Dumbo Feather

Dumbo Feather is an iconic Australian magazine. Published quarterly for seven years, and hailed around the world as a design leader, it is a magazine like no other. Our readers are people who want to be told a different story than the one they hear every day. Each quarterly issue features five extended (20 page) profiles of people worth knowing, across enterprise, education, science, sport, politics, fashion and the arts. Whether they’ve touched millions, or just those around them, we take the time to get to know these people, and ask them to tell us their stories.

Dumbo Feather

EDITORIAL

Embracing Deep Adaptation

Radical Adaptation • A response to Jem Bendell’s paper, “Deep Adaptation”

Weaving Back into the Web

Global or Local? Two Paths to the Future

JOANNA MACY RECONNECTS

TIM FLANNERY IS A TRUTH TELLER

CATHERINE INGRAM HAS PASSIONATE PRESENCE

WALTER WAIA IS A CULTURE MAN

The hood • The hood is a community that has evolved spontaneously over a decade in Heidelberg West, Melbourne. It doesn’t have a formal structure; it simply brings together people who value creative pursuits, meaningful relationships and living ethically. The core of the hood is approximately 25 houses, mostly stretched across several streets, with some fences removed. As well as skill sharing, collectively-owned resources and get-togethers, there are joint endeavours like caring for a small herd of dairy goats.

Sieben Linden • Sieben Linden, named for the seven linden trees on the land, is a well-known German ecovillage that sprouted in the East in 1997, after reunification. The off-grid community of about 140 adults and children now occupies roughly 200 acres of farmland and pine plantation and is a pioneer in straw-bale housing. Its aim is to foster collaborative and holistic lifestyles that connect a small ecological footprint with a high quality of life.

Thimble Island Ocean Farm • Thimble Island Ocean Farm is one of the first “3D” ocean farms on the planet. Owner Bren Smith has developed an innovative underwater gardening technique that uses the entire water column to grow a variety of species—ranging from sugar kelp and oysters to mussels and scallops. The farm, located in Long Island Sound, Connecticut, has emerged as a national model for sustainable food production, ocean restoration and economic development.

Brooklyn Microgrid • Brooklyn Microgrid is a network of residents in Brooklyn, New York City who share solar power on an app called Pando. The first exchange occurred in April 2016 between a resident who was producing excess electricity on their solar system and a neighbour who wanted to use it. Today, more than 100 businesses and households are connected through the virtual space, demonstrating people's willingness to exchange locally-generated, renewable energy.

New Measures of Success • Thought leaders around the world are moving us beyond the business-as-usual paradigm with new social and economic models that enable people and planet to flourish. Here are just a few that can be brought into any organisation to help manage our shared household within the laws of the ecology.

LINDA DOYLE IS A REBEL FOR LIFE

SUSANNE MOSER HOLDS HOPE LIGHTLY

THOM VAN DOOREN EMBRACES THE WILD

People Power and Magic Numbers

Why Authenticity Matters

Leading in a Climate Emergency

Small Kindnesses