New Transition Towns forum

Hi Everyone:

If you live in a village, town or city and you're involved or want to find out how to get involved in community projects that fit the Transition Town movement - please post here.

From the Transition Town website:

Transition Initiatives: Are community-led process that helps that town/village/city/neighbourhood become stronger and happier.

These communities have started up projects in areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing, waste, arts etc. as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. Together, these small-scale responses make up something much bigger, and help show the way forward for governments, business and the rest of us.

Really, it's the opposite of us sitting in our armchairs complaining about what's wrong, and instead, it's about getting up and doing something constructive about it alongside our neighbours and fellow townsfolk. And people tell us that as a result of being involved in their local "transition initiative", they're happier, their community feels more robust and they have made a lot of new friends.

Hi Jennifer- I have a project here in my own community that I would say 'fits' the Transition Town model. However when attending a recent conference, I found the Transition Town folks telling me that we needed to actually become a Transition Town in order to be involved in the regional activities. I understand that centralization and decentralization is always difficult, but i am not sure that I hear Transition folks are even addressing this issue.So how we 'fit' is a rather important question which needs a little discussion IMHO I am not sure if there is an actual question here, bit i feel the point needs to be made. I am glad Transition folks are around however since many permaculture folks seem to nave rural homesteads, or are devoted to kind of dropping out of the mainstream to some degree, and Transition is seemingly more focused on how to make headway into direct involvement in our communities

I want to turn my town in Ireland into a Transition town but I am not sure were do start or how to make money so I can eat while I work on it? Any thoughts?

West Coast Canada here, our town has a Transition movement, but it seems very slow these days. I'm hoping that this year, I can get more involved with the events... if I can find out about them.

In the past I participated in the Flax to Linen group, where we grow flax plants locally and organically, and teach people the skills to transform this into cloth.

One of the biggest problems I have with the other elements of our local transition group is that they rely heavily on FB or other social media sites that require members have accounts to even read what's posted. I know a lot of people locally who are interested in things like the Transition movement are not willing to give away our personal information to organizations like Facebook, so we get excluded from participating in what would otherwise be an exciting opportunity.

For the time being, I've been focusing on accumulating knowledge, perfecting my method for growing, and most important, how to use in a delicious way, staple food crops so that I can teach people the skills they need to survive if a situation comes where our little island is cut off from the rest of the world. For example, growing crops like chickpeas and barley that can be transformed into miso, soy-free-soysauce, and other nutritious foods through low-energy, traditional methods. Also, barley makes beer!

R Ranson wrote:

One of the biggest problems I have with the other elements of our local transition group is that they rely heavily on FB or other social media sites that require members have accounts to even read what's posted. I know a lot of people locally who are interested in things like the Transition movement are not willing to give away our personal information to organizations like Facebook, so we get excluded from participating in what would otherwise be an exciting opportunity.

What if a group of you started a FB page, (or even a dummy person?) perhaps you all could convene and draft clear rules on what sort of information is posted or not really posting information at all but just use it to get plugged in...if they are exclusionary in person than that's a different story.

I really haven't looked into the Transition movement though and so this is the first I've heard of it being...exclusionary or centralized. I guess I understand this to a degree.
without any standard the whole country could declare membership without much action on the ground. We saw this sort of story with corporations going "green" and manipulating public opinion, legal issues to avoid "green-washing" etc.

So more power to ya R Ranson! We all need to be a part of the transition this planet is yearning for. Whether we are a part of one group or another is, in my opinion, not so much as important as being a part of the solution(s)

What if a group of you started a FB page, (or even a dummy person?)

It's a good idea in it's way, however, most of us aren't willing to support FB in any way, even with a false account. There are too many ethical reasons which don't really belong in this thread.

Besides, I don't know how reliable FB would be in a Shit Hits The Fan kind of situation. Isn't creating local support networks of people for SHTF situations what Transition movements are really about?

The main goal of Transition Movements, as I understand it, is to transition away from fossil fuel and other global resource dependence. Moving towards a world of community interdependence. I envision something that is still a global community, but more a global community of local, mostly self sufficient communities.

I think that the most delicious way to get there is through food. Even if the person has no access to a garden, they can still learn how to cook the staple foods that grow best locally. If it comes to a time when we have no mass transport (either for a temporary emergency, or a long term situation) then it's going to be a very useful skill to have. Also, by starting to support local farmers growing these staple crops - instead of the luxury crops that aren't very nourishing - then more farmers will have incentive to grow these crops and there will be more available.

