The "Small is ..." Festival

5-6 September 2009

Bourton on Dunsmore, Warwickshire CV23 9QZ, UK

The Small Is... Festival 2009 was a great success! Thank you to all those who attended and contributed to make this event the inspiring, informative and fun event that it was! For even more photos, please see our Facebook page.

The Small Is... Festival was a celebration and evolution of the ideas of Small is Beautiful in a weekend summer festival in the grounds of The Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development, Practical Action's Warwickshire headquarters.

Inspiration and exchange on questions of international development and the planet. A varied programme of debates, workshops, learning and exchanges structured around the following themes:

Small is ... economic? Can the current crisis in the world economy be steered towards a new “economics as if people mattered” and what would this mean? Does an emphasis on local production and resilience mean that Small is Beautiful opposes international trade and growth?	Small is ... appropriate? Can small, simple and non-violent technologies really deliver the products and services people need including food, energy and water? When is small better than big in empowering people, promoting human rights and preserving cultural and spiritual values?
Small is ... political? How can a few people and simple technologies influence political change towards a more just world? Could the international community’s current awareness of climate change create a renewed impetus for the philosophy of Small is Beautiful and what can be done?	Small is ... personal? How is personal philosophy linked to the practice of development and is tenderness at the heart of facilitation? How can you have fun through care about poverty and the state of the planet?

Participation, talks, workshops and stalls were from Practical Action, Engineers without Borders UK, architecture sans frontieres, Developing Technologies, Garden Organic, GVEP, Hedon, RedR UK, Simpol UK, Canalside Community Food, Transition Town Leamington, and others. Events included:

Speakers: Diana Schumacher former president of the Schumacher Society and daughter-in-law of EF Schumacher; Peter Guthrie, Professor of Engineering for Sustainable Development, University of Cambridge; James Smith, Director, Centre for African Studies; Paul Ekins, Professor of Energy and Environment Policy Department of Geography, King's College London; Simon Trace, Chief Executive, Practical Action; Andrew Scott, Policy and Programs Director, Practical Action.

Entertainment: Open mic session (bring your instruments), bands with international flavour and a ceilidh, Schumacher and sustainability films in a solar cinema, campfire stories, dawn guided walks in the countryside, yoga sessions and more.

Side-Events, Training and Displays: A model micro-hydro scheme, composting toilet workshop and exhibition, art activities for kids, charcoal burning and briquetting, participatory market mapping, wind turbine display, the biodiesel campervan, water purification demonstration, permaculture training, solar lantern trials, improved cookstove tests, river turbine display, climate change adaptation training, solar PV system demos and more.

Food and shops: Local organic produce, BBQ, fair trade teas and coffees prepared on improved stoves, ecoproducts to buy, Practical Action Publishing bookstall and more.

Transport: Trains and buses to Rugby and Leamington Stations. Staff lift-share is arrangable from pickup points. Limited car parking is also available.

Accommodation: Camping for guests, staying in local B&Bs or with families.

For a full list of speakers, workshops and side events, together with a map of the site and other information, please download the Small Is ... festival programme 2009.

This event was organised by Practical Action and Engineers Without Borders.

If you would like to comment on the event, or for further information on future events, email small_is@practicalaction.org.uk