[PeDAGoG] [GTA] WEAVING ALTERNATIVES #13: A periodical of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (Out of office!)

[Sadia Sohail]

I am on leave from 8th April to 12th April. I will get back to your
messages, emails once I resume office on 15th April. 

regards,
Sadia

>>> Global Tapestry of Alternatives
<globaltapestryofalternatives at riseup.net> 12.4.24 07:43 >>>

Dear all,  

This latest GTA periodical on how communities and networks are nurturing
alternatives across the world might be of interest. Please share and
amplify!

> WEAVING ALTERNATIVES #13: 
> A periodical of the Global Tapestry of Alternatives 
> 
> ON WEAVING: THREADING REALITIES AND POSSIBILITIES 
> 
> _The contents of this periodical are also available online on this
webpage [1]._ 
> 
> __
> 
> Dear readers, 
> 
> The origins of the word 'weaving' comes from old English _wefan_, of
Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek _huphē_
'web' and Sanskrit _ūrṇavābhi_ 'spider', literally 'wool-weaver'. In
Spanish a closer word is _'tejer'_, a noun used to express the
connection of threads, but also of words,_ "tejer la palabra"_: to weave
the words, the meanings. Directly related with the latin word _'texere'_
(again we find connection with idea of 'text'), and this with older
Proto-Indo-European form of _'teḱ'_, which is the source of many rich
derivations such as _té-tḱ-ti_ ("to create, produce, cut, hew"),_
tḱ-éy-ti _("to settle, live, dwell, cultivate") and the Ancient
Greek form of τίκτω (_tékhnē_, "craft", the base of the English
'technique'). Therefore, it should come as no surprise that for many
communities around the world, weaving is a source of identity, meaning,
meaning-making and way of life. Many folklores, songs, myths revolve
around weaving as
if it holds the entire fabric of the community. 
> 
> Within the Global Tapestry of Alternatives, weaving is thus both
metaphorically and literally a crucial element. Weaving is what
communities have been doing for the longest time, both in the loom and
in our communities of human and more than human life. We use weaving as
metaphor to articulate that there are many diverse threads existing &
responding to the crises we face today. Weaving of these threads in all
their diversity could lead us to a tapestry of alternatives. Weaving is
a practice with the warp threads running the length piece and weft
running horizontally, which speaks of a practice of interconnections.
Each thread is valuable in its own right yet also contributing to
building a larger project of life. Weaving is a counter-political
(personal and collective) behaviour in respect to the current system
which tends to both fragment us and requires conformity from us in order
to dominate us in a better way. 
> 
> Weaving is a practice of everyday life trying to build possibilities
together. GTA is a network of networks and each of these networks in
different parts of the planet are (re)creating, living, and dreaming,
and at the same time, also documenting, identifying, connecting and
weaving a tapestry of alternatives; hence we are the weavers, weaving
together a global tapestry. 
> 
> Within the GTA, we define a 'Weaver' as a local, regional, or national
network or organisation that connects or consists of multiple
Alternatives on different themes/spheres, in an inter-sectorial way. Our
current weavers- Vikalp Sangam- Alternatives Confluence, India; Crianza
Mutua Mexico; Crianzas Mutuas Colombia; and Movement for Alternatives
and Solidarity in Southeast Asia (MASSA) are weaving ways of dialogue,
interconnection, collaboration and solidarity with other Weavers. In
addition, there are several other organisations and networks who are
weaving alternatives in their respective regions - some as our
'Endorsers', and some who are movements we are in solidarity with but
not (yet) part of the GTA. We honour the action of weaving that is
