ideals with no fixed abode

idealswithnofixedabode PHOTOGRAPHY AND TEXT BY

FABIO PEZZARINI

THE EvOluTIONOF A

sTREET PROTEsT

idealswithnofixedabode

THIs Is AN ONGOING PROjEcT.YOu cAN FIND OuT mOREABOuT IT ATIwNFA.TumBlR.cOm

TO FIND OuT mORE ABOuT THE DIGGERs YOu cAN vIsITDIGGERs2012.wORDPREss.cOm

A sPEcIAl THANks TO THE DIGGERs 2012, AkIRA FROm OccuPY lONDON, sTEvEN AND NATAlIA FROm THE OccuPIED TImEs.

INTEREsTED IN DOcumENTING THE AcTIvITY OF THE OccuPY

mOvEmENT AFTER THEIR lONDON EvIcTIONs, THIs

jOuRNEY TOOk mE TO THE EcOvIllAGE sET uP BY sOmE OF

THE PROTEsTERs AT RuNNYmEDE PARk, IN suRREY.

THEsE ARE THE DIGGERs

fabio pezzarini

pezzarinifabio@gmail.com

+44 778 979 44 53

“This Earth dividedwe will make whole,

so it can bea common treasury

for all.”

The world turned upside downby Leon Rosselson

Diggers 2012, this is how they call themselves, inspired by the pioneer Diggers of 1649. They are a group of activists that on the 9th

of june 2012 set off for a journey, commencing their walk from the syon lane community Allotment in west london, directed to windsor.Initially their aim was to set up a self-sustaining community on the disused land part of the crown Estate surrounding windsor castle. As soon as the group reached the destination the authorities were waiting for them, forcing the Diggers to move elsewhere and continue their march in search of a more suitable land.Ironically after a few days of walk they settled only a few yards away from the magna carta memorial at the Runnymede Park. Here, almost 800 years ago, king john of England, forced by a group of barons keen on protecting their privileges by limiting his powers, signed what is still nowadays recognised the symbol of the freedom of the individual against the arbitrary authority of the despot, the magna carta or The Great charter of the liberties of England.After being evicted already three times by the local authorities, the Diggers are now living a period of relative calm and they are steadily making progress building a sustainable ecovillage a few minutes walk from the previous sites, on the disused campus of the former Brunel university.

As mentioned above, the reasons behind the name Diggers derives from the group of Protestant English communists, known as True levellers, that in 1649, guided and inspired by the writings of the reformer and political activist Gerrard winstanley, occupied the waste land of st. George’s Hill, in surrey. They planted crops and vegetables as an act of protest against the rising of private property and greediness applied by the landlords.comparing the causes the Diggers of 1649 were fighting for, to what is motivating the Diggers of today in occupying disused lands, we can notice striking similarities, putting aside the different social conditions marking the two periods of time.with the project Ideals with no fixed abode I tried to document the Occupy london movement, the aftermath of it and the people that made it possible. Exploring the new directions the movement has taken and the projects it has been shaped into, I feel that the ecovillage at Runnymede has been able to interpret in an inspiring, engaging and indeed radical way the idea of real change the movement placed on the roundtable during st. Paul’s and Finsbury square occupations, suggesting a solution to the system of artificial needs put in place by this model of society we seem to have generally accepted with all its inequalities.The aim of the Diggers is to slowly withdraw from the corporate economy and to become able to provide basic needs such as housing, food and education within their eco-sustainable community.simon, one of the activists that joined the Diggers movement since the first march to the Crown Estate, explains that one of the aims of the initiative is to make the people realise how much disused land is available in this country that could be used productively for the benefit of everyone. This would then help the citizen become independent from the capitalist system that has already proved to be unequal and not to be working in the interest of the majority of the society.

Temporary accomodation and facilities used by the diggers.Personal dwellings and a cob oven are under contsruction for the winter.

Simon updating the Diggers 2012 blog.

Simon posing in front of the first solar panel of the eco-village.With the second one to be built on the other side of the hill, the activists plan to charge phones, laptops and other equipment without having to make long trips to the town.

The view from Runnymede campus over Heatrow airport

and London.

Social networking is esssential for this movement as for any other to make grow the number of supporters, or comrades.

Planting crops as part of the Saturday village activities

Most of the trees where the Diggers have settled is in

bad condition due to the lack of maintenance

Every Saturday the Diggers hold meetings on land

rights at the Magna Carta memorial

Working the cob on the longhouse

Ben, a man that spent a few months camping at st. Paul’s last winter, believes that initiatives like the one of this ecovillage facilitate honest and constructive conversations. He regrets this didn’t happened as much at Occupy, probably because of the necessary but excessively hierarchical structure of the movement.The positive attitude of this man is contagious and the thought of him sailing down the river Thames, back to london where it all started, where the concept of free land is still an utopia, gives me a fresh positive feeling of hope.

In 1649To St George’s Hill

A ragged band they called the DiggersCame to show the people’ s will

They defied the landlordsThey defied the laws

They were the dispossessedReclaiming what was theirs

We come in peace they saidTo dig and sow

We come to work the land in commonAnd to make the waste land grow

This earth dividedWe will make whole

So it can beA common treasury for all

The sin of propertyWe do disdain

No one has any right to buy and sellThe earth for private gain

By theft and murderThey took the land

Now everywhere the wallsSpring up at their command

They make the lawsTo chain us well

The clergy dazzle us with heavenOr they damn us into hell

We will not worshipThe God they serve

The God of greed who feeds the richWhile poor men starve

We work we eat togetherWe need no swords

We will not bow to mastersOr pay rent to the lords

We are free menThough we are poor

You Diggers all stand up for gloryStand up now

From the men of propertyThe orders came

They sent the hired men and troopersTo wipe out the Diggers’ claim

Tear down their cottagesDestroy their corn

They were dispersedBut still the vision lingers on

You poor take courageYou rich take care

The earth was made a common treasuryFor everyone to shareAll things in common

All people oneWe come in peace

The order came to cut them down

The world turned upside downby leon Rosselson