Rob Hopkins. Green Books 2008, Paperback, 224 pages, £12.95
I really can’t recommend this book highly enough, but if you need more convincing…
“a must-read labelled, ‘immediate’ “ - Jeremy Leggett, founder of Solarcentury and SolarAid
“The Transition Handbook will come to be seen as one of the seminal books which emerged at the end of the Oil Age” - Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association
“There is no more important book than this one for any community seeking to change toward ecological sustainability” - Jerry Mander, founder/director of the International Forum on Globalization
“There is no better call to action than this book, and no better guide to the hands-on creation of a liveable future” - Dr Stephan Harding, co-ordinator of the MSc Holistic Science at Schumacher College
“This is much more than just a book. It is a manual for a movement. And not just any movement, but one which could prove to be the most important social force humanity has ever seen” - Mark Lynas, author of Six Degrees
“The Transition movement is the best news there’s been for a long time and this manual is a goldmine of inspiration to get you started” - New Internationalist
“The most important book we have yet published” - John Elford, Green Books (publishers of LOTS of VERY good books)
“The book succeeds brilliantly at every level… Seriously, this is one of the most important books in the sustainability field to appear in this decade” - Robert Morgan, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at the University of Glamorgan and Co-Director, The Green College
“The newly published Transition Handbook is so important that I am tempted just to confine this review to five simple words ‘You must read this book!’” - Richard Barnett, editor of Ethical Pulse (Ethical Junction’s newletter)
So, we’re both a day late, but Gloria and I somehow decided that every day in May was going to be inspirational!
Each day Gloria will a post about an inspirational person, and I’ll highlight an inspirational project. Her first person is Maya Angelou, and my first project is…
Focussing on the central issues of peak oil and climate change, Transition Towns are “towns that are participating in the transition to a more localised post-peak-oil future”.
This process normally involves going through the following 10 steps (now 12 steps, see here):
Lay the Foundations. This is about networking with existing groups and activists and stressing that this Transition Town initiative is not a process of duplicating their work but of requesting their input in a new way of looking at the future.
The Official Unleashing. The aim of this event is to generate a momentum which will propel your initiative forward for the next period of its work.
Form Groups. You can’t do this on your own. Part of the process of developing an Energy Descent Action Plan is that of tapping into the collective genius of the community. One of the most effective ways to do this is to set up a number of smaller groups to focus on specific aspects of the process.
Use Open Space. Open Space Technology is an extraordinary tool. It has been described as ‘a simple way to run productive meetings, for five to 2000+ people, and a powerful way to lead any kind of organization, in everyday practice and ongoing change’.
Develop Visible Practical Manifestations of the Project. It is easy to come up with ideas, harder to get practical things happening on the ground. It is essential that you avoid any sense that your project is just a talking shop where people sit around and draw up wish lists. Your project needs, from an early stage, to begin to create practical manifestations in the town, high visibility signals that it means business.
Facilitate The Great Reskilling. Very few people still have the skills a more resilient society needs. This is where your Transition Town initiative comes in.
Build a Bridge to Local Government. Whatever the degree of groundswell your Transition Town initiative manages to generate, however many practical projects you manage to get going on the ground and however wonderful your Energy Descent Plan is, you will not progress too far unless you have cultivated a positive and productive relationship with your local authority.
Honour the Elders. There is a great deal that we can learn from those who directly remember the transition to the age of cheap oil, especially the period between 1930 and 1960.
Let it Go Where It Wants to Go and Reflections….In essence, although you may start out developing your Transition Town process with a clear idea of where it will go, it will inevitably go elsewhere. You need to be open to it going where the energy of those who get involved want to take it. If you try and hold onto the idea that it will be a certain way it will, after a while, begin to sap the energy that is building to do certain things. It is what is so exciting about the whole thing, seeing what emerges.
So there you have it. Transition Towns (of which there are now many) are very inspiring projects.
