Mat Weaving as a Metaphor for Development
Patricia Araneta, PhD (2011)
Patricia's thesis is about redefining development for the future, one that is practised and implemented on four levels: the physical, the social, the cultural, and the inspirational or spiritual. It is about remembering the principles that go beyond the material, physical and economic values that dominate modern thinking. Her research has shown that there are two views of ‘development’: the traditional and the modern. The traditional view is cyclical and wholistic, encompassing multiple levels and dimensions of existence, temporal and transcendent, inner and outer. The modern view is dualistic, linear, reductionist, based on mechanical and material science and focused on outward appearances.
Work and development are inextricably linked both in the modern and the traditional context. In the maritime cultures of the island world of Southeast Asia, the integration of polarities is as common as the repetitive crossing of two strands of fibre to weave a mat. In these cultures, it is the same integration found in the building of a ship, the orientation of a houseboat where there is coherence between the sacred and the profane, and in the foundation of a village. Patricia's research suggests a new pattern for a new kind of development that is sustained by enduring principles that exceed the material, physical and financial values that characterise modernity.
Patricia is Outreach Programme Director at The Prince's School, coordinating community education and outreach projects accross the UK and internationally, including recent projects in China, Malaysia and Jamaica. She hopes to publish her PhD thesis in 2012.
