How the Kinship Stone is intended to work

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The Kinship stone is in the shape of a sphere. The shape is a skeuomorph meant to imitate the shape of the earth so that the user easily equates the actions being discussed through the use of the tool to actions being taken on earth. The Kinship discussion starts with three spheres, largely separate but still held together at the hinges, representing three facets of existence from the perspective of our western worldview. The physical "place" takes center stage in order to serve as a surrogate for Earth's ecological system. The thought being that acknowledgement and engagement with a system can be humbling and can aid in the mental hurdle of removing ourselves, the human, from the center of interventions being considered. The sphere on the left side represents beings that we consider "living but non-human". The sphere on the right side represents us "humans".

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For our own selfish motives, in my opinion largely economic, human's have come to see ourselves as the center of the world and thus the center of the

ecological system. The positioning of the three spheres seeks to challenge this notion through acknowledgement of the world as a living/intelligent organism unto itself and by centering it as "Place" in the tool, humans and non-humans being placed to either side. With place/earth as the center, and the non-human and human being placed at equal positions on either side, the tool leads the human actor through a series of questions (The Kinship Conversation), in line with Tyson Yunkaporta's process for coming to indigenous knowledge:

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The Kinship Conversation

1. Respect - What is your name and identity in this place?

2. Connect - What are you taking from this place?

3. Connect - What are you giving to this place?

4. Reflect - How do your actions affect this place?

5. Direct - Do your actions align with this place?

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The series of questions lead them to consider the perspectives of each actor, ultimately leading them closer to the question of whether or not the participants actions toward the "place" are in alignment with goals of the place as well as the non-human that inhabits the place. After each of the questions has been investigated by the participant, they can push the the non-human and human spheres closer to the center, moving closer to a heterarchical model of decision making . The last question is, "Do your actions align with this place?". If this question cannot be answered with a "Yes" the sphere cannot be made whole, therefore communicating that there is no sustainability, there is no balance.

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Orienting questions and considerations which guided the development of the tool

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Orienting Questions

1. What is sustainability?

2. What's missing from our current practice that would allow for sustainability?

3. How do we fill that gap?

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Sustainability Defined

An ecosystem’s process of sustainability can be described as autocatalytic mutualism. Mutualism is described as the mutual interdependencies between two or more species (living organisms) which all benefit from the association. Autocatalism is described as the means by which the system is constantly generating an increase of energy and matter in order to sustain or grow itself from within. Here, sustainability is described as "the self sustaining generation of energy and matter made possible by the equitable sharing of resources across a multitude of mutually dependent actors in the system." (Design Unbound, Anne Pendleton-Jullian and John Seely Brown)

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What is Missing from Our Current Practice that would allow for sustainability?

What is missing are heterarchical modes of decision making extending acknowledgement and respect to "other than humans". Systems are naturally heterarchical, composed of equal parts interacting together; a system of organization where the elements of the organization are unranked (non-hierarchical). There exists a need to decenter the human in order to engage in an equitable distribution of respect. 

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How do we fill the gap?

Center and focus on the system as a whole:

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"Acknowledgement of and engagement with the system is humbling and aids in the mental hurdles of removing self and the human from the center of interventions." (Design as Participation, Kevin Slavin)

 

​"The image of the earth as a living organism and nurturing mother had served as a cultural constraint restricting the actions of human beings. One does not readily slay a mother, dig into her entrails for gold or mutilate her body, although commercial mining would soon require that. As long as the earth was considered to be alive and sensitive, it could be considered a breach of human ethical behavior to carry out destructive acts against it" (The Death of Nature, Carolyn Merchant)

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Respect and acknowledge individual non-human actors in the system:

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Process for Coming to Indigenous Knowledge:

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"Everything in creation is sentient and carries knowledge, therefore everything is deserving of our respect.

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• Respect - Values and protocols of introduction, setting rules and boundaries

• Connect - Establishing strong relationships and routines of exchange that are equal for all involved (reciprocity/ understanding exchanges)

• Reflect - Thinking as part of the group and collectively establishing a shared body of knowledge to inform what you will do

• Direct - acting on that shared knowledge in ways that are negotiated by all"

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