Design Manifesto for Jerusalem

One day, sitting with Massanobu Fukuoka under a carob tree, the wise Japanese farmer drew a square in the earth with his stick and said to me: “In this square meter of land live millions of living beings, therefore thousands of millions of combinations… we know nothing.”

I believe we have come to this world to learn and to help… that we do not need more knowledge to learn, nor do we need more information, or faster computers, or more scientific and intellectual analysis to help the world. What humanity needs most at this moment is wisdom. But… what is wisdom? Where is it found?

The masters say that wisdom comes when one is able to quiet oneself, to be able to observe and listen. Nothing more is needed. Quieting, observing, and listening activates the true intelligence that resides within oneself. Then true beauty and true creativity appear, and your true self is expressed.

Let us allow stillness to guide our words and our actions.

I have a dream.
Let us make this world a place,
where in our next life
we would like to return as children.

I sincerely believe that today’s industrial design, the current industrial civilization, has no future.

It is a civilization with an arrogant and anthropocentric vision, which considers man the center of all things, which takes more than it needs, which promotes a model of production and consumption based on the absence of limits, which generates human exploitation and toxic waste, which values having more than being, which practices a culture of use and throw away, and which despises nature because it thinks it is empty matter and has no life.

Design without ethics, morality, or spiritual values. Its religion is materialism, obsessed with comfort, imprisoned by industry and large corporations,which worships high technology and fuels excessive consumption.
Today, design is filled with fear and negativity. I feel that the result is violence.

Current design needs peace.

We can be the change we want to see in the world. Your design can be your message.

If you ask me, is it possible to design a better world? My answer is YES.

Another world is not only possible… it is already on its way. On a peaceful day… I can hear it breathing.

Following an invitation, earlier this year, from the Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design in Jerusalem,
the idea arose to make my principles public and write a design manifesto.

FOR TEACHERS, DESIGNERS, ARTISANS, AND FOR ALL WHO DESIGN LIFE.

This manifesto speaks of trees, seeds of freedom, beauty, peaceful design of handmade things,
of ecological education, of revolution, of the spirituality of artisans, of a better world, of YES…

Think positively, feel positively, act positively.
Inner happiness is the fuel of success,
do the things that bring you joy; if it’s not fun, don’t do it.
Seek what makes you feel good, what resonates in your heart.
Follow your bliss, your joy…
Anything that makes you feel good will always attract more.
What you think, what you feel, and what you attract… is the same.
We create our own reality.

We can design as nature designs, and we can do it with humility, reverence, and limits. We take inspiration from the designs and processes of nature to solve human problems. Biomimicry is skillful design from nature. It is innovation inspired by nature, looking to nature as a teacher… One of the many gifts of observing nature is that you enter into a deep conversation with organisms. And this master-student dialogue fills you with admiration. Seeing nature as a guide, a model, a measure greatly changes your value and perspective on the natural world. Instead of seeing nature as a warehouse, you begin to see it as a teacher. Instead of valuing what you can take from it, you value what you can learn from it. Nature is full of helpers. We are surrounded by geniuses. You just need to observe and learn.

Matter and spirit are two sides of the same coin. What we measure is matter; what we feel is spirit. Without spirit, matter has no life. If materialism and consumerism direct our lives, we forget the spirit. Current design lacks innerresonance. It needs the spiritual dimension.
Satish Kumar teaches us through his writing “Spiritual Imperative” that elegant simplicity is an easy way to discover spirituality.
We need schools and teachers that activate the inner life of designers and bring ecological and spiritual values to the foundations of education. Meditation can help us connect with the center of our being. That is where true creativity and true beauty arise.
If we cultivate beauty within, we can design beauty outside.

