COLLECTIVE CARE PAMPHLETS
Two sided pamphlets folded into little packages that have some simple and accessible information about what collective care is, what it can do, and what does it look like in times of struggle.
On the outside of the pamphlet is an excerpt from "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plant" by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
“Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimises harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”
These pamphlets will be handed out to laundrette workers around Glasgow to spark conversation about how the laundrette space has historically been a place for community and care, and the act of washing clothes can be seen as method of showing care. Using these pamphlets will hopefully create some tangible knowledge that can be shared and passed on.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimises harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.”
These are lovely! Collective care is so important and so often invisible and informal. Its been very interesting learning about how laundrettes have reached out beyond their walls during lock down in ways they never have before. Providing further essential services for their own communities and collaborating for the first time with other organisations such as homeless charities. It is interesting to think about collective care in the context of the pandemic.
ReplyDeleteThese are fantastic and so exquisitely folded. I can imagine to receive one of these would feel quite ceremonious and special. The poem is really intriguing and refreshing to read a take on care from the world of environmental conservation and ecology.
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