For example, a lot of grains grow well here, including gluten free grains like oats and amaranth. But the farms with the grain growing and cleaning equipment only grow wheat and barley. Barley all goes to the breweries, so only wheat is available to the permies. There is very little milling equipment, so the wheat is usually sold as the whole grain, or when milled, as whole grain flour (VERY different to 'whole wheat flour' in storage life and how it acts when baked). To enjoy local wheat, you would have to be both gluten tolerant, and aware how to cook it in a way that makes it delicious. Deliciousness is part of how food nourishes. Learning how to use this staple food AFTER an emergency situation starts is not going to be very successful, but learning ways before hand can be a fun process. Maybe a group of friends gather together at one house a month, arrange for free or affordable cooking classes for these local, seasonal ingredients? Focus on frugal, local and nourishing meals that are simple and fast to prepare. Maybe in the good weather, have an outside cooking class with a whole meal cooked over an open fire (respecting local fire bans of course). Maybe even invite small farmers to participate and create a staple food focused CSA box or co-op kind of setup. I could see that kind of thing being an immensely useful Transition activity.

That's the kind of act I want to participate in, so I hoard skills that make me useful for when I can find other people also keen on learning.

R Ranson,

Yes, I think I can relate to some of your ethical reasons....really I should learn more about what exactly the Transition movement is about so please forgive me for any ignorance or misunderstandings.

I totally agree that in a SHTF situation having the local infrastructure and social capital already built may well be a huge difference maker in how any region is able to cope. As I am formulating my strategy for my own property and enterprises both the ethical and resiliency dimensions are weighted pretty heavily. Personally, I'm not necessarily opposed to using certain technologies for outreach, visibility, transactions etc....I AM opposed to DEPENDING on them and DO prefer to use more direct interactions (rather than lose them) in practice when possible.

I want to be in sync with where most people are at but draw them towards where we collectively think we need to be for greater local autonomy, resiliency etc.

For example one approach I'm considering is using my greenhouse space as a nursery to design and implement edible gardens and greywater systems for people. This way the local community can be less dependent on the industrial food system. Then me, as a local farm, can provide more of the staple, bulk carbohydrates (grains and fiber etc)....For some people this may seem counter-intuitive as I want to be able to sell the fruit from my orchard but if we are faced with a SHTF crisis it might prove to be quite valuable.

I also really agree about learning how to cook and prepare seasonal crops appropriate to any particular biome, food shed or what have you...but some of these foods people may be less familiar with so gentle coaxing and education will augment this strategy hopefully.


As far as hoarding skills, for myself, yes I love learning but also recognize that I can't be an expert in everything. So coordinating with different stakeholders in the community might come before social capital can be built and trusting relationships formed.

It's exciting work to be involved in....and will also probably be quite challenging. Thanks for engaging in enlightened discussion!

Pardon if this is repetitive but could folks explain why discussion forums cannot serve the collective discussion function that some here are saying Facebook does not satisfy?

Hello, i design urban permaculture arcologies and i am looking for peeps that want to collaborate on that.

I agree FB is evil, finding some place to work from given the worlds pre occupation with FB is increasingly problematic. I think there is a good permaculture wiki but it doesn't seem to include arcologies in its sense of mission, but maybe that could be expanded on if enough people showed up and asked the existing admins if it was kewl to use the wiki for urban permaculture design. Personally i would much rather try to use a good collaboration engine like a wiki than forums because for meaningful collaboration a forum can't handle the organization, you end up with 1001 sub forums and its still not enough.

anyhow, i hope we can get together and collaborate, and if anyone wants some sketchup or autocad models of etc buildings hit me up.

Matt Grantham wrote: Pardon if this is repetitive but could folks explain why discussion forums cannot serve the collective discussion function that some here are saying Facebook does not satisfy?

I have nothing against forums in general. In fact, I'm a big fan of permies.com and simular places like this as a source of inspiration and information.

However, my personal values conflict with the values of FB as a company. Their privacy issues are a big thing for me, but there are other actions that they do - both in front of and behind the scenes, that I don't approve of. Because I don't like what is done, I don't support the people doing it. It's like boycotting a coffee shop because they use GMO beans, or refusing to buy from a specific box store because of they don't treat their staff well. Only it's a different reason with FB, but I'm not going to elaborate on that in a public place. Like so much in life, I have a choice to participate in something that doesn't match my values, or abstain.

