a project by makeshift (Tessa Zettel & Chay-Ya Clancy) for
Try This at Home, Object Australian Centre for Design
8 Oct 2011 – 8 Jan 2012

‘This is a co-op without borders. A weekly jar swap. Fill 6 jars with something good and delicious, Keep 1 jar and forward on 5. Your participation will manifest tenfold expanding outwards from your house onto the streets and flowing onwards, creating community and filling our cupboards. The revolution is here. In our kitchens and in the jars we carry in bike baskets into the hands of new friends and ones we don’t see enough.’ –
http://6jars.blogspot.com/

‘6 Jars’ is a system for sharing time and resources within micro neighbourhood-based groups, posed as a viable alternative food source for bottled/packaged goods. It was devised by Chay-Ya Clancy in Melbourne earlier this year, and now comes to Sydney in the form of a durational social experiment for Try This at Home.

Six volunteer participants living within walking distance of Object gallery have come together to form a pilot group committed to exchanging home-made goods over the course of the exhibition. This blog follows their experiences.

The basic philosophy of ‘6 Jars‘ is that all processed foods and most household products can be made from scratch. This means you know exactly what is in it, are directly involved in the process of life by creating what you use, save money and can choose to source ethically, sustainably and locally. It is also easier to make a large quantity of something rather than make all the different things that you use. This is where the 6 jars ethic of sharing comes in: you make one thing and share it with a few houses in your local area and in return you get 5 more jars of other things. Read more about the idea and Melbourne group here