A collection of low-impact dwellings around a central fire. A place of sharing, learning, reflection and action. A response to the climate and biodiversity emergency, and the interconnected multiple crises of our times...
TrAd envisions a world where transformational change to ourselves and our systems has allowed us to adapt and thrive in balance with all life, with Earth. In the TrAd Village we are experimenting with the kinds of transformations and adaptations required.
A community vibe and warm hearth await visitors – along with the chance to get involved in defence of our wild spaces and in building resilience.
There will be story circles, skillshares, wide-ranging discussions, songs, crafts... and just being together. There will be sanctuary space and efforts to nurture, to allow time for grief, to move away from patriarchy and towards co-liberation.
The Crow's Nest will provide a unique space on the periphery of the village - a sacred place for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour); where racialised people can retreat if needs be, tell stories, or not, and be heard, or hide. A space specific to race, similar in purpose to the Women's Tent and Queer Space in our Campaigns Field. With complementary discussions about race, oppression and being allies in the TrAd Village meeting tent, we hope to make tentative efforts to both highlight and mitigate the ubiquity of racism, working closely with Crow's Nest founder Boosh and Dr Manoah Smiley.
Let’s uncover together how to tread lightly on the earth – to connect with and protect the commons – land, air, water – to which we belong.
For deeper insight into Transformative Adaptation:
- How we will free ourselves together by adapting, transformatively, to climate breakdown.
- The TrAd Declaration
Example programme (this is from 2024):
Ongoing daily throughout festival:
Primitive fire-making with Simon Bramwell - TrAd village hearth
Weaving - in all forms - with Azul Thome "The invisible and the visible Azul will weave people's longing, their imagination, their dreaming (it becomes a collective belt with inserted little scrolls of peoples, as one river)"
Daily Gratitude Ritual at sunset, Sacred Crow's Nest
Thursday:
3-4pm Building community is internal work: examining the heartbreak and the necessary healing for finding community. Hester Campbell, TrAd Tipi
Friday:
10–11am Embracing the feminine as an act of resistance; mothering principle in rebellion. Hester Campbell, TrAd Tipi
11–11:45 Everyday sexism and why we need men as allies. All genders very welcome. Em, Trad Dome
11:45–1:15 Being a White heterosexual man in 2024. Ali Waterman, Darren and Orion, TrAd Dome
1:30-2.30 Book discussion: ‘Any Human Power’; accidental gods, thrutopia and the power of story. Manda Scott & Sophie Jauncey, TrAd Dome
3–4pm Visioning Session, dreaming ourselves awake. Manda Scott, Dome
4–5pm The Story of Place. Rarely do we appreciate how deeply we're woven into the story of the land, how it's been shaped, what lives and grows on it. To respond more fully to the future, finding the patterns in our place points to untapped potential that can show us the way. Paul Pivcevic, TrAd Dome
Saturday:
9:30–10:30 Tuning into connection: tune in to the Movement of Life in physical contact with others. Uplifting, playful, meaningful. Jenjiline, TrAd Village
10-11am Whiteness self-repair workshop. Gail Bradbrook, Roma & Stu Basden, TrAd Dome
11–12 Regeneration of souls – Azul council / circle, TrAd Tipi
12– 1pm The ecosystem of activism: why we aren’t working together. Simon Bramwell with Stu Basden, Rupert Read, Gail Bradbrook & more, TrAd Dome
1-1:30pm Swearing Circle; conflict resilience. Panel members, TrAd Dome
2-3pm An interactive discussion exploring the multiple crises of modernity based on the work of Vanessa Machado de Oliveira. We'll discuss the House of Modernity and our reactions to it. Paul Mather & Abigail Cheverst, TrAd Dome
3-4pm Building long-term resilient cultures and political economies with Chris Smaje & Paul Pivcevic, TrAd Dome
4-5pm Our Story of Transformation. Share and explore the gifts and challenges of the inner work of transformation. What are we discovering as we let go of the limitations of the past and create relationships, communities and projects that serve life? With Rose Diamond of Tribe in Transition, TrAd Tipi
5-6pm Transformative Adaptation book with Rupert Read, TrAd Dome
Sunday
9:30-10:30 Tuning into connection: tune-in to the Movement of Life in physical contact with others. Uplifting, playful, meaningful. Jenjiline, TrAd Village
10-11am Mothers' Manifesto: food is a human right, yet too many are going hungry. Emma Hopkins & Rosie Holtom, TrAd Dome
11–12 How to blow up the environmental movement. Non-violence, accountability and ethical triage in a time of collapse. Simon Bramwell, Dome
12-1pm The Social Contract. Jake Lawey, TrAd Dome
12-1pm Poetry Circle. Lauryn, TrAd Tipi
1-2pm Study visit to the Alliance of Sahel States. Gail Bradbrook, TrAd Dome
2-3pm Moving into the matriarchy: what does a time of great turning feel like and look like for us as a society? Hester Campbell, TrAd Dome
3:30-4:30 Apocalyptic Strategy. Simon Bramwell, TrAd Dome
