Last month I was finally able to visit pak Singgh, renowned Indonesian organic designer. It was one of the hightlights of my very full visit with Ani to central Java last month. Finally, this week, I can get this blog posted with some of the great photos and insights that came with our
I got to see and try Spedagi Bamboo bikes that uses a unique metal, village forged, joint system– instead of the fiber and epoxy system used by my bamboo bike maker colleagues.
Pak Singgih’s design is based on the principle of Return that I deeply resonate with. He calles it Return to the Village. For me its another way to say Regenerative. Meeting him, seeing his work with wood and radios, bamboo and bikes, and his location in his home village was as inspiring as our conversations. Our talk helped me further refine my own “return” principles. By this, I mean, a return to village, a return to ancient, generation-proven designs, techniques, mediums and methods. At its essence, it is an example of Ken Wilber’s spiral dynamic evolution. We are moving forward by returning and revisiting old ways, but infusing them with our own contemporary insights, to bring everything, contemporary and ancestral, to the next upward spin of the spiral.
From bamboo bikes to organic electronics, Pak Singgih and I have alot in common. I am looking forward to even more insights and perhaps even collaborations in the new year.
