1000 Flowers for the Planet - #393 Support Old Trades

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #393 Support Old Trades

Old trades are dying out almost as quickly as Bayer is killing the world’s bees. For millennia, humans have developed skills with their hands, making, creating, inventing and crafting items of function and beauty. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, old trades have gradually seen their demise. In the 21^st century we are seeing the demise of panel beaters, as questionable insurance companies that offer low premiums make their profits by squeezing the industry into sending damaged vehicles into landfill rather than repairing them. Panel beaters are the extension of blacksmiths – they both understand the alchemy of metal, and their knowledge and expertise will soon disappear altogether.

Fletchers, bookbinders, tool makers, stone masons, calligraphers, chair makers, basket weavers, spinners, coopers, weavers, leadlighters, leather workers, bucket makers, hedgerow makers, coachbuilders, lace makers, tatters, blacksmiths – these are some of the old trades that will disappear into the history books unless we encourage two things: We need to inspire young people to learn these trades so they are able to hone their skills over a working lifespan to become masters of their trade and pass it forward, and we need to support these trades by investing in them financially and emotionally, by purchasing goods produced by these tradespeople and returning our mindset to a love of things gently crafted by hand.

This is one way we can choose to slow down, enjoy the process and the result, and help our planet by producing less pollution from mass production and decrease our demand for material possessions, thus demanding less of our planet’s resources. This also supports ‘people’.