Getting back to the transition thing. I am inspired when I see people interacting face to face in a meaningful way. Like... did I mention?... the local Flax to Linen group. We go out a few times each summer, to a farmers market, or local museum, and demonstrate how it is done. Person to person interaction is so much more powerful than internet interaction. Sure, it's just another distraction for most people who see us, but a few people each time, you can tell by their eyes and posture, that this is a life changing experience. Be it simply learning how easy it is to wash linen, or as in the last time a couple from france who were inspired by permaculture ideals and were surprised to learn that flax could not only be a part of their future farm, but that it also has a long standing history of growing in their region.

When peek oil, or whatever shit-hits-the-fan situation happens, I feel it is this person to person interaction that is going to have the biggest impact. Maybe I'm wrong, I've been wrong before, but in my heart, I fear that we might loose this if we depend too much on forum and internet communication. Forums and social media are an important tool - but is only one way we can interact with each other.

Jennifer,  i was scouring this site hoping to find something with permaculture communities or the like here in arizona.  I am interested in learning more and participating in a living community project. Be it a transition town, co-op type community living with permaculture as the base or working a farm.  If you know a group in town or have any information i would appreciate being informed.  Thanks for asking.  Alicia

Our project Permacultuur Meppel started from the ideas of Transition Towns. One of the founders lived in a 'transition town', she knows about the pros and cons. Here we decided not to call it Transition Town, but use the word Permacultuur (= Permaculture).
That was about four and a half years ago. Now we have a community garden, a starting food forest and an official foundation called Natuurlijk Dichtbij (the meaning of this name would be lost in translation). That foundation was needed because then town council supports us (not only financially), and then there needs to be some official organisation. In fact we work with 'coordination groups', the official foundation members are only there for the 'looks'.
We also try to start a project with 'local currency'. But that takes some more time and effort.


The entrance of the community garden. With a nice willow gate and information next to it.

Hello, October 1st I am moving to right outside Neah Bay Washington. Interested in Food Sovereignty for Indigenous people especially working with local people....Makah and Lower Elwha S'kallam. Teaching children. My passion is SEEDS, wild crafting, herbal medicines, hoop houses, mushrooms, etc. I am Wendat Huron...it's in my genes to grow tobacco and of course the three sisters...this year I also worked with RMSA and grew out three grains.....white Sonoran Wheat, Amaranth and the corn is coming along. Thanks!

In our town we have a local fire station where we all meet once a month. We all have decided that instead of relying on the government (like FEMA) we will all be good neighbors and help each other. My wife and I are making our property in to an edible landscape so that we have more than enough food to share with our neighbors.

I haven't really known about this movement before now.  I think it's important for healthy communities.  That said, where I am, we're still on lock down, masks if out in permies, social distancing, etc which I think kind of limits start up on this right now.  I'll continue to keep up on the topic, learning more, so that if we ever get out of this situation - I'll have some of the "learning" work already done.

These communities have started up projects in areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing, waste, arts etc. as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. Together, these small-scale responses make up something much bigger, and help show the way forward for governments, business and the rest of us.
Really, it's the opposite of us sitting in our armchairs complaining about what's wrong, and instead, it's about getting up and doing something constructive about it....

The point of my earlier post, which was moved elsewhere, was to contribute an option in addition to transitioning existing towns into sustainable, oil-free communities.
That other option is to create new towns from the ground up where everyone lives off-grid, growing all their own food sans pesticides, fetching their own water from wells, and producing all their own power without being dependent on oil.

There is transition and there is Transition. To use the T you need to register with the non profit. But anyone can work to get their community more local and resilient.

I am new to this term "Transition Towns" but it sounds like something that would be very good for many communities in California as we certainly need to better know our neighbors and help each other when events like earthquakes and wildfires occur.  How does one approach this?

Here we are at 72 and 63 years.  We live aboard our sailboat in eastern N.C. As we begin looking at land we have two very different ideas of the ideal home.  My wife wants small town, walk ability, library, shops nearby.  In addition to hers I'm wanting enough area to engage my gardening and tool related interests.  We both put the "feel" of a place at the top.  Maybe there is a place where these two divergent desires can be met?