self-rule: ‘In the future set-up we shall have only two things, the village and the world. We may have the names of countries on the map for the sake of convenience, but in reality, there will be no intermediary between the world and the village. All the authority concerning the material side of life will rest with the village. The village will have power to order its own life... Human society will be organised on the basis of small village communities of say, 2 to 3 thousand souls each. There would be real fraternity and co-operation in the village community... The world centre will be the ultimate co-ordinating link between these primary communities.‘ The self-rule Vinoba is talking about is backed by a measure of self-reliance and that is backed by the Spinning Wheel, symbolically, or the will and ability to spin whatever we can spin into useful and beneficient forms.
I think what Vinoba is saying touches on what Transition movement is doing by localising production and how the Baha’i people are making one world beyond nation states. Coming back to the Spinning Wheel, and the Hodgepodge Club, an intention of the club is certainly sharing skills and local knowledge so that our inner spinning wheel, so to speak, comes alive for us, if it is not yet spinning.
And why Hodgepodge as a name? For me this name encourages a kind of foolhardy daring to do things, and a willingness to mix media and come up with new forms of art and craft. It does not mean being sloppy or careless or blindly putting things together. It is about shaking loose our preconditions so that we could innovate and create freely.
I am very grateful to the Findhorn Foundation for making Chrystal available as a space for art and craft making, and a home for the Hodgepodge Club. I am also grateful to friends and colleagues who came forward with their expertise and enthusiasm to probe a common dream. With Nara Pais’s facilitation we dreamed : ‘ the Hodgepodge Club is a space where we become truly alive by making artcraft as a spiritual path. We cross-pollinate ideas and practices, inspire each other and fulfil our wildest dreams. By using all sorts of materials we transcend our mental / emotional obstacles and attract prosperity through a living economy that encourages us and other communities to outrageous sustainable innovations.’ I hope we are not the only ones who are dreaming thus and that many more Findhornians will join us to plan and create together.