Transition Towns? What are they? (Contributed)

AN exciting local project is gaining momentum. It?s called TransitionThame and District and it?s for everyone who wants to be part of it. Numerous other transition groups are springing up right across the U.K. as well as in other parts of the world. In a nutshell Transition Towns are communities getting together to find ways of offsetting the effects of twin challenges soon to face us.

We?ve in fact started to experience on the world stage the effects of one, Climate Change, and there is another villain in the wings–known as Peak Oil. Put simply this term means that we?re reaching the point (some scientists think we may already be there) when world oil production will start to decline, and continue to decline; and when supply goes down the price goes up, and up. Considering the innumerable uses we have for oil,from keeping us warm to transporting our food as well as ourselves, and how dependent we have become on it ,clearly our lifestyles are going to know some changes.

That?s one side of the coin?the other bears the Transition logo. This movement aims to help communities move to a much lower dependency on oil without the changes being massive, while retaining those things which we value like warm homes, good food, health provision and social activities. The key principle is to create communities which are more resilient to change, and more self-reliant, where skills are shared and resources pooled.

Thame and the surrounding villages are already vibrant communities, and Transition Thame and District is up and running, though still in its infancy.

NEXT EVENT

Transition Thame and District is pleased to announce it’s next event in Thame. We will be holding a permaculture evening at:

8pm Wednesday 20 January
Upstairs at the Cross Keys, 1 Park St, Thame
(‘Has any pub ever been improved by so much in such short a time’ D.Roe Camra Newsletter editor)

Come along and find out what permaculture is, how to apply it in your garden and how the principles can be used in many other areas of life. We will be screening a film showing it’s application and high productivity at various sites in the UK followed by a discussion about how it can be used to grow more food locally.

If you are excited by what you?ve read and you think you may like to join our steering group, do get in touch with me at [email protected]

There is plenty of information on the web about Transition Towns. We do not have the resources to have a proper web-site, but information can be found on
http://transitiontowns.org/Mulling/TransitionThameAnd District.

The main Transition Network web-site is http:// transitiontowns.org/

For a recent presentation by Rob Hopkins, father of the transition movement see: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/696

It only remains for me to wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.

Valerie Davies