Welcome to Pyrites
Living and learning with Nature
Humankind has evolved through working with the materials that nature provided. Survival depended upon our ability to use both head and hands to shape those materials to suit our needs. Our ancestors were intimately familiar with the living landscape, relying on it as they did for food and warmth, clothing and shelter. In the modern world, technological developments have brought comfort and safety. We have however, paid a price for these gifts. In handing over responsibility for our daily needs we have lost the practical skills we once relied upon. There are other losses. The loss of our independence, our sense of worth, our sense of place in the world.
By rekindling our relationship with the Earth, by working with the materials it provides, through traditional crafts and landscape skills we can regain our sense of self. We can rediscover that by working to transform these materials we transform ourselves also. By teaching our children these skills, we can enable them to craft their own futures.
Crafting
Transforming Materials & the Maker
The recent publication ‘Crafting – Transforming Materials & the Maker’ (Published by Self-Publishing Partnership – Bath) is about hands-on-learning, the benefits derived from learning through making, set in a variety of educational contexts. ‘Crafting – Transforming Materials & the Maker’ provides an insight into the value of experiential learning practices and suggests ways for Radically Redefining Learning. The book aims to offer inspiration for a hands-on approach to a variety of practical skills & knowledge that can offer real learning for both children and adults.