Dolls on the World Tour

Dolls from Pakistan are on the world tour these days. Last weekend they were in the Berlin Ethnological Museum. Earlier, dolls along with Dr Senta Siller were in a Museum in Vienna, and with Dr. Norbert, they were in Museum in Hamburg. Even before thy had visited Museum in Stuttgart.

On Thursday, 20th of November, they were also on display during the opening ceremony in the National Exhibition and Art Hall in the Federal City Bonn. Pakistan Dolls from Thatta Ghulamka Dhiroka are now available in the Museum Shop.

Happy Birthday to you Dr. Senta Maria Anna – Honorable Mother of Dolls

Global Village

Global Village is a fantastic display of international culture, presenting a great insight into many countries' traditions - a fun wonderland right in the heart of Dubai. Look for dolls from Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka {at Pakistan Pavilion) when you are there and meet them.

World Performing Arts Festival

The sixth World Performing Arts Festival has commenced in Lahore. Look for dolls from Thatta Ghulamka Dheroka when you visit the Festival and meet them.

Rural Culture

Prof. Dr. Norbert Pintsch

History

The most important factors for the current development were laid in the 19th century. The rejection of thinking and acting as a community meant for the technology an enormous increase in the industrial production because the division of work led to higher productivity and new professions and it appeared on the face of it to increase the standard of living in western cultures (for example the Taylorism as introduced in Ford automobile factories etc.)

Analysis of the society by political and economic thinkers led to development theories, which could not foresee the effects of these policies as evidenced today. The cardinal error by these theorists was the euro-centristic model, i.e. nobody took the happenings in other cultures into consideration.

In Smith's economic system, the free market functioned globally, as long as global meant regionally and maximum on a national level.

In Marx's political system the democracy functions internationally, as long as the power base is centrally located. This concept is also found in antique Greek city-state models on a local basis.

In both cases, there appears to be consensus on one point, i.e. that "multiple behavioral models (Artenvielfalt)" are not acceptable in these theories. But this is probably precisely the decisive error.

With this sketch, we would now like to analyze the present situation.


Present situation

It is the market factors in a democratically functioning society, which determines the general welfare of the people.

Since the market -in the traditional sense- neither takes into consideration the environment nor the traditional cultures, which are present in rural areas and production of goods leads to certain uniformity because of cost-reduction methods. Every effort must be undertaken, so that the (B.E.P.) does not fall short of targets under any circumstances. The multi-national concerns attempt by adding more products to their production programs to offer a variety of models: since all parties participating in the market work in similar way, but the demand in the market is relatively fixed and not able to be increased arbitrarily, it is clear where the wastage of resources is taking place.

The winner is the one, who has the largest potential of human resources as long as these can be controlled politically.

The intentions and the wishes of so-called democratic countries are understandable, if they exert all possible pressure on others to accept their form of governance.

If this effort does not succeed, their system -let us call it "western system"- would collapse together with all parties involved in it.

There are incredible factors, which remain unconsidered by the members of the City-Culture, they being the innovators and carriers of the enormous misunderstandings and the cardinal errors:

a) There are very different cultures

b) These cultures have developed over a long period of time in inter-action with the climate and the environment.

c) Each culture has its own set of rights and should be the subject of research to shed light on this enormous richness.

Of course much of the matter has been lost due to the way of thinking and the actions undertaken up till now, but exactly this is the task before us; to track down these materials.

Misuse of environment and resources are hardly a subject of discussion in economic appraisals. Similarly, the richness of traditional cultures, which still exist at least in part in the rural areas, which are typically described as "under-developed" is not mentioned in these appraisals. There is no code or value allocated to them. Only when the value has been destroyed, the damage becomes visible. The extent of destroyed traditional cultures is quite evident in the number of museums, i.e. as soon as the traditional cultures began to be considered as money making measures for the institutions, they received recognition as a valid market factor, but in effect became still more unstable.

As the international flow of money is not directed towards local industry and national states, there is a trend towards uniformity through optimization and standardization. This uniformity can be concealed through various designs and requires increased consumption of goods. In order to increase the consumption, the consumers (all consumers of the world unite!!) require financial means, which are actually not available to the majority of population.


Outlook

A special sort of market is created at the place where traditional cultures are promoted. Members of the community have a chance to participate, if they consider it a possibility to maintain their basic requirements, i.e. a form of satisfaction of most basic material needs must remain intact.

Author Prof Dr Norbert Pintsch, Voluntary Director, TTTC TGD can be approached here: pdp33@hotmail.com

Dolls of the World

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Development of Housing Concepts

By Dr. Norbert Pintsch and Ghayyoor Obaid

Extreme Housing

A pre-condition for development of future-oriented housing concepts is the capability to be open and to question what is currently available.


