It is really rare to find active natural communities in the western side of the world. We had slowly lost the time we had form them.
Our western model life style gives no space to self reliances practices. We have build a system in which we can have everything ready and fast. Food, fashion, accessory, design, everything that we consume is becoming more and more standardised and of origins that we don't know that are controlled by big corporations. Now that they produce for us everything we need, there is no need of communities!
Mostly in these last 100 years our driven capitalist society has cultivated the desire for status and identity thought materials possessions. It is weird to observe how we are brought to think as cities as the nevralgic center of this century communities but if we observe; the denser is the population is in a urban center, less people tend to interact one with the other. Rather, they get used to confront themselves with what they see on advertisment and medias, that present products not just as a system of utility but also as a symbol of success, style and personal worth. That translates into an individualistic society of people fighting for power. The system creates a landscape where needs are often manufactured or amplified beyond basic necessities , fostering a perpetual cycle of material competition in wanting and consuming and mass production play a key role for this system to sustain itself. Machines, that were invented to facilitate hand production duties, have now gotten to the point of producing objects that are not only not essential but totally futile.
It is there to observe that the more people live in contact with nature, more they brought to interact with their surroundings. In some remote parts of the world, where people are less in contact with the model of our society, there are still even people that form communities to easier live in a natural harmony feeling supported by each others while sustaining themselves in nature. These people often have knowledge and strong respect of their land. When a community is actively engaged in sustainable initiatives, it creates a foundation for long-term ecological, social, and economic benefits. Communities play a vital role in the success of sustainable production.
As the overconsumption race and consume is taking over in most of worlds cultures, these communities of makers are in danger. They are loosing knowledge and skills connected to the land. Also their manufacture had to face the confrontation with todays market, locals prefer to eat western, live in a standardised houses with standardised furnitures and prefer o wear new western fashion trends because they are trendy and cheaper.
The preservation of this types of communities is essential for the land its people and cultural heritage, and an opportunity to learn about identity and sustainability. In a world were we are gaining the opportunity to expand our perspectives and globalise we are at the same time loosing the essential connection that we have with our roots and natural elements. At Delfina, we value communities and land work and showcase it in our collections.