The Dirt Cafe Water Debate and Water Salon were the two parts of the most recent Dirt Cafe collaborative project. This project was generously hosted by the Trustees of Borough Market once again.
Various Dirt Cafe collaborators have organised this project since 2004 as a way to offer an alternative, convivial format for unlocking knowledge and exploring issues.
Below is are the texts that we presented to announce the Dirt Cafe Water project.
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The Dirt Cafe Water Debate and Water Salon
for the 2007 London Design Festival
18-19 September 2007
Water…
Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel prizes: one for peace and one for science. — John F. Kennedy.
The Dirt Cafe Water Project examines our relationships with water. From the necessity of everyday drinkable water to the edible catches pulled from the seas, and from the intimacy of bathing to struggles for survival in the face of destructive weather, water shows up as both an everyday essential and a mysterious natural force. Ancient civilizations built their cities in ways that protected and celebrated precious water sources. Through modern practices, we hide systems of water distribution and waste management out of sight inside walls and under roads. Water remains an issue that involves everybody.
This year, Britain has suffered some of its worst flooding in history but, even as the insurance claims go in, we remain one of the European countries with the least available water per person. Little of this summer’s rainwater has been retained, and London is still statistically drier than Istanbul, with the South East having less water available per capita than counties such as Sudan and Syria.
Recent rainfall aside, the UK currently has the lowest rainfall, groundwater and reservoir levels for decades, so how we collect, treat and access water, particularly in our major cities, is crucial. Our relationship with water in a country where each individual uses about 150 litres of tap water a day and more than 3000 litres ‘embedded’ in food and products is arguably unsustainable. It is projected that in the future water will become "the new oil." Global scarcity is making water a hugely valuable commodity.
The Dirt Cafe Project for the 2007 London Design Festival is looking at this most vital of issues for the capital. We’ll be looking at London’s water quality, water systems above and below ground, the role of design in improving water systems and how climate change, population shifts and behaviour will impact the future
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About the Dirt Cafe Project (2004-present):
The Dirt Cafe Water Project is the seventh in the ongoing series of projects that began in 2004. The Dirt Cafe's collaborators will again bring together a dynamic group of designers, chefs, food specialists, medical and well-being researchers, economists, scientists, social entrepreneurs and many other typologies. They’ll be part of the discussion and action process that has grown out of the organic collaboration that is Dirt Cafe. Crucial to this and all Dirt Cafe projects are temporary environments designed to stimulate the senses and highlight connections to a particular theme. Previously, Dirt Cafe Debates have explored Rotten, Slow, Intangibles, Plastic, Eco-onomy and Regeneration.
A Dirt Cafe Debate provides an intimate setting for six special guests, one of whom hosts. We create a dining environment, including menu, table and tableware, to support and stimulate topical discussion. This approach provides a unique circumstance for generating conviviality, discussion, and exploration at the dining table. A thoughtful diet becomes the starting point for new conversations and new outcomes. The event will be captured on film as there is no live audience.
A Dirt Cafe Water Salon is a different format, so as to include a larger number of guests in the same temporary designed environment and yet maintain a convivial intimate encironment. Here, a small number of specialists will share water stories with guests. The Dirt Cafe Water Salon for the 2007 London Design Festival will be the first of this Salon format.
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Details:
From the 1st of September the website — www.dirtcafe.com — will contain updates about the project. Thirty tickets for the Water Salon will be on sale through the Dirt Cafe web site, also.
On September 18th, the Dirt Cafe Water Debate will bring together the six invited specialists. (Please note, there will not be a live audience nor any tickets sold for this event.)
On September 19th, the Dirt Cafe Water Salon will present Water Stories.
Tickets will be sold as of September 1st; please contact Sarah Bilney and Gill Wildman. The venue for this event will be building of the Borough Market Trustees at 1 Cathedral Street, London SE1 9DE. Please enter on the Cathedral Street side facing the back of Southwark Cathedral. The building is located at the corner of Cathedral Street and Winchester Walk.
Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?tab=nl&ned=us
Tube station: London Bridge