Skillshare Sunshine
Monday morning, rainy weather and mood to match. The phone rings.
"Hello, I would like to offer a skillshare!" Yipeee! Clouds dispelled, I feel this generous offerwarming my heartand waves reverberatinginto the community and the land. Bringing joy to giver and recipients alike, each such gift helpsto reinforce a web of abundance to replace our current unsustainable money-based and growth-addicted economy. This systemrelies on a mentality of scarcity and isolation, so gestures of generosity are benevolent yet revolutionary actswhich seed the way to a much more nurturing social landscape.
Coordinating skillshares in the past months has been a delight because the project embodies so well the spirit of transition: we have fun in the process of building together the world we dream of, encourage each other to express our deeper needs and aspirations, and create synergy whilst sharing our journey of transformation.
Each skillshare session I have attended has been highly enjoyable and I feel much gratitude to the givers. Unable to do them all justice, I'll just mention the last three I attended – all gardening events, two of them not originally skillsharesbut based on the same principle of free sharing. I loved all three! As a novice gardener, I received support, encouragement and inspiration from enthusiastic growers and felt my fingers getting noticeably greener!
So I feel grateful to Jane Pickard for sharing her passion for a permaculture approach within a setting – the stunningly beautiful grounds of the Sharpham Estate – where historical traditions also matter deeply. Her knowledge of gardening and love of nature were shining through the delightful tour she guided us on, and it was so uplifting to hear her ideas about possible community projects at Sharpham!
I feel grateful to Larch Maxey for creating a lovely food tree nursery cum communal allotment and making himself available to anyone who wants to learn about fruit and nut trees, sustainable food production and ways to build a resilient community. The first Sunday morning of each month, he welcomes anyone to a fun work party on the new plot withinFollaton Arboretum. Last Sunday it was a joy to meet his visiting dad and see them share their wisdom with each other and the rest of us.
And I feel gratitude to Allison Williams for opening her beautiful garden for a Seedy Sisters event of seedling swaps and other gardening delights. To my French eyes, this was a quintessentially lovely English afternoon with tea and cakes, all generations mingling, and the highly experienced very patiently passing on all kind of knowledge to the novice and the young.
Among the new skillshares posted today is a Herb Walk in June at the wonderful Bowden House, so I much look forward to deepening my knowledge of the plant world and feel blessed to live in a community so rich in talent and kindness.
Annie, Skillshare Coordinator