Blog - Dumbo Feather

Win tickets to The Human Scale at ACMI

2013-05-23T00:00:00Z

This elegant documentary film journeys through cities around the world to discover how urban environments impact and enhance human life and happiness. Based on the groundbreaking thinking of Danish architect, Jan Gehl, we see how a sense of community is restored by reclaiming public spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, from Times Square to Melbourne’s laneways. Thanks to our pals at ACMI, we’ve got five double passes to give away to the film’s opening weekend (15 & 16 June) at ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square Melbourne.

Win tickets here!

Watch the trailer here:

Dumbo Feather Reader Survey

2013-05-22T00:00:00Z

Hello Reader,

It’s that time of year again… Yep, we’d love your feedback in our 2013 reader survey!

We really value your thoughts, and would be so grateful if you could spend just a few minutes telling us what you think of Dumbo and also sharing a little bit about yourself.

Fill out the survey and you could win a Sonos multi-room speaker system plus a 12 month subscription to on-demand music service, MOG.

Head to dumbofeather.com/survey to enter!

The prize:
Stream all the music on earth throughout your home with a SONOS PLAY:3 wireless all-in-one multi-room speaker system, a SONOS BRIDGE connecting the system to your home, and a 12 month music subscription to MOG. MOG is the premium on-demand music service for web, mobile and your home that provides over 16 million high-quality songs to stream through your Sonos system.

Video: What does money mean to you?

2013-05-21T00:00:00Z

Money is energy. It can be positive or negative, depending on where it is invested, and how.

Money itself is meaningless. Yet how we choose to make and spend it defines our lives. On a global scale, we can spend big on the military or invest in solving poverty. And at an individual level, we can choose to buy a t-shirt from a sweatshop, or the one that’s locally made. But while most of us know what we should spend our money on, it’s difficult to balance our values with our desires and the financial challenges of our day-to-day lives.

In putting Dumbo Feather #35 together, we asked people what money meant to them. When is a time you’ve had a lot or a little? What does it mean to be wealthy? To be poor? Would more of it make you happier? We heard so many fascinating answers but there was one sentiment everyone shared: Money is a means to an end. Perhaps there’s no denying the power of money, but at the end of the day, it’s not what makes us happy.

Ultimately, we have a choice: We can buy into greed and become disempowered, or, we can arm ourselves with the knowledge that all our dollars count, and that we don’t need a lot of them to change the world.

What does money mean to you? from Dumbo Feather on Vimeo.

Video produced and edited by our wonderful intern Oliver Gordon, with the support of the Dumbo team.

Keep Cup: Salute the reuser

2013-05-21T00:00:00Z

We love this video that launches Keep Cup’s Salute the Reuser campaign!

The reuse revolution started in 2008 in a Melbourne café as a simple idea: keep it and use it again… Design and make a barista standard reusable cup so people can enjoy better coffee on the go.

Today the KeepCup is embraced all over the world. KeepCup reusers have saved an estimated 3.5 billion disposable cups from landfill and this is just the beginning. We’re aiming for a 30% reuse rate globally.

Movement makes change. Let’s celebrate the movers and shakers making a difference. Believe in better, Salute the Reuser.

Also, take a look at our video about Abigail Forsyth – the founder of KeepCup:

Dumbo Feather #35 is now on sale!

2013-05-13T00:00:00Z

In so many ways, the world is better than it was 100 years ago. We have opportunities now, despite the challenges we face, that open up a universe of hope. We should count our blessings and ask some hard questions about what really makes the world go round.

We start Dumbo Feather issue #35 by asking our community and ourselves: What does money mean? Is it more valuable than our environment, our relationships, our sanity and our future? If the answer is no, then what does it mean to you?

There are leaders all around us, ordinary people taking the reigns, lighting the way for us to be our best selves. If you’ve ever wondered whether you could be contributing more, giving more of yourself to healing this wee little planet of ours—the answer is yes, you can. It is the connections between us, the community of good actions, of brave moments, of leaps of faith and better judgement that really make change.

That’s it. We are the sum of our actions.

So, be inspired and do something wonderful today.

Love print? Buy issue 35 here.
Have an iPad/Tablet? Buy the digital version of issue 35 here.
Subscribe to Dumbo Feather here (from $12 per issue)
or phone us on +61 3 8534 8014.

Profiles in issue #35:

Saamdu Chetri teaches Happiness
“What is enough for me? What is my purpose on this earth, what should I be leaving behind?”
In the grand scale of things, it’s safe to say that Bhutan is not a great world player. Squeezed between China and India, the tiny landlocked state is home to fewer than a million people and boasts one of the world’s smallest economies. Yet Bhutan is home to some very big ideas. Since 1972 the nation has implemented a program of modernisation based not on amassing wealth, but on boosting the happiness of its people. If we’re looking for an example of how Bhutan has been transformed, it’s hard to think of a better one than Dr Saamdu Chetri. Born in a cow shed in one of his country’s most neglected corners, Saamdu found himself thrust into the country’s political life, handpicked for service by Bhutan’s first democratically elected prime minister. Now, he oversees the Gross National Happiness (GNH) commission and has taken on responsibility for the construction of a centre dedicated to improving the wellbeing of Bhutan’s citizens.

Zainab Salbi is a Humanitarian
“I am grateful that I have gone through all of this; grateful to have known fear and to have known a dictator; grateful to have known violence, displacement, poverty, richness love and abandonment.”
In the gruelling arena of peace building, Zainab Salbi is a bit of a big deal. Not long after she came to America she started Women for Women International, an organisation dedicated to helping women in war. Bill Clinton has nominated her for humanitarian awards and Oprah’s a huge fan. Back in the 1990s, Zainab went over to Bosnia to help women, while our writer, Sofija Stefanovic watched the news in horror—her people murdering each other in the streets in what was known as the “brother-killing war”. Bosnia was just the start of Zainab’s charity work. Browsing the Women for Women International site, Sofija learns that the war has left two million Congolese rape-survivors and 85 per cent of Afghani women with no access to education. Sofija wanted to help someone, but who was she supposed to choose?

