The Storque at Etsy is having a wee series called Earth Tones and it is focussed on the environmental issues faced by the crafting community and how the crafting community responds to these issues.
It’s a collaboration between the Eco-Etsy and Trashion Street Teams.
The articles, which so far cover why you should be green, how to make your life more green and how to make your craft more green are really good intros and are a must read for those of you who are new to these ideas.
But of course hand made politics and anti mass production aren’t new ideas. In fact today is the anniversary of 7 Luddites being hanged in Britian for the destruction of weaving machinery. While many dismiss the Luddites of being anti technology, a read of Luddite history will see that most of the objections held by Luddites were economic rather than technology based. Very similar to what we see today.
Australian readers might be interested to know that many Luddites were among the political dissidents transported to Australia during it’s time as a British Penal Colony.
And speaking of Australian immigration and political activism, check out this amazing exhibition at the Melbourne Immigration Museum. Trailblazers is a history of migrant women activists:
The untold story of migrant women who fought for special services.
“To be poor, migrant and a woman is to achieve optimum disadvantage” (anon.) – and a new exhibition recognises the efforts of migrant women who aimed to diminish that disadvantage.
Celebrating the “mothers” of multiculturalism, Trailblazers records the untold story of the gutsy and spirited migrant women who fought for specialist medical, social, workplace and educational services for women of migrant backgrounds.
I’m going to try and go tomorrow if I get time. But it’s on until July so I’m definitely stopping in.
