Is the idea of creating a wilder world daunting? How does one take the idea of creating a wilder world and apply it to our lives? This is a question we asked ourselves at ReWild. As an organisation, we aim to live in the practice of ReWilding and not only the theory. After some discussion and following the recommendations of James Clear in his book Atomic Habits, we found that to achieve any goal and to “create a wilder world” requires us to change our own behaviours, and that the easiest place to begin is by breaking our aims into small achievable goals. One of the goals of ReWild has been to create a wilder office. In this article we aim to share the lessons learnt along the way.
🌈 Dreaming into being
Once a year we design our future and at the end of 2019 ReWild headed to Scarborough, a sea-side suburb in ‘Deep South’ of Cape Town, to spend a couple of days off site to immerse ourselves into nature and begin dreaming ‘ReWild 2020’ into being. In a warm wooden home we sat around an old table sharing dreams and ideas of what we hoped ReWild may achieve for 2020. At one point when discussing work culture Justin Woods, ReWild’s creative director, jumped up enthusiastically and reached for a white board marker encouraging all the ReWilders to shout what they dreamed the ReWild office would be …“It has to be homely”, “I’d love a round table”, “a fully stocked kitchen is really where we’d all want to hang out”, “oh … and it MUST have an awesome garden”... and in a 40 minute flash the founding elements of our office-to-be were imagined. Little did we know that 3 months later we would walk into the exact office we had been dreaming: a home was born.
Whenever I now walk into the ReWild office, I’m reminded of how a seemingly subtle meeting dream can become reality.
A key lesson taken home from Scarborough: The future is not to be predicted, but created.
🏡 Designing an Wilder Office
Let’s Get Physical. It was important for the ReWilders that the physical office space be curated to optimise deep work and creatively.
The solution was 3 key work rooms, each with a specific function:
The Deep Time Room: A space to get lost in the universe of your work, where time is irrelevant and the world is behind you.
The Hub: A collaborative hotdesking room with a floating wooden desk lining each wall that was built by one of our very own ReWilders.
The Gear Room: A functional room for securing our gear and a place to take calls.
Some specifics:
All the furniture at ReWild was purchased second hand or built
Plants were the first priority to encourage a green space
Our bookshelf consists of gifts, mushroom picking guides and, of course, lots of books including the ReWilding classics such as Small is Beautiful by E.F Schumacher
We embraced biophilic design from the start
The Culture
Every internal meeting held around the ReWild round table starts with a ceremonial drum beat (tapping hands or fingers on the table) complemented with a pot of Moka coffee and lunch together after.
With the advice of ReWilds God Mother Bridget Woods, we built drum beats which connects ReWilds heart beat. Often we have times where half the team is out on the road, thus these rhythms ensure each week flows consistently, regardless of any volatility.
Additionally, we’ve adopted a planet friendly eating culture for each meal together meaning that we only eat vegetarian meals cooked using locally and sustainably sourced products where possible.
Key lessons of building an office sustainably: It’s a slow process. You need time and you need an Italian - if you can find one (*we love you Ale). It is also a collaborative exercise that naturally builds relationships between colleagues, and others who come to work in the office.
🌱 Building a Wilder Garden:
When we arrived we set out a plan to redesign the garden from the ground up. This has been a slow process which has ebbed and flowed with our heavy work loads. On occasion, ReWild gets visited by some amazing individuals who work remotely from our Hub. Tom Chevallier visited in October of this year and is now very much part of the furniture. Tom sparked a renaissance of our food garden, and today we’ve got spinach on the go and a compost heap that’s cooking (well over 50* degrees celsius, a sign of activity of numerous organisms breaking down organic matter).
Our garden is far from complete, but it’s been a lovely process to bring in experts to guide us on the tree species which we sit, and a patient practise of not reacting to our resident Hadada ibis named Michelangelo - who paints our outside table and garden regularly with his white … sh*t.
🌸 Biophilia in the Workplace
“To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion, our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it hope rises on its currents”
― Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia
“Create conditions that are conducive to life” is a core principle of biomimicry. One of the key points is bringing biophilia into the workplace, with a lot more nature at hand. Biophilic designers aim to bring the benefits of nature into the places we live and work, which can have huge effects on our stress levels, well being, cognitive functioning and creativity.
Exposure to nature has even been proven to accelerate the healing process of patients in hospitals after surgery ... somewhat timely with this second wave of COVID.
Thinking outside the box, or just thinking outside has benefited us tremendously well this year. We host our monthly directors meetings walking along Tafelberg road or through Company Gardens. Our walk and talk meeting can be a change that we often consider to be a blessing, and it’s a nice change to talk out problems in a indirect kind of way.
If you are interested in learning more about Biophilia, start with this foundational book by the founder of the concept, Edward O Wilson - Biophilia A great book to read on Biophilia - Biophilia by Edward O WIlson
📖 What's ReWild Reading
A parting list of book suggestions for this festive season
The power of indigenous wisdom: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Rethinking how you gain from disorder: Antifragile by Nassim Taleb
Building creativity into business: Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Stoic philosophy to help put 2020 into perspective: Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
An all time favourite, and inspiration: Small is beautiful by Ernst F. Schumacher
🍁 Closing
2020 has been wild. Volatility has a way of ensuring that we get a shake up, and has pushed us to become more robust as an organisation. Surviving this pandemic means that 2020 has been a year of challenges and fear, but most of all, it has been a year of cementing relationships. Working on immensely hopeful projects such as:
Supporting the launch of Learn Biomimicry
Lights, Climate, Action - Action24: A Climate Action project that’ll translate a 20min short film into all 11 official languages of South Africa (Side note: did you know that over 40% of South Africans aren’t aware of Climate Change?)
Traveling through the Kruger surrounds to understand Other Effective Areas of Conservation
Working with the Sun Exchange, and seeing them go from strength to strength
Facilitating a Deep Ecology and Biomimicry immersion in the Kruger with Claire Janisch and BiomimicrySA
Traveling to Lapland and seeing the northern lights with Firm of The Future
Collaborating with the Marine Stewardship Council to understand how South Africa can keep its Fish For Good
and many others
Moving toward our mission of ecological restoration and social inclusion requires humanity to collaborate. ReWild is who we work with, and for that, we take our hats off to our partners - thank you for working with us, you have helped shape ReWild who we are today, and for that, we are eternally grateful.
Wild regards
Alistair and the ReWilders
The space, the ethos, the intention, the work and the people are all inspiring. Here's to a decade of restoration and ReWilding for us all!
P.S
Braiding Sweetgrass is definitely on the reading list, it's come up so many times as a deeply connecting read. Thanks for the reminder.
What a great place to learn, collaborate and be creative !