Tensile Paradise Field Manual

Introduction

The purpose of this manual is to outline the concepts, conditions, and basic components required to create a tensile paradise out of everyday materials.

1. To gather people together, you must present a clear end goal. In creating a tensile paradise, you are building a tea room¹.

a. A tea room is a place to serve and drink tea with others.

b. Tea is always free.

2. The promise of hot tea may not be enough to entice and motivate. This is fine, as there is a parallel goal: finding paradise².

a. Unwalled paradise: While boundaries will undoubtedly be part of the emergent process of finding paradise, walls and fences are not.³ These boundaries are negotiated and permeable.

b. Itinerant paradise: A paradise that moves from place to place. While this movement affirms its existence in our physical world (ie, paradise is a place, not an allegory)⁴, it isn’t confined by permanent geographies or coordinates.

c. Tensile paradise: A tensile paradise recognizes social and physical tensions as sites of negotiation and productive collaboration.

3. Paradise is not synonymous with utopia.

Utopia is a term used in literature and political theory to describe an ideal society. Utopia, by definition, is something that can be strived for but never reached. When a utopian project is built around principles of exclusion, i.e., an “ideal” society free of certain ethnicities, sexual orientations, or health and disability conditions, it becomes a dystopia. Creating a structure collectively is a way to put into practice the utopian ideals of a society in which each one of us contributes according to our own capabilities and, in turn, is cared for according to our own needs. ⁵

4. The central premise of what you are building is that of an organized structure: one that is not prone to falling or collapsing.

a. Organized structures are constructed so that their individual components are arranged to interact with one another, resulting in overall structural stability.

b. An organized structure results from efficient collaboration among people within different cooperative units.

c. Creating an organized rope structure requires clear communication, planning, and execution. This will result in evenly distributed tension.

5. Typically, this is achieved most efficiently through a structured organization.

6. A structured organization is a group of people who work together by assigning different roles to different members. By assigning roles to the group’s members, efforts can be put towards smaller tasks that together make up the larger actions necessary to achieve a goal. Although members have assigned roles, no role is more important than any other, thus ensuring that hierarchies of power do not interfere with the group's functioning.

Materials and Components

This section lists the Materials and Components you will need to find and have available in order to successfully construct a rope structure.

1. Acquire adequate rope for the structure.

a. Rope is a fiber that is woven or twisted⁶, noted for its length. Used for attaching (see also: knots), hanging, holding, connecting, lifting, lowering, measuring⁷, sailing, building, recording information⁸, and many other purposes. Several ropes woven or tied together can form other tools and structures, such as nets, hammocks, and tents.

Use ropes to create the frame of your structure. This is done by achieving tension. Tension can be created through tying several anchor points together and connecting these to vertical supports. Tension can also be adjusted and redirected using pulleys. 

2. All structures need supports at either end of a rope. These are also known as discontinuous compression units in tensegrity.

a. To create the vertical supports for your structure, tie down sturdy objects, such as metal poles, broomsticks, wooden beams, etc., so they remain upright even if disturbed by movement or touch. To ensure structural stability, tension has to come from all sides equally.

3. While it is possible to create a tensile structure by using only knots and readily available structures around you, such as trees or public infrastructure, you might also need a ⁹stake ⁹to secure ropes to the ground⁹.

a. A stake is a stick you plant into the ground that, in becoming fixed to the earth, becomes an anchor point. Stakes are traditionally shaped so that the bottom part can wedge into or in between things, and the top part can be hammered in easily. They can take many different forms and are made of plastic, metal, wood, or other durable materials. Think of a stake as a giant nail that goes into the ground to hold things down.

4. This rope structure—this tensile paradise—is, as previously stated, a tea room. A samovar can be used to brew tea.

a. A samovar is a metal vessel¹⁰ used for preparing tea by heating and boiling water. The container includes a spigot for hot water and a chimney for releasing smoke and/or steam. A teapot with a high concentration of tea leaves is placed on top of the vessel, allowing for smoke and steam to maintain the brew’s temperature. Water is served from the spigot straight into cups to allow for varied concentrations and consistently hot beverages.

b. Ensure that there is ample access to water, necessary for brewing tea, washing hands, and cleaning used cups.

c. When brewing tea using a samovar, black tea is traditionally used.

d. The tea is often served in clear, preferably heat-tempered glass cups with handles, allowing one to view the depth of color of the drink.

5. To boil water, energy must be released as heat; you will need to secure a power source.

a. A samovar might use scrap wood or pinecones¹¹.

b. Or it needs electricity.

6. Provide floor or ground coverings such as rugs, blankets, petates, or other kinds of woven mats¹².

Structural Concepts

Below is a list of concepts and names for different parts of a rope structure. Knowing these terms is useful for acquiring adequate materials and promoting efficient communication between people building a structure.

1. Rope structures rely on knots to maintain structural integrity¹³.

a. A knot is an intentional complication of a corded line (see rope). It is made by interlacing, looping, and tightening a flexible line so that friction and tension lock the strands together. Knots serve a variety of purposes, both functional¹⁴ and decorative¹⁵. Popular knots that are useful for a rope structure include, but are not limited to: Bowline, Marline Spike, Clove Hitch, Two Half-Hitch, Versatackle, and Whipping Knot.

2. A tensile rope structure may use tensegrity to make sure that all weight and tension are distributed and resilient. Tensegrity is a structural principle that uses a balance of tension and compression to create stable structures. Portmanteau of “tensional integrity,” coined by architect Buckminster Fuller.

