Cumberland BC: The Cumberlander Articles Section
Local · 7th January 2009
Dwayne Rourke
A Transition Town Cumberland initiative is slowly emerging and one of the key resources we have obtained is a book called THE TRANSITION HANDBOOK (available for loan). Carolyn Baker has written a glowing review of the handbook titled TRANSITION HANDBOOK: EMBRACING REALITY AND RESILIENCE. It is published on her Speaking Truth To Power website. The following excerpt is drawn from that review:
At the core of the Transition concept is permaculture, which while difficult to explain in one sentence, is essentially a design template for assembling the various components of any community-social, economic, cultural, and technical in the most efficient way possible. (137) The 12 Principles of Permaculture, established by its founder David Holmgren, are explained, and examples are given regarding how they have become the foundation of Transition Towns throughout the world. How the principles will be implemented-in fact how any aspect of the Transition concept will be implemented anywhere, depends on the unique people and conditions of that place, which is one of the jewels of this movement. It does not offer cookie-cutter prescriptions but rather, possible strategies that can be uniquely applied to one's community and region.
An entire chapter is devoted to how to start a Transition initiative, and although not directly related to the addiction to a fossil fuel lifestyle, Twelve Steps of Transition are offered. The most impressive of these for me is the first one: "Set up a steering group and design its demise from the outset." What a relief! No chance of this group becoming an entrenched, hierarchical, power-driven monster; no chance of success unless the entire community is engaged and becomes more effective in bringing about transition than is the steering group; no need for one or two individuals alone to try to save the world.
The last half of the book is primarily devoted to an analysis of the first year of transition in Totnes and some of the practical manifestations of transition there. And finally, the book concludes with the "viral spread" of the Transition Town concept throughout the world. An extensive appendix includes a generous offering of further exercises, forms, questionnaires, and an energy descent action plan.
How does a Transition Town know if it has become resilient? What is the measure of viable transition? Here are a few resilience indicators:
The percentage of local trade carried out in local currency
The percentage of food consumed locally that was produced within a given radius
The ratio of car parking space to productive land use
Degree of engagement in practical transition work by the local community
Amount of traffic on local roads
Number of businesses owned by local people
Proportion of the community employed locally
Percentage of essential goods manufactured within a given radius
Percentage of local building materials used in new housing development
Percentage of energy consumed in the town
Amount of sixteen year-olds able to grow 10 different varieties of vegetables to a given degree of competency
Percentage of medicines prescribed locally that have been produced within a given radius.
Are these not the most axiomatic of preparations for Peak Oil and Climate Change? The Transition Handbook offers both stunning inspiration and an assortment of ingenious, yet commonsensical tools, for actualizing the concept of relocalization.
The Handbook concludes with these remarkably uplifting words:
While Peak Oil and Climate Change are understandably profoundly challenging, also inherent within them is the potential for an economic, cultural, and social renaissance the likes of which we have never seen. We will see a flourishing of local businesses, local skills and solutions, and a flowering of ingenuity and creativity. It is a Transition in which we will inevitably grow, and in which our evolution is a precondition for progress. Emerging at the other end, we will not be the same as we were: we will have become more humble, more connected to the natural world, fitter, leaner, more skilled, and ultimately, wiser.
__________________
Read complete review HERE.
__________________
To have a hands-on look at the Transition Handbook, contact Dwayne at 250 336 2070.
At the core of the Transition concept is permaculture, which while difficult to explain in one sentence, is essentially a design template for assembling the various components of any community-social, economic, cultural, and technical in the most efficient way possible. (137) The 12 Principles of Permaculture, established by its founder David Holmgren, are explained, and examples are given regarding how they have become the foundation of Transition Towns throughout the world. How the principles will be implemented-in fact how any aspect of the Transition concept will be implemented anywhere, depends on the unique people and conditions of that place, which is one of the jewels of this movement. It does not offer cookie-cutter prescriptions but rather, possible strategies that can be uniquely applied to one's community and region.
An entire chapter is devoted to how to start a Transition initiative, and although not directly related to the addiction to a fossil fuel lifestyle, Twelve Steps of Transition are offered. The most impressive of these for me is the first one: "Set up a steering group and design its demise from the outset." What a relief! No chance of this group becoming an entrenched, hierarchical, power-driven monster; no chance of success unless the entire community is engaged and becomes more effective in bringing about transition than is the steering group; no need for one or two individuals alone to try to save the world.
The last half of the book is primarily devoted to an analysis of the first year of transition in Totnes and some of the practical manifestations of transition there. And finally, the book concludes with the "viral spread" of the Transition Town concept throughout the world. An extensive appendix includes a generous offering of further exercises, forms, questionnaires, and an energy descent action plan.
How does a Transition Town know if it has become resilient? What is the measure of viable transition? Here are a few resilience indicators:
The percentage of local trade carried out in local currency
The percentage of food consumed locally that was produced within a given radius
The ratio of car parking space to productive land use
Degree of engagement in practical transition work by the local community
Amount of traffic on local roads
Number of businesses owned by local people
Proportion of the community employed locally
Percentage of essential goods manufactured within a given radius
Percentage of local building materials used in new housing development
Percentage of energy consumed in the town
Amount of sixteen year-olds able to grow 10 different varieties of vegetables to a given degree of competency
Percentage of medicines prescribed locally that have been produced within a given radius.
Are these not the most axiomatic of preparations for Peak Oil and Climate Change? The Transition Handbook offers both stunning inspiration and an assortment of ingenious, yet commonsensical tools, for actualizing the concept of relocalization.
The Handbook concludes with these remarkably uplifting words:
While Peak Oil and Climate Change are understandably profoundly challenging, also inherent within them is the potential for an economic, cultural, and social renaissance the likes of which we have never seen. We will see a flourishing of local businesses, local skills and solutions, and a flowering of ingenuity and creativity. It is a Transition in which we will inevitably grow, and in which our evolution is a precondition for progress. Emerging at the other end, we will not be the same as we were: we will have become more humble, more connected to the natural world, fitter, leaner, more skilled, and ultimately, wiser.
__________________
Read complete review HERE.
__________________
To have a hands-on look at the Transition Handbook, contact Dwayne at 250 336 2070.