happening everywhere and which is more important than the names we give
to different groups. 
> 
> The GTA weaving experience informs us that the macro-transformation
does not happen from individual initiatives acting alone; large become possible when a critical mass of movements for radical resistance
and constructive alternatives is able to coalesce through horizontal
networks. It is not about the replication of successful initiatives (or
simply copying from one to another, which different contexts and
territorial realities make inappropriate), nor is it about upscaling
(since making one initiative bigger and bigger tends to lead to
bureaucracy, lack of nimbleness, and the weakening of original values),
but rather about outscaling. GTA through its activities aims to
stimulate horizontal weaving of networks and platforms where they exist
and also stimulate weaving where it doesn't yet exist. 
> 
> Hence, in different contexts people are weaving differently in ways
that are locally appropriate. However these radical alternatives are
grounded by common principles such as autonomy, self-determination,
cultural democracy, cooperation, solidarity, peace, and respect for all
life forms, among others that celebrate life. All the weavers of GTA
emphasize visibilising grounded practices of communities, peoples, and
networks who are resisting the oppressive systems by creating different
ways of knowing, being and doing things. Another important element of
praxis is creating the spaces of exchanges, learnings, cross-sectoral
dialogues, and solidarity. In addition to nurturing such encounters,
some of the weavers also focus on creating alternatives collectively
among diverse groups of people. If we could look at the Alternative
Tapestry, it would be filled with different colours, threads, textures
and patterns but would be collectively threading a tapestry of
possibilities, made
stronger by each thread and more beautiful and richer than we could have
dreamt individually. 
> 
> Given how central weaving is as a practice within the GTA, we are
delighted to have weaving as the theme for this issue of the periodical.
Through this periodical, several contributions explored the idea of
weaving conceptualised and practised by different members who constitute
the GTA. The contributions to this periodical come from Asia, Africa,
North America, Latin America, and Europe. They are also in multiple
forms including, poems, videos, reflective articles and analytical
pieces. These contributions include our Weavers as well as Endorsers.
Collectively we explore questions like what do we mean by weaving? What
does it signify for us? What does it look like in everyday life? What do
we mean to achieve? And what does a tapestry at both local, regional,
and global levels look like? What are the challenges to weaving across
scales? What could be the process of common envisioning among these
radical processes that can transform the systems at local to global
level? How does
weaving deal with questions of plurality, hierarchies, and transnational
solidarity? 
> 
> As the editorial team, we had the wonderful opportunity to learn from
reading and engaging with all of these pieces. This periodical has been
put together with the collaborative efforts of Shrishtee Bajpai, Mugdha
Trifaley, Franco Augusto, Vasna Ramasar and Xochitl Leyva Solano. We
invite you to engage, reflect and dialogue on these essays. 
> 
> UPDATES FROM THE GTA
> 
> WORKING AND THEMATIC GROUPS EMERGING FROM THE ASSEMBLY
> 
> There are a number of Working and Thematic groups emerging from the
Assembly; including Toolkit for Weaving, Pluriversal Dictionary of
Concepts, and Solidarity Economies. Some of these groups have already
met, and some are planning to meet soon. Please contact the following
people if you would like to participate: 
> 
> * Ashish Kothari and Vera Kozak for Pluriversal Dictionary of Concepts

