CONNECTING PEOPLE

In our modern society it seems we are always connected: Internet, social media, smart phones. Connected maybe, but are we really in touch with people in a meaningful way? Even many small towns and villages have lost the bonds which made them a community. Loneliness among the elderly is a sad reality in many places.

Yarn bombing is well-known in many countries but certainly not in the sleepy, little Sardinian town where I live. However, for some time now a group of ladies, all knitting and crochet experts, have found a way of recreating those bonds by transforming their skills into a collective activity. They meet once a week to plan new initiatives and exchange ideas to create beautiful things.

Last weekend the traditional, annual saffron festival was held in our village with all the trimmings: traditional music and dancing; stands where you could taste local specialities made with saffron; folklore groups, etc. For the occasion, to the delight of both residents and tourists, the streets of the old town were decorated with coloured threads. The chromatic symphony of the geometric patterns crafted by the able hands of the local women was much admired and photographed. However, in our village this initiative has also become symbolic of living in harmony, irrespective of race, colour, beliefs and sexual orientation.

The idea of a thread which joins people together is not new to Sardinians. In 1981 in a town called Ulassai, the artist Maria Lai involved the inhabitants in creating a work of art connecting the streets and houses to the mountain of Gedili above it with 27 km of blue ribbon. She was inspired by a local legend that grew up around something that actually happened. In 1861 a huge landslide buried a house killing three little girls. A fourth child survived and was apparently found clutching a blue ribbon.

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