Tyler Brûlé makes Monocle
“Having gone through what I’ve gone through, somewhere in the back of my mind, I’m always wondering: What are they going to do, shoot you?”
There’s something almost too good to be true about Tyler Brûlé. Son of a Canadian football legend and a German-born Estonian artist, Brûlé moved to Manchester in the late 80s, where he trained as a journalist. In 1994 while working as a foreign correspondent in Afghanistan, he was shot twice and nearly died. Some soul-searching from his hospital bed led him to abandon the battlefield and launch seminal style magazine Wallpaper*. Since leaving the magazine in 2002, Brûlé has founded leading ad agency Winkreative and launched Monocle, an intelligent print journal that has defied a downward trend for the magazine industry. Alongside his media successes, Brûlé is known for his love of international travel (in business class, naturally) and high living. His weekly Financial Times column paints him as something of a restless, millionaire playboy, obsessed with fine dining, exquisite clothing and ski resorts. Similarly, Monocle feels somewhat like a magazine James Bond might read when jetting out on his latest mission.

Rhea Dempsey is “With Women”
“That’s the thing I find saddest about this sort of convenient, controlled, painless childbirth—that we’re limiting this range of brilliant expression of the fullness of our human capacity.”
We could all agree that the best outcome of labour is a healthy mum and bub. That’s a no-brainer. There is, however, a rather huge journey to get to that point and a hell of a lot of politics in between. In the Western world, birth has become highly medicalised and intervention is the modus operandi. Many people nowadays would argue that it doesn’t matter how you give birth, as long as the outcome is perfect. Yet a woman’s choice of how to birth her baby gets heatedly battled out on blogs, forums and in the playground. Judgement, anger and fear surround this topic and very rarely do empowerment, joy and pride factor in. One woman on the frontline of this debate and a passionate advocate for the natural birthing process is Rhea Dempsey. Known around the world for her earthy pragmatism as a birth support person and educator, she’s attended over 1000 births and knows a thing or two about how our attitudes to birth can be better.

Paul van Zyl does Ethical Fashion
“We’ve got a limited time here, we should leave an impact.”
With his wide, boyish grin and a warm conversational style, Paul van Zyl radiates positivity. When he describes something as “amazing” three times in quick succession during the interview, it’s clear he simply can’t help himself. Born in South Africa, Paul was an active opponent of apartheid from a young age and trained as a human rights lawyer. He moved to America and by 2001 was named one of the top 15 lawyers under 40. While an impressive command of language and persuasive personality are the tools of his trade, Paul comes across not as a consummate salesman, but as someone whose lust for life runs through his blood—even after 20 years confronting human rights abuses and helping countries deal with the aftermath of atrocities.

Want a copy? Buy issue 35 here.
Subscribe to Dumbo Feather here (from $12 per issue)
or phone us on +61 3 8534 8014.

Win! Good Beer Week dinner

2013-05-09T00:00:00Z

Good Beer Week is the festival for everyone: those that love beer already and those that do but don’t yet know it.

It returns for the third time in 2013 with a stunning lineup of more than 140 events at well over 100 venues across Melbourne and Victoria from May 18 to 26. Whether you’re new to beer, a hardcore beer geek or an adventurous foodie, there’s plenty to send you home happy.

Beer is undergoing a global renaissance, with brewers and drinkers rediscovering lost styles and create exciting new ones. And Australia has one of the fastest-growing scenes, with Melbourne and Good Beer Week leading the way.

In the 2013 program, you’ll find everything from exclusive degustation dinners to live brews, from masterclasses pairing beer with cheese or spirits to weeklong showcases and Meet the Maker sessions.

Win! We have two tickets to give away to the Victorian Shellfish & Crustacea Long Table Dinner at Fitzrovia (St Kilda, Melbourne). Enter the competition here.

Mother's Day gift subscription offer

2013-05-02T00:00:00Z

Here at Dumbo, we love to spoil our Mums, but we know that sometimes they can be a little bit tricky to buy for, especially come Mother’s Day. Seriously, how many dressing gowns does one lady need?

We think your Mum would LOVE a gift subscription to Dumbo Feather – that’s four issues of inspirational goodness, delivered directly to her door over the next 12 months. It really is the gift that just keeps on giving, and it’s only $45.

Better yet – buy a gift subscription for your Mum before 3pm next Monday (6th May), and we will make sure she (or you) receives the first issue before Friday 10th May, just in time for Mother’s Day! We will even handwrap it in a beautiful vintage Dumbo Feather wrapping paper pattern, exclusive for Mother’s Day 2013. Perfect!

Simply call us on 03 8534 8014 or email the lovely madeline@dumbofeather.com with your number and she will call you back.

Mother’s Day? Sorted!

Offer only available in Australia

Win! Dumbo Feather issue 35 launch party

2013-05-01T00:00:00Z

What do a publisher, happiness guru, humanitarian, doula and ethical fashion entrepreneur all have in common?

Find out at our issue 35 launch party!

Yep that’s right. To celebrate the upcoming release of Dumbo Feather 35, we are having a party and we would love for you to come.

We have 50 double passes to give away, so click here and you might just be lucky!

Details:
Tuesday 7th May (next Tuesday)
6:30-8:00pm
Collingwood, Melbourne.

Dumbo Feather reading volunteers

2013-04-23T00:00:00Z

Thanks everyone for applying, we’ve had such a great response which has made us feel so so special. We will be contacting everyone that applied shortly.

We are so close to launching the Dumbo Feather iPad app, and we need your help with the final push!

