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International Journal of
Population Studies Australia’s Knitting Nannas lifelong learning

their own form of antifracking activism. Mezirow’s concept These older women discovered collective creativity
of a “disorienting dilemma” (Cranton, 2002, p. 66; Merriam that engendered positivity in overcoming the challenges
& Baumgartner, 2020, pp. 130-131) is applicable here, as is of activism and aging within a supportive and inclusive
Scandrett et al.’s (2010, p. 137) transformative paradigm learning environment, consistent with adult learning
shifts resulting from “making sense of unexplained motivational conditions (Wlodkowski & Ginsberg, 2017)
experiences …stimulated by discursive encounters.” and critical feminist geragogy (Findsen & Formosa, 2011).
Kluttz & Walter (2018, p. 97) recognized that considering It was a liberating, collective, negotiated learning enterprise
“intersectional and interlocking oppressions” illuminates that recognized the extensive life experience of older
the transformative effect of adult learning, but their work women. Similar to Curnow’s (2013) case study, women
did not take ageism into account. shared personal experiences that led to a transformative
Within 20 days of distancing themselves from the collective understanding of patriarchal power structures in
broader anti-CSG alliance, the members of the original society.
loop used their “knit-in” alternative to the traditional 3.2. Enablers of learning
sit-in to construct their own identity. They learned that
the knit-in, as an activity, was conducive to group learning Data about the capabilities these older women brought
processes toward defining their older women’s way of with them, in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
protesting. Thus, it was possible to determine that the world views, were important in understanding what
formation phase involved the development of a CoP as enabled their activist learning. By applying learner entry
understood by Lave & Wenger (1991). behavior analysis (Ireri & Omwenga, 2014), it was found
that older women entered the anti-CSG movement
The participatory, collaborative creation of the KNAG as an
identity was fun, socially engaging, and therefore motivating with an extensive range of skills easily transferrable to
their activism. These skills were drawn mostly from
as the women realized they were getting to know one another
through participating in purposeful environmental activism. stereotypically female occupations such as educators,
On Facebook, the Nannas celebrated the early recognition; nurses, and business administrators, as well as from
they gained from the media and other anti-CSG activists as creative fields. The combined capabilities of the older
a nascent movement. Being recognized for credibility and women encompassed organizing, planning, coordinating,
visibility as older women activists was another significant managing, creating, performing publicly, and crafting.
emancipatory step that demonstrates McHugh’s (2012, Many Nannas had previous involvement in environmental
p. 288) analysis that older women engaged in activism are activism, supporting the view that women of all ages
both socially active and challenge “cultural constructions of have contributed to many eco-movements (Gaard, 2011).
older women” as being digitally inept. It was found that many women entered the movement
with computer email (Web 1.0) competence and varying
Initially, this group of women cast themselves as degrees of digital literacy, including social media (Web 2.0)
fearless “elder Jane Bonds.” However, they later realized the competence, aligning with previous research (Australian
subversive and humorous potential of playfully using the Bureau of Statistics, 2018; Haukka & Hegarty, 2011; Larri,
stereotype they had originally railed against. The persona 2023; Wiesslitz, 2019; Yellow Social Media Report, 2020).
of little old ladies stealthily knitting appealed to their
collective sense of humor. At this stage, they did not know However, what women lacked were NVDA strategies,
that the Canadian Raging Grannies (Roy, 2003) had made specific knowledge of CSG extraction, and an understanding
the same choice some 25 years before. Nanna Joy explained of hegemonic power relations within extractive industries
the experience: and government. Martin & Coy (2017) identified the lack
of a formal definition of activist skills and postulated
“At the same time that was happening, a few of us that social activism involves diverse skills found in many
went and toured all the gas wells. That’s what kind of occupations. They did not consider a gender dimension to
initiated us, watching Shannon Brook. We had lots of occupations, nor did they account for the skills developed
fun playing with the word Nanna. And also we were by women as homemakers and carers. In addition, they did
pushing ourselves to the other activists as being kind not gather data on which occupational skills contribute to
of like fearless old ladies. Because we first started this activist skills and which learning and skills gaps may need
as a surveillance group, we were pushing the thing that to be addressed.
we were little old Jane Bonds … we had spoken about
the Knitting Nannas before as a stealth kind of group. Analysis of the initial stages of the KNAG movement’s
I guess it was a bit of a joke among us. So we decided formation phase indicated the ways in which the women
to take our knitting and our cups of tea.” used their pre-existing skills to generate their activist

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.381