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Learnings about Life and Death Cycles
The School of This World is a space for learning and play, aimed at approaching death with curiosity and from a non-adult-centric perspective. In collaboration with Menjador Nómada we have organized a series of workshops for children and adolescents, centered around the notions of loss, rupture, farewell, and transformation. With an emphasis on observing natural processes as a way to reconcile with mortality and understand the inherent cyclicity of life.
*This first series of workshops took place between March 7 and May 17, 2024, in various public spaces in Poble Nou (Barcelona).
🪱 Worms Have Tongues
In this workshop, we learned about the differences between putrefaction and decomposition through direct observation of both processes.
In the first session, we invited Vermiculture Association Lombricultura Lúdica , which brought worms, pH tests, and a bunch of gadgets for the kids to learn about composting. The Seed House of la Escocesa hosted us and introduced us to their seed project, which matched perfectly with our compost.
In the second session, biologist Jordi Miralles brought us bones from a sheep and carnivorous worms. Together, we began the observation process of a dead animal’s decomposition. It took us several days to reach the skeleton. We also talked about microorganisms, whether they are good or bad, whether they make noise, stink, or are disgusting. We made water kefir, milk kefir, and kombucha.
For a few weeks, we observed life and death through the worms’ tunnels, took care of our kombucha, and felt that fermenting is like talking to a friend who tells you something new every day. We were amazed when filtering the kefir and remembered that, under the right conditions, this colony would never die.
📖 Diary of This World
The Diary of This World is one of the materials we designed to open up conversations about death with children and adolescents. This zine helped us talk, draw, and write together about things that happen all the time but that we don’t usually discuss, things that are invisible, that scare us, that we don’t understand, or that make us sad.
In this workshop, we also learned that talking about death is not just about human death. Losing a beloved pet, having a friend move away, relocating, or finding a dead bird are valuable experiences that prepare us to understand the impermanence of life.
🦢 La muerte del Cisne
En tercer y último taller de la Escuela del Más Acá conectamos con el cuerpo, la danza y la música para activar otras maneras de hablar sobre la muerte que no pasan únicamente por el lenguaje verbal, y así expresar desde el cuerpo cosas como la rabia, el miedo o lo desconocido.
La maravillosa Sara Manubens nos invitó a performar la muerte del cisne, nos enseñó maneras de caer para que no duela, a soltar y a transformar. Nos enseñó cómo abrir un espacio amoroso donde los cuerpos se sienten fluidos y las emociones se bailan, donde podemos confiar en las otres para que nos sostengan.
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