We bring peace to current design. The global warming of the planet that is causing severe climate change is the most difficult and compromised situation we face today. And today we already know for certain that the cause is human activities, and here the designer can play an important role.
We need a new design system that creates ideas in a sustainable way, respecting the Earth’s resources, seeing the planet as our great home and recognizing all species that inhabit it as brothers based on principles of ecology, sustainability, and community. In non-violent design, the spirit of respect for all forms of life emerges: human life, plant life, animal life, the life of stones and soil, water. All of nature, all species, including the human species, are sacred. And all are interconnected. We are one big family. It becomes a moral imperative that they be respected, honored, and revered. All living things are products of a sacred system. Nothing is separate, nothing is other. It is the relationship between all living systems that is holy, divine, sacred. The ultimate result is peace in all realms: personal peace, world peace, peace with nature.

En el ámbito personal y familiar… y sobre todo de comunidad. La autosuficiencia crea confianza, proporciona seguridad, sube la autoestima , te da libertad.
Es un movimiento para vivir simple, llevar una vida sencilla , poco a poco. Diseñando y produciendo lo que necesitamos y saber que cuando basta, basta. Originariamente, pobreza quería decir aceptación voluntaria de una vida sencilla, simple y a la renuncia de posesiones innecesarias.
Lo pequeño es hermoso. Diseño en una escala humana, pequeñas escuelas enseñando diseño y artesanía… pequeños talleres artesanos…
Diseño local, proteger la identidad cultural local.
Tecnología apropiada, es decir: barata, local, fácil de reparar… Necesitamos tecnología solar… tecnología humana… antes que alta tecnología.

Be a social activist. Solidarity design. Design can and should become a path in which each of us can participate in changing society…
Designing with those in need… poverty has always been the mother of innovation. By designing for them, you will learn, and they will learn from you…
Helping social movements… Participating in solidarity projects. True and radical democracy is born when people do something themselves instead of waiting for others to do it. If we act, we can change things. Each of us is an exceptional being, with unlimited power. Your creativity can help change the world.

Unite the culture of craftsmanship with the ecology of the earth. Quality products made with sustainable methods, healthy for people and clean for the planet. Craftsmanship is the culture of beauty, creativity, spirituality, ingenuity, and innocence. It is the culture of non-violence and true peace economy. Artisans take very little from nature, waste nothing, exploit no one, create no ugliness, and do not pollute. Designers can work with and support small artisan communities, connecting directly with citizens in a process of mutual collaboration.

Seek the meaning of life. Design as if you were looking at the world from the sky, to have a global, holistic perspective… integrating economy, ecology, spirituality, and science. This design seeks to stimulate a change in consciousness, a better way of life, with more harmony, more peace, more friends, closer to nature… doing things well and slowly. The words ecology and economy have the same Greek root “ecos,” which means house or home. Economy means the management of the house, and ecology means the knowledge of the house. If we do not know the house, how are we going to manage it? Economy is part of ecology, and ethics is part of ecology because ethics means the “ethos” of the house, that is, what the culture or spirit of the house is. Economy, ecology, and ethics are parts of a unity. Designing is not just an economic act; it is an ecological, social, and cultural act. We can create a balanced system in which learning by doing is as essential as learning by reading. The education of the hands should be as important as the education of the head. The development of the heart should be valued as much as the development of the mind. Connecting the entire process of life. Traversing the entirepath from seed to cotton to thread, to fabric, and finally to a garment. Through creative and sustainable work. When we do all these activities as sacred acts, we are nourishing society.

It is design for Life.
We do not need more products… we need trees.
Become a tree, act like a tree… Design trees.
Trees work with the Sun.
They provide land, water, and fresh air.
They live in total harmony with their environment. They do not pollute; everything they produce is food for the earth, animals, and humans.
They generate no waste.

THE TREE is a spiritual being, a teacher… it is the connection between heaven and earth and is also the symbol of this movement, the image of this manifesto, and becomes a call for peace.

THE TREE is the model for the next industrial revolution. A peaceful revolution led by teachers, designers, and artisans who sow seeds of freedom, hope, peace, and life.

This manifesto comes from the Sea, the Forest, Nature, and some human beings: Gandhi, Satish Kumar, Fritjof Capra, Janine Benyus, Arundhati Roy, E.F. Schumacher, Vandana Shiva, E. Tolle… thanks to all of them.

Health and peace,