Introduction

This long-term project of the IPC has its roots in the beginning of the 60's of the last century, which was characterized by continuously improving technological possibilities and enormous changes in the psychological and social behavior. These refer apart from raising of children, family life and way of cooking, practical methods of production and problems of intimate areas (discontinuation of shower and WC-paper) and clothing (different forms of fashion) also to furnishings and fixtures, which follow different compulsions. Similarly, the designs are more function oriented and therefore differ totally from the traditionally known and usual forms of design.

Development of Housing Concepts

The ruins of tomorrow are being constructed today! The more designed a building, the lesser is its half-value perio4 i.e. its Transcience and modernity! The projects described here are different from the conventional ones and more similar to structures in other, non-western cultures, for example a classical west-african compound in its design is not positioned on square or rectangular spaces but according to organically formed areas.

The experiences for the Extreme-Housing, described in the following two projects, are based upon a study of housing concepts in other cultures. The question in these projects is not, whether they are likeable in the present circumstances but rather how one can adjust oneself in a new environment. A precondition for that however is the awareness, how much of the currently available is relevant to the circumstances, which have still to come.

Current wishes and life-styles for forest walks, swimming fun, grill parties, golf, summer festivals etc. do not fit into these project forms because they correspond to conventional urban lifestyles. A pre-condition for development of future-oriented housing concepts is the capability to be open and to question what is currently available. There is still a long way to go till the general population realizes how to make use of technological advances in the best way.

The project city of Dubai is a good example of the limits of usual way of thinking in such projects: destruction of resources, harm to climate etc. These are the typical characteristics associated with conventionally designed projects, which are flitted with extravagant consumer-oriented installations, but from developmental point of view are just non-plus-ultra of the western standards; one is not gladly ready to accept that the project actually confines the development.

In the icelandic “Tube-Project” the technical capabilities of of local tunnel construction companies is put to use to construct pipes of 10 mtr diameter at a height of 275m in the volcanic region of Basalt. A unit will consist of two pipes, which are connected to each other through another through another horizontal pipe and a lift which transports which transport people from ground level. The imposing structure of the pipes offers a splendid view on the port and the airport, a factor, which influenced the developers comparable to the builders and investors of the Dubai model and which played a decisive role in the decision for this project.

The infrastructure is totally autonomous. The technology of the Savoniusrotors is used on the permanently windy platforms of the mountain plateau as well as the rain water, which is collected in containers and used in households, the waste disposal is managed through composting.

“Tower-Project” is based on studies of the 60's of the last century, which have their own history of development in the projects for the “new” humans of the social prognosis. The population development played an important role at that time, which can be seen in context of developments in space travel. Through science and research, a number of assumptions from vague concepts made it into the real.world. Without naming any literature references or research reports, let us confine to naming some key words the changes that have taken place, without referring to problems associated with them.

• Reduced Individuality
• Faeces and Urine collectors for processing
• Reduced ownership
• Changes in schooling and education
• Changes in health related areas
• Changes in life parts (facilities for certain age groups)
• Gene manipulation in the biology (related to humans)
• Brain manipulation in communication and Information Technology
• Integrated production units (Termination of separate industrial areas in the economy)
• Changes in way of furnishing (different from classical furnishing)
• Changes in cooking methods.
  

The utopian looking changes may displease, but a look into the present time shows, that these changes are not registered as being unusual and are not seen in context.

• Fast-food und soft-drinks
• General uniformity, so-called International Design
• Internet
• “Harry-Potter” as synonymous for “spiritual” mass product
• Gene manipulated foodstuffs
• Directed influence on brain functions g.. Madness to remain young
• Less employment
• Tourism in an unreal world
• Loss of religious values and its replacement by consume and event oriented lifestyle
• Computer aided activities for body, memoiy and sences training and so on and so forth
  

Generally it can be established, that thje socalled progress is putting together of temporary solutionsw to the problems: there have been problems whenever humansintelligence. Only in very remote and faraway places is this development no so grave. Development extremists and progressw believers, mostly from urban city culture, refer to it as development emergency!

The “Tower-Project” is based upon the experiences of older, non-western cultures and is the answer to the conventional destruction of resources and the general unawareness about the - erroneous development in the western civilization.

In the beginning it is suggested for suburban areas, the diameter of such complexes is dependent upon the strength of the ground to provide room for 100000 residents, at the same time the project is also a link to the extra-terrestrial world.

It is well known, that each solution in the Greek-western culture causes two new problems. In the 150 or so years since the begin of the industrial era therefore theoretically 300 problems have been created. In the industrialized countries one success of the development is very limited. Free economy destroys resources, Society and Culture!