> * Shrishtee Bajpai and Madhuresh Kumar for Toolkit for Weaving
> * Melanie Bush, Ryan Martinez and Suzan Joy for Solidarity Economies
> * Madhuresh Kumar and Ashish Kothari for Radical Democracy
> 
> RECENT EVENTS
> 
> * 
> Marine ecosystems and climate fiction from South Asia (episode 3 of
the series Climate Change Fiction and its P> * Antecedents to climate change fiction: Utopian and speculative
narratives from South Asia (episode 2 of the series Climate Change
Fiction and its Potential for Transformation) [3]
> * The GTA at the World Social Forum 2024 [4]
> 
> UPDATES FROM OUR WEAVERS
> 
> The Global Tapestry of Alternatives is a "network of networks". Each
of those networks acts in different parts of the planet by identifying
and connecting Alternatives. They are the Weavers. In the following
section, our Weavers, the networks that currently weave the Global
Tapestry of Alternatives, from India, South-East Asia, Colombia, and
Mexico shares updates from their recent activities and actions. 
> 
> [5] 
> 
> [5]Keep reading -> [6] 
> 
> UPDATES FROM OUR ENDORSERS
> 
> * May First Movement Technology (MFMT)
> 
> Following member chosen priorities related to relationship building,
continuity and sustainability, in the recent period May First has been
involved in numerous movement building gatherings and activities based
on criteria we developed this past year, focusing our work intentionally
to reflect our priorities and mission. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [7]  
> 
> * The United States Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN)
> 
> The United States Solidarity Economy Network (USSEN) has been a
powerful force in movements in the US left over the last two decades,
especially those working toward cooperative and postcapitalist
economies, democratic governance, social and racial justice,
sustainability and climate justice, and electoral justice. Keep reading
->  [8] 
> 
> ON WEAVING
> 
> by Sutej Hugu
> 
> Sutej Hugu recently translated an Indigenous poem by his old friend
Elder Bukun. It is written in the Isbukun dialect of Bunun language
spoken by about 20,000 people who live in central to southern
mountainous areas of Taiwan. It presents the diversity and vitality of
custodians for territories of life around this planet who have gone
through all the historical and contemporary discrimination,
marginalisation and destruction to survive and revive. _ayoy!_ 
> 
> Keep reading -> [9] 
> 
> WEAVING STRUGGLES, GRIEF AND HOPE: A LETTER FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO GAZA
> 
> by Vasna Ramasar 
> 
> Weaving a tapestry of alternatives is the hope-filled work of the
Global Tapestry of Alternatives. But often we see and know each other
first through our struggles, our pain and trauma. In this short piece, I
want to reflect on this weaving from pain and in particularly, how we
live through the genocide in Gaza. As I write this at the end of March
2024, every night and every morning I go onto my social media and bear
witness to the atrocities happening to the people of Palestine.
Privately run corporate media has shown itself to be a biased source of
news. And there is something authentic and raw to shed my tears looking
into the faces and hearing the voices of civilians trapped in Gaza. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [10] 
> 
> THE ARROPAMIENTOS: MEMORIES, DENUNCIATIONS AND HOPES IN A WEAVING IN
MOVEMENT
> 
> by Deissy Perilla and Virgelina Chará 
> 
> The "Union de Costureros" and "Asomujer y Trabajo" (Unio are citizen
initiatives aligned with the understanding of the fabric from the Global
Tapestry of Alternatives, that is to say; they are networks that
facilitate processes and access to local knowledge. These initiatives
also understand weaving as a way of engaging with ideas, facilitating
collaboration and initiating processes of co-writing, learning and
dialogue. Both processes seek to be part of a broader network of
solidarity and strategic alliances, such as the one proposed by the GTA
to create alternatives to capitalism and dominant regimes that for
decades have created social inequality and environmental destruction. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [11] 
> 
> THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNITIES TO BUILD OTHER POSSIBLE
FUTURES
> 
> by Juan del Río 
> 
> Humanity and the planet are facing an unprecedented climate,
ecological, social, economic and political crisis provoked by extractive
and exploitative institutional systems and practices, a structural
dependlifestyles. We are in moments of deep transformation, urgency and
opportunities, and we need to combine strategies of resistance with
strategies of building new alternatives. In that context community-led
movements have a pivotal role in fostering the transition towards more
regenerative, resilient and just futures. But how do we connect, support
and catalyse the existing diversity of initiatives? 
> 
> Keep reading -> [12]
> 
> WEAVING REEXISTENCE
> 
> by Marco Andrade 
> 
> A few years ago, I was in Mexico, surrounded by people from each of
the continents on Earth, from all age ranges and very different
ancestral lineages...  I had the opportunity to interview and talk with
many of the participants. Obviously each one answered my questions in a
different way and had its own particular richness… however, at the same
time, they had deep similarities and very similar DNA; as if millions of
years ago our molecules had belonged and orbited harmoniously in a
particular constellation of stars, and despite the fact that our
terrestrial origin was very distant, in the depths of us the same
essence lived within us. At least that's what I felt that night, looking
up at the starry sky and easily seeing the Milky Way vividly above us. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [13] 
> 
> TENDING TO THE LŌMA
> 
> by The Emergence Network 
> 
> 'Loom' can be traced back to the Old English words _lōma_ or _gelome_,
meaning a tool, utensil, or implement of frequent use. It invokes the
themes of braiding, tapestries, weaving, webs, materials, and networks -
all of which have been central to the imagination, practices, and life