We are looking for ten volunteers to come in to Dumbo HQ (St Kilda, Melbourne) next Wednesday 1st May from 1-5pm, to sit down, have a cuppa, and read some vintage issues of Dumbo Feather. Nice!

Whilst you are reading the Dumbo articles, we will need you to be tagging and listing the topics and themes that come up in each article. Don’t worry, it’s an easy task and we will teach you how to do it.

We will have comfy couches, tea, coffee and some delicious afternoon treats! Even better, we’d love for you to come back again at 6:30pm and be our guest in the audience of our Conversation Series event with Chid Liberty!

Thanks everyone for applying, we’ve had such a great response which has made us feel so so special. We will be contacting everyone that applied shortly.

Win! Dumbo private screening of My Brother the Devil

2013-04-11T00:00:00Z

To celebrate our partnership with Melbourne’s annual Human Rights Arts & Film Festival (9-23 May; then touring nationally), we are hosting a private screening of My Brother the Devil, and we’d love for you to join us! We have 90 double passes to giveaway to our screening on 30th April at ACMI Cinemas, Federation Square.

Power, poverty and sexuality. My Brother the Devil is a coming-of-age drama like no other – a slick and energetic portrayal of migrant youth pushed to the fringe.

Win tickets here.

My Brother the Devil trailer:

Human Rights Arts & Film Festival trailer:

Dumbo Feather Conversation Series presents Chid Liberty

2013-04-11T00:00:00Z

Social innovator (and Dumbo Feather cover star) Chid Liberty is coming to Australia exclusively for the Dumbo Feather Conversations series on Wednesday 1 May in Melbourne and Thursday 2 May in Sydney.

Chid Liberty is the CEO of Liberty & Justice, Africa’s first Fair Trade Certified apparel factory created to provide economic opportunities for displaced women.

“We keep talking about poor people as if they don’t make rational decisions. But they make much better, much more rational decisions than most wealthy people. All we’re going to do is move the needle a little bit at a time every day,” says Chid Liberty.

This Dumbo Feather event gives Sydney and Melbourne audiences the exclusive opportunity to hear from one of the world’s most respected social innovation entrepreneurs.

The Melbourne event will be hosted by Small Giants CEO Danny Almagor. As the parent company of Dumbo Feather, Small Giants is an organisation which creates, invests-in, and empowers businesses that are shifting us to a more socially equitable and environmentally sustainable world.

The Sydney event will be hosted by journalist and Dumbo Feather contributor Myke Bartlett.

MELBOURNE
WHAT: Chid Liberty in conversation with Danny Almagor
WHERE: The White House, 11 Princes Street, St Kilda
WHEN: 6:00pm for 7:00pm (drinks and nibbles served before and after the event)
HOW: Buy tickets here

SYDNEY
WHAT: Chid Liberty in conversation with Myke Bartlett
WHERE: The White Rabbit Gallery, 30 Balfour Street, Chippendale
WHEN: 6:30pm for 7:30pm (drinks and nibbles served before and after the event)
HOW: Buy tickets here

Bhutan: the home of happiness

2013-04-11T00:00:00Z

In 2012, Bhutan introduced the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) to the international community. Challenging the unconscious pursuit of economic growth, GNH is an alternative measure of success, a measure of progress beyond GDP. Before arriving in Bhutan, I was more than a little curious about how this small, landlocked Kingdom of only 800,000 people, could be leading the world in this important conversation.

It didn’t take me long to work it out: there is happiness in the air.

It’s impossible to enter the Kingdom of Bhutan without noticing that something is different. Relatively remote and untouched by the outside world, there is a remarkable openness, both in terms of the vast and mountainous landscape and the nature of the people. Yes, there is happiness in the air.

For over 30 years, the happiness and wellbeing of its people has been central to Bhutan’s development policies. In fact, all laws and regulations must be screened for GNH to ensure that they improve the happiness of the Bhutanese people. The GNH identifies nine domains, which contribute to overall life satisfaction–the ‘happiness score’ so to speak. These domains include social support, health, community vitality, arts, culture and environment.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Bhutan is not a perfect place. Like any other society, it has its challenges: approximately 20% of people live below the poverty line; there are general economic pressures; and whilst the ancient culture and traditions have been largely maintained, modernity (with all its complexities) is loudly knocking on its door. One only needs to go out at night in Thimpu to witness the growing number of youth dressed in fake leather jackets, obviously enticed by western music, technologies, ideas and fashion. For Bhutan, a major challenge is to balance the increasing influence of the outside world with the protection of its people, culture and environment. That said, although Bhutan doesn’t have a perfect GNH score, it consciously works to improve it (including a constant reduction in poverty).

Complications on the road to modernity aside, here are three reasons why I think Bhutan is the rightful home of GNH, or, to put it another way, why Bhutan made me happy…

1. Beauty is celebrated:
The first thing I noticed when exploring Bhutan was how bright, colourful and beautiful things were. Houses are brightly coloured, rainbow curtains hang in the windows, the awnings of almost all buildings are painted with intricate designs, with wonderful paintings on many of the walls. This celebration of beauty was evidenced everywhere, from the Airport to the petrol trucks.

2. The environment is respected and protected:
Located in the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is rich in forests and natural vegetation (over 65% of the country is covered by forests) and environmental conservation and protection is of utmost importance. The result is that the environment is pristine and the air is clear. When I visited (in Spring) the oak and pine forests were speckled with bright and blooming rhododendron, cherry blossom and magnolia trees.

3. Spirituality is tangible:
Finally, and most relevant to happiness, Bhutan is relentlessly spiritual. Whatever religious form, or lack thereof, you prefer, it’s hard to deny the sense of spirituality in the air. This was most evident to me whilst hiking up to Tigers Nest, a temple built on the mountainside, 3,400 meters above sea level, the most sacred site in Bhutan. Whilst making my way along the track, lined with prayer flags, I was deeply moved. It made me conscious of the fact of that we are all connected and more aware of the trivial distinctions we create to define and divide ourselves.

