Institute For The Future

Ruby's Bequest: What Superstructing Looks Like

With the Ten-Year Forecast annual retreat just weeks away, the team has been fine-tuning our thoughts about the major reinvention our economy and society is undergoing. Our work on Superstruct last fall has given us a handful of strategies for reorganizing ourselves at both smaller and larger scales, and as I was reading the Ruby's Bequest stories this morning, it was obvious to me that they are superstructing caregiving.

Take the story: "A Patchwork Surprise."  Our Ruby's Bequest friend, Adlepated, describes the interweaving of handcrafts (quilting) with the Internet as the basis for connections that lead to caregiving. It's a story that superstructs traditional quilters' circles, kidney stones, farmily relationships, internet friendships, and even the post office. If we're looking for templates for the "new caregiving," the way this story bridges scale makes it seem very simple, very human--and in the end, perhaps very far-reaching.