of the organism called ten (The Emergence Network). 
> 
> The etymological origins of ten gestures towards acts of stretching,
holding, extending, spreading, diffusing, spinning, weaving and
composing. Honoring our deep entanglement with the loom, this piece is a
patchwork of stories, reflections, and meanderings from participants in
the ten organism. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [14]
> 
> WEAVING: A RADICAL ACTIVIST METHOD AGAINST, THROUGH AND BEYOND
CAPITALISM
> 
> by Ana Cecilia Dinerstein 
> 
> Weaving is a timeless and worldwide practice usually connected to the
sensuous world of free human association… Like any other free gathering
around a manual activity, these are moments of unspeakable peace,
freedom, and joy, moments when the world's troubles seem to stop at the
door and cannot interrupt the experience of love and connection… 
> 
> In the Global Tapestry of Alternatives (GTA), we mobilize the term
weaving -a beautiful metaphor, to designate how individuals, movements,
communities, and collectives (including the GTA) connect, interact, and
build something together toward alternative forms of human and nonhuman
life on the planet. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [15]
> 
> THREADING LIFE AND FUTURES
> 
> by Shrishtee Bajpai 
> 
> …the movement of Warp and Weft in weaving is used as a metaphor for
the process of growing in the womb for 9 months. And then, when the
fabric is woven, is a form of a human body it is imbued in the colour
red which is a colour of divinity… 
> 
> Sant Kabir used weaving, his occupation along with thousands others in
his community and elsewhere, as a metaphor. It was used very often to
speak of spiritual, political, and social issues. The working class in
India, including weavers, craftsmen, cobblers, ironsmiths (often from
marginalised and oppressed castes) related to this democratisation of
knowledge. Local communities who didn't have access to elite knowledge
spaces articulated their worldviews through their everyday occupations.
Their expression of meaning of life was not based on any abstractism;
rather, it was woven in everyday practice and learning. Several of these
communities have led counter spiritual, political and social movements
in India over the ages. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [16]
> 
> HOW TO WEAVE? REFLECTIONS FROM THE HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE OF CRIANZAS
MUTUAS COLOMBIA
> 
> by Crianzas Mutuas Colombia 
going on for six years now. This time has brought us very valuable
learnings… During this time, we have strengthened ties between processes
located in three different territories or bioregions: 1) The Geographic
Valley of the Cauca Region; 2) Kumanday (Manizales); and 3) the Black
Line-Sierra Nevada of Gonawindua (Santa Marta). 
> 
> … In Colombia, weaving has been an alternative for the defense of
life, and there have been weavers before Crianzas Mutuas. Tapestries are
not the result of an academic or activist project, but the result of
webs _(entramados)_ nourished by women, artivists, collectives, peoples
and academics. 
> 
> Keep reading -> [17]
> 
> A FEW NOTES AND MEDITATIONS ON THE NOTION OF WEAVING
> 
> by Carlos Tornel 
> 
> …Weaving enables a radical pedagogy between worlds. It creates
conditions under which a dialogue between those that have been _othered_
by the hegemonic view of the world is possible thusly. First, weaving
goes beyond a mere dialogue of knowledges as it places practice and
lived experience at the center: only through sharing the world (i.e. not
just knowledge or the _logos_) can the possibility of a dialogue become
possible. Secondly, weaving can also encompass a plurality of political
horizons and possibilities. Bringing the matter of size into the debate,
weaving places direct democracy, autonomy and dignity as the basis of
political organization, a project built from the ground-up, from a
collective defense of the territory… 
> 
> Keep reading -> [18] 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Global Tapestry of Alternatives
> _contact at globaltapestryofalternatives.org_
> 
> To subscribe and get our updates, visit this link [19] 
> 
> -- 
> Global Tapestry of Alternatives
> https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org 
> 
> ---
> To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to this address:
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> 
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-- 
Global Tapestry of Alternatives
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org 

Links:
------
[1] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:index
[2]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:2024_climate_change_fiction_webinars:03
[3]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:2024_climate_change_fiction_webinars:02
[4] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/events:wsf2024
[5] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/:definitions#term-Tapestry
[6] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:weavers13
[7] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:mfmt_update
[8] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:ussen_update
[9] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:on_weaving
[10]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:weaving_struggles
[11] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:tucked_away
[12]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:transformative_communities
[13]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:weaving_reexistence
[14]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:tending_to_the_loma
[15]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:weaving:a_radical_activist_method
[16]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:threading_life_and_futures
[17]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:how_to_weave
[18]
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/newsletters:13:a_few_notes_and_meditations_on_the_notion_of_weaving
[19] https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/contact
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