It may be relatively small in size and population but Bhutan’s message to the world is profound. Happiness is possible. Happiness is important. Happiness should be valued. Visiting Bhutan made me realise that the rest of the world has a lot to learn from this little country about what constitutes success and happiness.

Further reading:
How happy are you?

Bhutan’s International Happiness agenda:
– Jigme Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan speech to the UN General Assembly
– UN Resolution

Visiting Bhutan:
Tourism is strictly controlled and all Tourists must book through a registered travel agent.
– Bhutan & Beyond
– Lonely planet guide

Big Hearted Business Conference

2013-04-11T00:00:00Z

On the weekend of 24th-25th March I attended the inaugural Big Hearted Business Conference. 200 people attended the event, which was hosted by the beautiful Clare Bowditch and guests. The brainchild of Clare, Big Hearted Business is a skill-building initiative for anyone seeking the creative inspiration and practical small business skills to make their living doing the things they love.

This was just what I had been looking for! I found my people. I studied Visual Arts ten years ago in New Zealand but once I completed my degree I had no idea what to do with my skills and passion. So I worked for a year in a sign-writing company and then went travelling for three years before making Melbourne home in 2008. Since then I have had a few small creative endeavors and along the way I made a new career path in Search Engine Marketing. I now find myself wanting to get back to my creative roots and make a full-time living out of it…but where to start? Cue Big Hearted Business Conference.

In Clare’s words; “Big Hearted Business is a new enterprise invented to address the enormous educational gap that still exists for creative entrepreneurs in the digital age. Put simply, we teach creative people about business, and business people about creativity, in ways that make sense.”

We were lucky enough to have the event held in the beautiful Abbotsford Convent, and after registration I headed into the space (styled by Lucy Feagins of The Design Files) that was to be home for the next two days. Once seated as close as possible to the front I quickly started introducing myself to my neighbours. I soon realised we were bursting to say very similar things about what we wanted to get from this event and were extremely happy that something like this is now on offer to the creative community.

Over the two days we had 11 speakers (including Clare herself) as well as Q&A sessions. We were fed delicious vegetarian food, with morning and afternoon snacks, and had a constant supply of local artisan tea, coffee and cold drinks. We performed mini meditation and yoga stretches, sang in a choir kind of way and got our ‘craft on’.

On day one we started with Kemi Nekvapil, the founder of Kemi’s Raw Kitchen and Raw Beauty Queen. She encouraged us to “add more raw” in our diets in order to have more energy and better look after ourselves, so we can be the best people can be, to create a strong foundation for our family, friends and business.

Clare Bowditch led the next session, which encouraged us to ask certain questions about what we wanted in order to see a clearer picture about how we could move a step or two closer to our ‘bingo’ spot. She also discussed topics around making money for sensitive creative types.

Jane Martino spoke next about ‘Getting Stuff Done’. She is the founder of Undertow Media, co-founder of Smiling Mind, Director of The Martino Group, Mother – the list goes on. She took us through a five-minute meditation warm-up and then discussed mindfulness, and points to take into consideration when starting a business or juggling multiple roles.

Swedish design brand Kikki K’s digital strategist Kylie Lewis also joined us to share her experience as a digital pioneer.

Natalie Harker, a social media extraordinaire who works with some of Australia’s most famous musicians, spoke to us about how important it is to have a digital presence. She brought home some principles for using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc in order to create a strategy to plan, engage, build and measure online communities.

Another social media expert, blogger, author and speaker by the name of Darren Rowse spoke about how he turned his hobby into a multi-million-dollar small business by letting his passions collide.

End of day one concluded with a ‘get to know/crafternoon’ session with Isobel Knowles. She is considered to be a classic multi-passioned creative; she is an ex-member of ‘Architecture in Helsinki’ and current member of ‘The Icypoles’, author of Owl Know How, and multi-award-winning artist who works with animation and makes film clips. We were handed felting, scissors, needle & thread and guided in making a small decoration.

Day two started with a bang! If anyone knows Catherine Deveny then you’ll know what I mean. Often referred to as a ‘social agitator’, this well-loved comedy writer, comedian, author and social commentator is never afraid to say the things other people secretly think. She shared her top tips for getting to where you want to go from her past experiences in classic ‘Devo’ style.

Rachel Power, a very close friend of Clare who is a highly respected Melbourne-based writer, editor and illustrator, spoke next about her book The Divided Heart. In it she outlines the divided experiences she has as a mother and artist, and coming to terms with the idea that to succeed at one means to fail at the other.

We then met Lucy Feagins from The Design Files. She spoke about how she started her little blog and grew it to where it is today. Lucy’s main point was about creating value for your readership.

For our last speaker of day two Pip Lincoln joined us and led us in a crafternoon session making pom-poms. Pip is another multi-passioned crafting author who has an influential blog ‘Meet Me at Mikes.’ She is also a mother of three, editor of JustB, craft queen at Frankie Magazine and founder of Softies for Mirabel. She shared with us the top 10 rules she lives by.

Just before we wrapped up the conference, we all walked into the Abbotsford Convent church singing The Ship Song by Nick Cave, which we had been singing over the last two days. There was a film crew set up once we arrived and we continued to sing in unison. It was pretty moving having 200 people who didn’t expect to sing to just start all singing together and actually sound good. I felt very unified and supported, like we had made something pretty big this weekend.

I was lucky enough to have a quick chat to Clare and get a photo with her. I then swiftly proceeded to relax and chat with my new acquaintances. I left the weekend full of ideas and next steps; my to-do list has become massive and will keep me busy for quite sometime. I am invigorated!

