When my good friend Glennie Kindred and I sat in a field at a festival and dreamed-up the idea of an all-new diary, little did we know the interesting journey we were embarking upon. We had a vision of a diary that would bring together ecologically-aware writers and artists in the UK, as well as people inspired by positive change to create a publication that would help people become more rooted in the land through connections to the seasonal Wheel of the Year. Four years later the third Earth Pathways diary is newly printed, with 144 colour pages crammed full of earth lore, art, moon phases and timings, activism, nature-writing, herbalism, sunrise and sunset times and astrology.
“I think the diary is tapping into a whole new movement of change, as more and more people become dissatisfied with the old ‘grab what you can while you can’ way of life” says Glennie. “Community led groups, such as the Transition Town Initiatives, local food co-operatives, permaculture projects and now our Earth Pathways collective are the pioneers of these new changes.”
The Earth Pathways team acknowledge that a debt of gratitude is owed to a generously wide circle of diary supporters. Set up costs were minimal, as we refused to take on costly bank loans, instead encouraging friends to buy returnable ‘Moonshares’ to help cover printing costs. “All of the team draw a very small wage as this was never a project for material gain but a labour of love” says Mezzie Lucerne-Lambourne, Earth Pathways fundraiser.
Not only is it a beautiful and sustainable product, but now our team of nine people at Earth Pathways have decided to use any profits from the diary to seed fund projects that help the Earth through local community initiatives. We are also proud of our newly-acquired Industrial Provident Society status with Co-operatives UK, who are helping us achieve our aims.
“We are not a 'company' in the old sense of the word; we are aiming to be a community that people feel part off and a co-operative that people can join. We have grown into a vibrant network of writers, activists, artists and visionaries.” Glennie continued.
With its grassroots mentality, quirky and inspirational vision, and its kitchen-table business approach, the Earth Pathways project is going from strength to strength.
Available from July 2010, the diary is A5 spiral bound, printed on 100% post consumer waste paper with vegetable inks and includes hand drawn page- a-week view, a page a month view and year planners. It retails at £12.99.
