A Handmade Life - William Coperthwaite

I first read A Handmade Life by William Coperthwaite (Publisher Chelsea Green, 2002) 15 years ago and it was a great inspiration so I share it here with you. He is one of the few authors I took the time to write to and express what a positive effect he and his writing had on my life.

William lived in Maine, US and pioneered yurt building in the USA . He dedicated his life to learning from the craftspeople of ancient cultures and then applied their technology to modern materials and design. He promoted a simple life, a more intimate relationship with the environment, and a “democratic” approach in which all participate in creating their life and culture. Sadly he died in a car accident on the 26 November 2013.

It is a book of beauty in both the writing and the pictures. The photographer is Peter Forbes who I know little about except to say that he is a writer, photographer and a long-time leader of the American land conservation movement and the co-founder and executive director of the Centre for Whole Communities. (I may look into that as it sounds interesting!)

A Handmade Life is a great blend of practical information, interspersed with incredible pictures, poems and quotes structured around the idea of living a simpler life. The chapter headings give the best insight into the scope of this simplicity: Society by Design, Beauty, Work/Bread Labour, Education/Nurture, Nonviolence: A gentle revolution, Wealth/Riches/Treasure, Simplicity, Life Work.

William was heavily influenced by Gandhi, Scott Nearing, Morris Mitchell, Richard Gregg and the many indigenous people around the world that he learned from. He believed in each of us being apprentices in life and stressed the importance of experimentation. The idea of people being mere followers of ‘the greats’ that had gone before was something he considered dangerous for society. He once wrote to a friend, “If we become mere followers of the great, we will get a collapsed society and a sterile ecosystem. We cannot afford to invest in followers. If a good society is to emerge on this planet, it will be through the efforts of creative, caring people. Let’s invest all we have in finding and encouraging them…….. we need not more disciples but more apprentices. ”

Books like this provide inspiration for different ways of living, and being, in the world. I highly recommend this book as it is as relevant today as when it was first written. Here is a final quote from a page opened at random, but there are so many gems within it’s pages that I could have found something on any page!

“We need to face the prejudice against utopian thinking and seek to live honestly – non-violently – without harming others, if the society we seek is ever to be more than a dream. Transformation of the whole society begins within each of us. The Buddha said that the road from darkness into light is long, and those first, small steps along the path of utmost importance. Each of us must take those first, small steps if we are to do our best to create a happy society.”

Step one ..........................