Creating a space for conversation

2013-03-21T00:00:00Z

The School of Life Melbourne’s 10-week summer term launched earlier this year in Collingwood on Australia Day. Jam-packed with powerful content (largely coming from The School of Life, UK) the program promised to provide attendees with much food for thought and practical tools on how to live a life with authenticity and meaning. From ‘fulfilling your potential’, to ‘filling a God shaped hole’, to ‘making love last’, or ‘preparing for death’, the program did not shy away from the tough questions, instead celebrating our shared human need to engage with them.

But, I’m not here to talk about what happened inside the classes (although for all intensive purposes the feedback has been great!) I want to share what happened outside.

The space outside the classroom comprised of the Readings pop-up book shop, the Dumbo Feather Conversation café, and a garden space, filled with colourful tables, arrangements of succulents and a wall of repurposed red milk crates.

Last month I spent one weekend managing the space and, in addition to welcoming attendees to the class and serving coffee, I found myself in a number of conversations. Now for me, this is not unusual. I am a chatty person who loves nothing more than a great conversation, but, I have to say, these conversations were different. These conversations were notably deeper, more confronting, more fulfilling and more fun than usual.

With complete strangers, I found myself discussing all manner of subjects from lost love to new love, from the obligation to imprint your knowledge and opinions on your children, to the power of culture in shaping identity and finally, to the impact of childhood on development. During these conversations, I laughed and I cried and, I kid you not, this was all in a 48-hour period.

After this marathon of incredible discussions, I thought hard about what it was that had allowed these conversations with relative strangers to occur. What was different in these interactions? How was I different? How does one create a space for conversation?

This is what I came up with:

The power of context
On reflection, the context was right. With the Conversation Menus on the table, provocative workshops taking place next door and a bookshop filled with the writings of thought leaders, is it any wonder that these type of conversations took place? The fact that the wall was filled with H-artefacts of lost love—painfully documenting break ups—meant that a whispered conversation about my own heartbreak seemed fitting. There is no doubt that it is harder to engage in such discussions in the line for coffee in the morning, in the elevator on your way to work, or in the doctor’s waiting room.
Context plays a major part: the physical space is important.

The power of vulnerability and openness
Another noticeable quality of these conversations was that defensiveness and barriers were noticeably absent and had been replaced with a candid honesty. On reflection, this was both on my behalf and on behalf of my conversation partners. So what is this? This is being authentic and real in a conversation, this is saying what you want to say, even though you are afraid the other person may judge you. This being vulnerable in an interaction with someone else and thus allowing them to also be vulnerable with you.
Being vulnerable and open plays a major part: allowing someone else to access that space within you, without the barriers and defensive walls, is important.

The power of listening
When reflecting on these conversations, I realised also that there was a stillness to our interactions. When I asked a questions, there was space for the person to answer, a space I did not try to invade with my own thoughts or questions. This quiet listening when given to another, gives a person the space to explore an answer with consideration and time.
Listening carefully plays a major part – respecting the space between you and the person is important.

The School of Life may be finishing up this weekend but my hope is that the types of conversations I experienced there will continue…

Theatre of Ideas

2013-03-21T00:00:00Z

Being inside Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on a hot day is like being inside a very comfortable fridge. Probably a Smeg. A big one.

At the Theatre of Ideas during this year’s Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Hamer Hall was lined with fridges. Symbolic perhaps, of the culinary closet I’ve been in until now, and the intention of the day’s session: to open up to new ideas about food.

So on this stifling day I sat back in the coolness and heard from three of the world’s most insightful, creative and charismatic culinarians: Michael Städtlander, Matthew Evans and Magnus Nilsson. Each in turn spoke about farm life, food production—here and now—and where things might go in the future.

Now I’ve long since prepared a list in my head of all the folk (dead or alive, real or imaginary) that I would have a cup of tea with if I could. After the Theatre of Ideas, I’ve put out three extra chairs and mugs. Michael, Matthew and Magnus were deliciously raw about our food reality. The room buzzed with energy as these three visionaries shared ideas and stories. They spoke about food as life, love and how we treat the planet. By the end of it, I wanted to escape the city and disappear into the folds of green they so lovingly described, to nourish my soul as much as my body.

Michael, whose 100 acre farm in Ontario, Canada, houses a 12-seater restaurant (you have to reserve!) spoke about his remarkable gardens and various projects (a barbeque in the shape of a pig, a tree-house that sits forty people, a restaurant in a bus). He spoke of the region’s annual wild leek and maple festival, the need to celebrate good food and wholesome living and the importance of sustainability in our future. How can we change things for the better? Michael suggests introducing curriculums in school where kids can get their hands dirty, learn about food production and the importance of looking after both our bodies and the planet.

Matthew, a former food writer and restaurant critic shared his experiences as a novice farmer in Tasmania, where he says many people still have a connection with the land. As part of his learning, he has harnessed the knowledge that exists in the region. He spoke about death as a prominent presence on a farm, something that is often forgotten or cast over. “You have no idea how many animals have to die to grow soyabeans,” he told us. Matthew says we must turn to the elderly, the indigenous, the farmers, to learn about the real nature of food.

Magnus, who like Michael runs a small restaurant from his farm, lives in the desolate north of Sweden. I was intrigued by his discussion of a ‘driver’s license’ for meat eaters—that in order to eat meat, you should see an animal born, you should watch it grow, then you should kill it yourself. If a system like this truly existed, there’s no way I’d be eating beef. Hell, I don’t think I could even manage chicken. Or fish. Guess I’d have to find a new favorite dish too, ’cause calamari would also be out of the question. I was blown away by the concept. It makes you address a horribly brutal reality; somebody kills these animals. It’s somebody’s job to spend their waking hours shooting cows in the head then slashing them open at the neck. Truly, I have no right to eat meat.

