The WHAT? I hear you cry. Let me explain….This year sees the fourth instalment of the Small is…Festival. A growing annual gathering of curious minds, creative spirits, debators, creators, green thinkers; and some of you bring your little tinkers, who will be looked after by the fabulous Woodcraft Folk.

Presented by us here at Practical Action and our like-minded friends over at Engineers without Borders-UK, we put on this festival for people who want to come and get their hands dirty learning how to make charcoal, build traditional mud walls, test out fuel efficient stoves, and generally learn about the technologies and ideas behind the fantastic work we do to challenge poverty around the world every day.

There will be stalls, demonstrations, hearty food, a cocktail caravan and music to tickle every tastebud around and keep you thoroughly entertained.

This year sees the introduction of the Schumacher Lectures, named after Practical Action’s founder, and inspiration behind the festival. The lectures are full of leading environmental and social thinkers, including Tony Juniper, who has this to say:

“After years of debate and awareness-raising, and despite quite a lot of progress in some areas, the solutions to the massive ecological challenges we face remain elusive. This is not a time for despair, however, it is the moment to deepen the discussion and to look harder for the best ways forward. This is why the Small is…. Festival is so important, in providing a forum for people to come together and to compare perspectives on how best to make the rapid progress needed”.

The name ‘Small is…’ comes very naturally to us here at Practical Action as it is the name of Schumacher’s famous book ‘Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered’. However, if you say “Small is Festival” to someone who might not be familiar with the name, you can get some funny looks. “Small Ears Festival?” or “The Smallest Festival- how small are we talking about?”

To get around this, we need your help. We need you to go out and tell people about the Small is…Festival. You can do it by liking the Facebook page, following us on twitter, and sharing this lovely stop animation video.

Then we would love you all to join us with your thoughts and contributions and ideas, to make it the biggest small festival around. A festival as if people mattered.

See you around the campfire….