THE KINDRED OF THE KIBBO KIFT: Our inspiration

INTRODUCTION

The Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was a British social movement founded in 1920 by John Hargrave, blending outdoor activities, craftsmanship, and a philosophy of peace and self-reliance. Aimed at fostering physical health and mental well-being, it combined scouting traditions with an idealistic vision of a better, more harmonious society. Influenced by art, nature, and spirituality, it sought to address social and political challenges through personal and communal development.

It might seem useless to talk about past utopias. After all, they failed. That’s not how we see it. Even if a new system of governance, a novel way of thinking didn’t, destined to live on exclusively in extortionately priced books and white-space galleries, it still has the power to inspire: and that’s where the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift comes in.

Kickstarted in 1920, the Kibbo Kift movement was borne out of a disillusionment with the Boy Scouts, looking to replace its imperial, militaristic weltanschauung with peaceful, environmentalist teachings. Led by John Hargrave (who later formed the Green Shirts and the Legion of the Unemployed), the coterie of non-conformists, artists, radicals, naturists and mavericks rejected mainstream society and embraced the great outdoors.

Kibbo Kift folk took to camping, hiking, handicraft and public speaking, grouped into cluster communities known as Things, Clans, Tribes and Lodges. The liberal intelligentsia lended a hand; the likes of HG Wells, Emmeline Pethwick-Lawrence, Julian Huxley and Mary Neal showed their support, helping the group grow to a few hundred members strong.

By the mid ninety-twenties, the group had splintered like woodwork, with a vote of no confidence in Hargreaves in 1924 leading to dissenter Leslie Paul forming the Woodcraft Folk (still around, today). The group rapidly became a mouthpiece for Hargrave’s politics, fuelled by an interest in socialist economics and anti-Fascist ideals. By 1932, it had morphed entirely into the Green Shirt Movement for Social Credit. The Anglo-Saxon garments seamlessly unseamed and switched, in a cruel twist of irony, for military uniform.

Largely forgotten since then, it’s earned fleeting periods of interest, whether through theatre (a musical titled The Kibbo Kift was on show in the seventies) or art (an acclaimed 2015 Whitechapel Gallery exhibition).

Dr. Annabella Pollen:Their membership was comprised of “more than usually conscious individuals comprised of a range of seekers of spiritual as well a social solutions to contemporary problems."

For us, it was the springboard for our agency. We’re inspired by the Kindred’s ideals of sustainable living, shared culture and communal creativity. While it may not have changed the world - let alone London - it refused to play by the rules, aiming for people over profit, ethos over greed. Even if a utopia doesn’t come to fruition, the fruits of its labour aren’t always wasted.

- WORDS BY KYLE MACNEILL