So I walked away with a churning belly and a guilty conscious. If we’re going to eat food honestly, we need to understand it. What it is, where it came from, how it got to our table. I was going home to open my fridge and have a good talk to the chicken defrosting on the shelf. Firstly, to apologise, and then to talk about the future. So much needs to change.

All images by Daniel Mahon.

Subscribe to Dumbo and you could win like these guys

2013-03-21T00:00:00Z

Big congratulations to Sandra and Ian who are the winners of our recent subscription competition, and are now off on the eight day Essence of Vietnam trip.

Dumbo Feather survives on the support of its loyal readers. By subscribing, you’ve become part of our global family. This absolutely spectacular Vietnam experience was donated by our pals at Peregrine Adventures, who specialise in responsibly travel and in taking you off the beaten track! On this trip they’ll even meet past interviewee of the magazine Jimmy Pham at his KOTO (Know one Teach One) restaurant in Hanoi.

Before Sandra and Ian head off on their trip, we caught up with them to find out a little bit more.

DF: You said you were already planning a trip to Vietnam. What draws you to Vietnam as a travel destination? Ian and Sandra: Vietnam stands out for us because of the many good things friends who have been there have told us. In particular, knowing the locals are friendly–despite their recent history–is a real bonus. As visitors from Australia we feel happy to contribute–if only in a very small way–by leaving our tourist dollars behind.

Which part are you looking forward to the most in Peregrine’s eight day, ‘Essence of Vietnam trip’? For us Hoi An with its French influence sounds like a highlight. But then so does a night on a boat in Halong Bay. And of course the food!

What does responsible travel mean to you? Responsible travel for us means reading up on the history and culture including a few choice phrases in the local lingo, being mindful of your environmental impact and supporting smaller local businesses. Put simply: tread lightly, speak kindly and behave respectfully and never forget you are a guest in someone else’s country.

Travel and adventure often result in some of our richest memories and best stories, would you like to share one of yours? Our first overseas as a family (19 year old son & 14 year old twin girls) was to Nepal. As we flew past Everest we were awed by its size and mass poking through the clouds even at our flying height of 5000m. A little later the short trip from Kathmandu airport to our hotel was our first and most memorable culture shock; the movement and mass of people, animals, cars and motorbikes all somehow on what is a third-world city street. From ragged beggars to colourfully uniformed schoolgirls, we were all wide eyed and open mouthed with disbelief. Our twin girls could only manage the occasional ‘oh my God!’ under their breath.

We went on to Pokhara and embarked on a three week trek along the Annapurna circuit and a short rafting trip on the Seti river. All in all it was one of the best things have done for our children who have all benefited hugely and have developed a love of travel.

Finally, tell us a bit about yourself. How did you first discover Dumbo Feather and what does it mean to you? I (Sandra) trained as a welfare worker in Sydney, moved to Adelaide and raised three little munchkins. I then retrained as a nurse, tree nurse that is, because Ian’s an arborist (a tree Dr). I love working outside, love my veggie garden, love red lipstick and yoga. We recently left ‘home’ to live at the bottom of the garden in a 30sqm teeny weeny house…life is now simpler. I discovered Dumbo Feather about 18 months ago at a visit to my physio and have been reading and singing its praises ever since.

Why is Everyone Smiling?

2013-03-12T00:00:00Z

It was meant to be a 20-minute drive. After a delayed start, some hairy traffic and a bumpy ride from Ubud to Sibang Kaya, the trip takes an hour and we’re at least half an hour late. As we roll up to the rear of the Green School we are greeted by a security guard who promptly begins a chain of handballs from smiling guide to smiling guide.

We walk down through humid forest toward the sound of a river. We’re already onto our third guide by the time we reach the fabled bamboo walk-bridge. As a civil engineer by training I have admired many, many bridges, but this is something else. Sweepingly constructed solely of bamboo; it is bold, beautiful and perfectly functional. I am almost left behind as I hurriedly take photo after photo, trying to capture every angle and every view of the structure. I’m in love.

Already inspired, and with sweat pouring down our foreheads, we climb the northern bank of the river up to the school. We meet the International Communications Director Kaia Roman and are given a wonderful tour. We see the wall-less, open and circular classrooms, the bamboo pirate ship in the kindergarten and the centrepiece of the school, aptly called the ‘Heart of School’. We learn about the bold curriculum that embraces three distinct phases in the day: a unit of physical activities (sport, dance, movement), a unit of academic studies, and finally a unit of ‘community projects’ where the students take on a sustainability project of their own, driving it from start to finish throughout the year.

We talk at length about our own schooling, sharing similar stories of teachers who inspired us, and of course the many that didn’t. Walking around the school I’m strongly reminded of the incredible Sir Ken Robinson TED Talk on creativity. What Ken preaches so effectively is being practiced right in front of us.

The Green School is more than an experiment. In a world full of people who talk about social and environment change, the team here are just getting on with it. In fact they have been so head down it has taken them five years to even begin to think about an international strategy. But luckily for anyone who can’t make it to beautiful Bali, they are now! There are events in both Perth and Melbourne in mid-March introducing the Green School concept and announcing some very exciting curriculum initiatives and Green School camps. There are even whispers of actual schools popping up in Australia and around the world.

The Green School aims to inspire and educate the next generation of sustainability leaders. From all the evidence on our three-hour visit it is doing just that. We leave inspired, absolutely. But we also leave excited and hopeful at the thought that more kids might be able to experience the magic here. It’s time to take this education revolution to the world.