3. Both physical and social tension are necessary when building a structure and as part of the structure itself. Tension can mean (a) Physics Force applied to a flexible object when it is being stretched. (b) Social A situation or mental state resulting from opposing viewpoints, miscommunication, or ambivalent emotions. It is important to:

a. Maintain physical tension using building elements and participant cooperation. Stones can counterbalance a rope that is attached to a tree, creating tension. One person can pull on a rope while the other ties a knot to an anchor point, maintaining this force, which is vital for structural integrity.

b. Identify social tension as productive or nonproductive¹⁶. Situational awareness of your cooperative unit members’ intentions and emotions is essential for maintaining social integrity. Sometimes it is best to speak of this tension out loud, while at other times it might be de-escalated indirectly. Tension that denotes differences in roles and responsibilities can be important for effective collaboration.

4. Use anchor points as a departure point when planning your structure. Anchor points are the parts of the rope structure itself that hold it down and provide tension.

This includes weights, stakes, and pre-existing structures in the environment.

5. Sala de té (tensile paradise, tea room, rope structure, etc) involves spatial and social horizontality. In its creation and use, we sit on the ground and grant each other the autonomy to manage ourselves without a strict hierarchy.

a. Spatial horizonality is parallel to the line where the earth and the sky meet (horizon).

b. Social horizonality involves working together or organizing without top-down hierarchies.

6. A frame is the skeleton of a structure. Frames can be covered with different materials to provide extra shade, insulation, weather protection, privacy, etc¹⁷.

7. A structure is any kind of spatially aware object created through the use of physical materials. Typically, a structure creates a border between the space outside the structure and the structure itself. This can be walls, a roof, a fence, a ditch, a trench, etc. A structure creates an ¹⁸inside ¹⁸one can enter and an ¹⁸outside ¹⁸that lies beyond it¹⁸. Structures can range from completely impenetrable to permeable.

8. Weights are ¹⁹heavy objects that pull or hold something down.¹⁹ Their density is high, and therefore gravity acts on them with greater force than the rest of the objects in the structure, pulling them towards the ground.

a. Anchor points can be created using weights. They can also be used to create counterweights.

b. To weigh something is to measure its weight. Metaphorically, to “weigh” a situation is to take note of all of its components and then draw useful conclusions about it based on these observations. It is important to weigh things such as fatigue, hunger, and interest levels, as well as expected weather, available time, materials, participant numbers, etc., in order to accurately make a plan.

9. Cooperative Units are the smallest divisible part of a productive and resilient organization. A cooperative unit consists of at least four people, each assigned one of the following four roles²⁰:

a. Communicator:Communicators serve as liaisons between the other three unit members. They ensure that everyone is informed at all times of the state of the project as well as of the next set of steps that are to be taken. Communicators should pay special attention to make sure that connectors, planners, and support members are all informed of each others' progress, plans, tasks, and needs. They should also keep track of the time allocation in relation to the progress of the overall project.

b. Connector: Connectors carry out the manual tasks needed for the project to take shape. They connect the plan to the action. In a rope structure connectors extend and tie ropes to each other to build the structure.

c. Planner: Planners think of and discuss an initial overall structure or project goal with the other unit members and then coordinate with each other to make sure that tasks are completed as planned. In a rope structure project, planners take into account anchor points, vertical supports and connections in order to make a plan that evenly and efficiently distributes rope tension. Planners need to survey the project's progress and detect any weak points in the construction process or any breakdowns in communication and adjust the plan accordingly as it progresses.

d. Support: Supports make sure that the overall project is structurally sound by acting as the unit’s on-site logistics hub. A support will keep track of resources and have materials, tools, and project information ready to go should it be needed by the other members. They also assist the other roles when extra labor is needed to ensure the smooth running of a project or operation.

Social, Temporal, and Spatial Conditions

This section details the different kinds of actions, situations, factors, and dynamics you might encounter while working as a group building a tensile structure.

1. ²¹Collaboration²¹ involves working as a group of people to achieve a collectively predetermined goal. It involves planning, division of tasks, resource administration, and task execution.

a. To collaborate on building a structure, you need to get together with a team, source materials, develop a plan, divide tasks, allocate resources, and execute your construction plan.

2. In order to find resolutions to disagreements or problems when making a structure, one must first unravel the situation. Unravelling can mean to disentangle fibers, but also, to fall apart or become dysfunctional. It can also be used to talk about the explanation or investigation of a complex situation as it happens.

3. Structures are typically built outdoors. When this is the case, climate plays an important role in how this is done.

a. Climate resilience: the ability of people, places, and systems to absorb and recover (often through strategic anticipation and planning) from climate-related disturbances while maintaining essential functions

b. Climate risk: potential future problems caused by, or associated with, climate change. These can be both long-term shifts in ecosystems and/or extreme climate events.

c. Climate capitalism: A system in which climate risk is addressed while preserving practices that cause climate risk, such as: extractivism, private ownership, profit incentives, overall growth-oriented economic models, etc.²⁴

To organize effectively within a group, time must be estimated, tracked, allocated, budgeted, and coordinated in relation to each task and each person’s capabilities.

1. Time as a resource: Time is limited and unevenly consumed and is needed by different people for different tasks in different amounts.
2. “Our sweet time”: Idiomatic expression describing using time at a leisurely pace. Can have both positive and negative connotations depending on context. It is usually “taken.”
3. Metabolic time: Our bodies run on an internal clock tied to our sleep/wake cycle, eating times, and levels of caloric and mental energy. Paying attention to these levels ensures accurate planning and distribution of collective work.
4. Daytime: The duration of time, separated by dawn and dusk, in which there is available sunlight. Daytime varies depending on the season, the position of the Earth in relation to the sun, and one’s own position on Earth.
5. Tea time: a unit of time demarcated by the start/end of serving and drinking tea.

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