DIY Culture Weekend has begun in Birmingham

DIY Culture has begun in Birmingham. Hosted by the Nursery Social Centre Collective, DIY Culture is a long weekend of events and workshops aiming to foster the technical skills and intellectual defenses necessary to confront capitalism and sow the seeds of a better world within the shell of the old.

So far, there have been sessions on:

* solar and wind energy (photos and video on the way) with detailed instructions for getting off the grid

* converting vehicles to bio-diesel (photos and video to come), with one car being converted to run on used french-fry oil during the course of the day

* low tech computing using recycled computers and GNU/Linux technology

* how to exploit gaps in the database systems that represent your identity within the conventional social framework to create new identities - from Tesco cards to drivers' licenses to passports - without breaking the law

* urban exploration and climbing, including a Situationist-style walk through the city to explore the potentials for using existing urban spaces in new and revolutionary ways

* alternative medicine and herbal healing

Right now there is a session on permaculture

http://stuffit.org/diy/ (sustainable do-it-yourself agriculture) taking place, to be followed by a showing of Ken Fero's explosive film Injustice, which follows the stories of five black people killed while in custody by the London Metropolitan police, and the community's response to ongoing police violence. The showing will be followed by a talk by the director.

Many hours of video have been shot so far, and some of that will be turned into short films during the Indymedia video workshops taking place tomorrow. Stay tuned for more info as we write it!

http://stuffit.org/diy/

yossarian

Comments

Hide the following 4 comments

Access

23.01.2005 13:57

A very interesting collection of events. Shame to find out after taking the effort to get there that the venue (Decoy) is inaccessible to myself and a large minority of the population. It would be good if there was greater awareness of the people you are excluding through not considering that stairs, for example, can be a problem. And if this can't be avoided than at least provide access information.

benny

DIY festival

24.01.2005 12:16

Just got back last night from the festival- it was excelent, not withstanding Benny's above comments re accessability which I'm sure the organisers will take on board for future events, even if it just to provide clearer information in advance. Plenty to do and learn about- personally I was pleased to finally be introduced to Linux after always having thought you had to be a techie geek to use it beforehand, and I also enjoyed facilitating the permaculture intro session, even if it was a day and a half late!

So good on yers all for your organising efforts, and I hope we can build on the links and connections formed!

Graham
Homepage: http://www.spiralseed.co.uk

apologies

24.01.2005 17:01

hi benny
as one of the organisers for the event i can only apologise to you. The space is not accessable at the moment for people with disabilities and we should have communicated this on the publicity.

Decoy is a unfunded space and part of what we will be doing in the future is to try and get the funding so all the work can be carried out to make sure it is accessable.

stuffit

Access as a priority for social centres

26.01.2005 15:55

Perhaps the social centre collective should consider access as a major priority for the next social centre in Brum?

I know that the Nursery on Bournbrook road in Birmingham isn't that accessible in terms of access to toilets. Was just wondering if there are any resources or people out there that can help out with DiY access - ramps, dimensions etc for easier access?

If social centres are to be truly inclusive spaces then there needs to be complete access for all, innit :0)

One of the Nursery Social Centre collective
mail e-mail: scbrum@mail.com
Homepage: http://www.stuffit.org/nursery

UK Indymedia