Q&A with Foodbank

2013-02-20T00:00:00Z

Participating in Oxfam’s Design for Change Challenge got all of us at Dumbo Feather thinking. We waste so much food. Whether it was overbuying at the supermarket or forgetting lunch in the fridge, we were all guilty on occasion. Food wastage is a colossal problem. In Australia alone, over 3 million tonnes of food is driven to landfill each year, and we throw away the equivalent of one in every five bags of groceries. We chatted with the Victorian CEO of Australia’s largest food relief organisation, Ric Benjamin, about saving food to help the hungry.

DF: Tell us about Foodbank.
Ric Benjamin: Foodbank Victoria is the largest food relief agency in Victoria. That means we act as a conduit for the food industry to the welfare sector. We collect the whole gamut of manufactured, fresh and frozen produce. Our strength is that we receive in bulk and we distribute in bulk. Last financial year we distributed the equivalent of 6.9 million meals around Victoria alone. Across all the Foodbanks of Australia that total was about 35 million meal equivalents.

Our work has two direct impacts. Firstly, we’re actively engaging corporate Australia, or the food part of corporate Australia, to help alleviate the stress that is created by people who are struggling to meet the cost of living. Secondly we reduce waste. So that’s an environmental aspect of the work we do: we stop food that’s to be consumed going into landfill and creating methane gases and all the other things that we try to avoid.

What drew you to working with the organisation?
My link to the food relief sector started in about 1999 when I was president of a community group called Jewish Aid Australia. We started an initiative collecting surplus food from celebrations after one of our members came back from New York and had seen on a little plaque on a wedding table saying, “This food will be donated to an organisation called New York City Harvest”. We thought, That’s a really cool idea. People have a great time at parties but there’s often a lot of food that gets wasted, to make good use of that seems like a really sensible and relatively easy thing to do. So we started doing that. We soon realised that this was a small part of food waste and redistribution and as luck would have it we were introduced to another “start up” food rescue agency called One Umbrella. We soon merged the two ideas and for a year or so I was also the president of One Umbrella. One Umbrella still exists, now called Fair Share. And it’s a major partner with Foodbank in producing meals, thousands of frozen meals for the welfare agencies we supply.

So it was harder than you expected to be able to actually give this food—that was otherwise going to be wasted—to people in need. I imagine you encounter a lot of red tape in the sort of work you do. What keeps you inspired every day?
Look, the work we did back in 1999 was a very labour intensive work with irregular returns. To pick up food at the end of a wedding or party means being somewhere at two o’clock in the morning, and one Saturday morning you could be there and you get trays and trays of food that could feed 50 people, and the next Saturday morning you get ten potatoes. So that was one element. The other element was that back then there were no laws supporting the donation of food. And one thing that Fair Share did in its early years, with the support of the Law Society, was to get a Good Samaritan law passed in Victoria, which actually protects caterers from liability if they donate in good faith and maintain certain conditions.

With regards to red tape…to be honest, that’s not really the barrier today. The challenges for us today are getting enough of the right food: enough fresh fruit and vegetables, enough of the core products that go into making meals. The challenges that we need to start planning for then become culturally appropriate and allergy free foods. So we need to be able to not only get enough of the right food but make sure we’ve got the opportunity to meet the growing demand of our multi-cultural community, such as Halal food, and then beyond that you then have to start looking at allergy-free foods because there’s no point in giving people food that will make them sick. Another daily challenge today relates to the cost of transport. While the product might be donated to us, sometimes we’ve got to pay for it to be picked up, or for it to be delivered to people, or to refrigerate it… So there are lots of elements we juggle which restrict us from being able to get the food to where it needs to go.

So what keeps you motivated?
Ultimately it’s understanding that the value that we deliver in our food is actually beyond the food. 85 per cent of the agencies we deliver the food to have told us that they believe food is one of the major reasons someone walks through the door looking for help. That’s not hard to understand. If someone is suffering from domestic violence or mental illness or gambling or drug addiction, they don’t tend to walk through the door saying, “Help me I’m a gambling addict,” but they would walk through the door saying, “Help me, I need to feed my children.” This provides an opportunity for that agency to provide dignified and respectful support for the individual and their family. This then helps create a level of trust. So the next time they come back, it might be just for food, but it may be for counselling, or it may be for some other form of support. Recognising that, I think, is important for us in the community to understand the mechanism of how the welfare sector is trying to work with individuals and families in need. We really are a gateway for people to re-enter community.

Is there a particular story which helps you stay focused?
Yeah. One very depressing story. An agency in central Victoria told me that they visited a home and while inside the house and they noticed one of the internal doors of the house had a bolt and padlock on it. And they asked the parents, “What’s that?” They said, “That’s the kitchen.” They asked the parents why and they said, “Because our kids want to go into the pantry and the fridge too often and we don’t have enough food to last the last week. So we have to lock the door.” As a parent myself, I don’t think twice about walking up to the pantry or the fridge and I don’t think twice about my kids doing it, because, you know, they graze and browse… It’s a normal part of life. To think that there are parents out there that have to lock their children out of the kitchen because they aren’t able to provide for them like we want to provide for our kids is the most distressing thing I’ve heard for a very long time. Imagine the impact that that has on a family—kids not being able to invite friends home and parents carrying the guilt of acting so unnaturally.

It’s incredibly sad.
It’s so disconcerting… It’s a pretty powerful image to carry with you.

One figure I heard is that almost a third of food produced for human consumption around the world is thrown away or wasted. What can we do to help?
The issue of food insecurity in Australia is different to the developing world. So, curbing excesses here isn’t necessarily going to solve the problem. But certainly what will assist is when people understand that their over-consumption is creating, in a sense, a false economy around what foods are needed.

Personal waste should be reduced and that should just be a personal action. It may not necessarily have a flow-on effect down to anyone who’s looking for assistance. But that’s just a personal action, which hopefully most people take on board. With regards to helping with the issue, the first thing is awareness. Understanding that there are about 2.3 million Australians who are struggling to meet the cost of living… It doesn’t necessarily mean putting your hand in your pocket, it just means encouraging people to stay connected to community, to help. But fundamentally in terms of helping organisations like Foodbank it’s all down to money or particular types of food donated. And people can run food drives, they can do fundraisers, they can donate directly. That allows us to do our work with the food industry to make sure that as little as possible is being wasted and we’re getting it to the people in need.

Dumbo Feather #34 is now on sale!

2013-02-15T00:00:00Z

Here at Dumbo Feather, there’s always a sense of great stuff happening, incredible people to talk to, remarkable ideas to share. Everyone has their narrative. That’s what we’re here to celebrate.

In this issue we profile a Palestinian peace activist, a man whose motto is to live his bucket list today because tomorrow is uncertain, one of the greatest illustrators of our time, a local potter and a grand master of the Shakuhachi flute. Each of these stories challenge the status quo, ask us to open our hearts and let the light shine in.

We also explore some big ideas — how can I enjoy my family? Change the world? Find fulfilling work? These questions were inspired by The School of Life, which is open right now in Melbourne with the help of Small Giants.

So if you’re feeling like the world doesn’t need your input—beat that thought back with a stick. We’re all here—NOW. Nothing is more inspiring. Find great stories. Ask the right questions. Live with passion.

xDF

Love print? Buy issue 34 here. Have an iPad/Tablet? Buy the digital version of issue 33 here. Subscribe to Dumbo Feather here (from $12 per issue) or phone us on +61 2 8227 6486.

Profiles in issue 34:

David Hieatt is a Doer
“We want to create a culture of ideas that change things for the better.”
Those who do, inspire. David Hieatt does a lot. Ideas are everything to David, but without love they mean nothing. Driven by passion, he cares deeply about what he does, who he does it with, and who he does it for. His work ethic is unquestionable, but perhaps more importantly, his endeavours are infused with a great spirit of intimacy and enjoyment, and in supporting others to realise their full potential, David is almost visionary.

Maira Kalman is a Storyteller
“The way that I look at the world, the pleasure that I would get from the intimate moment—I know that I’ve had that since I was a child.”
Dumbo writer Rachelle Unreich first became aware of author-artist Maira Kalman when she lived in New York, and stumbled upon Kalman’s unique children’s books. There was the memorably named Sayonara, Mrs Kackleman—but the one that really killed her was Max in Hollywood, Baby, a book in Kalman’s Max the dog series. In it, Max finds himself directing a movie in LA (long story). She found it impossible not to delight in the rollercoaster language, like when Max’s agent gives him some tips: “Watch your step in this town. There are some bac-stabbing, power-hungry, status-seeking vegetarians here. I know of what I speak…” It’s eight o’clock in the morning in upstate New York, where Maira Kalman has temporarily retreated to do some work…

Aziz Abu Sarah is a Tour Guide
“To engage with and try to influence change you have to understand every narrative.”
Go back just over twenty years and find ten-year-old Aziz Abu Sarah in the chaos of East Jerusalem during the First Intifada. Tell him that he’s going to be a tour operator. Tell him he’ll be sitting on the edge of the Dead Sea, talking to an Australian journalist about the National Geographic executives he’s been taking through the Jordan River Valley, so that they might bring people from around the world to experience his tours. Tell him he’ll be working with Israelis. Tell him he’ll be preaching peace.

Shelley Panton is an Artisan
“Everyone thought I was mad to do this, but I thought, Well, I’d be mad not to!”
At the height of the recession, Shelley Panton was near broke and unemployed. So she rented a shopfront on a quiet residential street and moved in with her pottery wheel. Some called her crazy, but Shelley was in her element. Before long, she had stacks of crockery in the window, with a sign that read, ‘Hi, I’m Shelley and I’m building a business’. Hell-bent on success, she had no time to fear failure. She’d found the courage to do what she loved. It was all that mattered.

Riley Lee is a Grand Master
“The fact that my goals are impossible to attain does not diminish them.”
Zen and the art of Shakuhachi seem an impossible path for a Chinese-American boy born in Texas in 1951, who grew up loving Led Zepellin and country and western music. But for Riley Lee accidental journeys are what life is all about. As a young traveller in the 1970s, Riley found his way to Japan, an exotic, remote place at that time, still emerging from the rubble of the Second World War and steeped in tradition. One fateful day, he ambled into a music store, thinking it would be fun to buy a Shakuhachi flute. Instead of selling it to him, the man behind the counter gave him the number of the only Shakuhachi teacher with a phone.

Jimmy Pham appointed Member of the Order of Australia

2013-02-07T00:00:00Z

We had some great news come to us last week – past Dumbo Feather profile Jimmy Pham was appointed as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia!

Jimmy was honoured for significant service to the community, particularly children in Vietnam, through KOTO International – a social enterprise operating in Vietnam that is part supported by Small Giants (Dumbo’s parent company). Recruiting around 100 street and disadvantaged youth annually and placing them in a 24-month intensive program in life skills, English language and restaurant hospitality training, KOTO has been running for 14 years and there are now over 400 graduates (keep a look out for Dumbo Feather issue #35 in May for a profile on a very special KOTO graduate).

Believing that the great fortune he enjoyed of having grown up in Australia has given him a sense of responsibility to those who haven’t had the same opportunities as him, Jimmy has always been drawn back to Vietnam to try to improve the lives of street and disadvantaged youth.

Jimmy acknowledges that his award of the Order of Australia highlights the plight of street and disadvantaged youth including the importance of engaging in social enterprise as a means of helping people lift themselves out of poverty to live their lives with dignity.

Huge congratulations to Jimmy and the team at KOTO!

Read Jimmy’s Dumbo Feather profile from issue #12 here.

Read more about KOTO and alumni restaurant Pots ‘n Pans here (a partnership with Small Giants, KOTO and KOTO alumni).