[Dialogue] The Transition Movement

[Af]

After reading Jack's email re the future of the ICA, I was just wondering if any colleagues had run into "The Transition Movement".  Our daughter Chenoa encountered/learned about it at a New Cosmology/Earth Literacy training at The Genesis Farm in Blairstown, NJ, led by Sr. Miriam MacGillis.  The Transition Movement in that area offers training sessions at the Genesis Farm.  See article below.
Ellie Stock

The Transition Movement:  From Oil Dependence to Community Resilience, One Community at a Time 
by Michael Brownlee* 

It is heartening to discover that there is now emerging on our planet a most unusual grassroots-to-grasstops movement. It is mobilizing communities all over the world to reclaim their power locally, to make the transition from dependence on life-destroying globalized systems to local networks of resilience and self-reliance, to wean themselves from fossil fuel dependence, and to rebuild capacities to meet their essential needs locally.

The Transition Movement--focused on relocalization--began in Totnes, England, in 2006, as Rob Hopkins considered how to apply the principles and ethics of permaculture (a deeply Earth-based discipline incorporating indigenous wisdom from around the globe) to the daunting challenge of preparing whole communities for the local impacts of converging global crises, especially fossil fuel depletion, global warming, and economic contraction.

The inspirational process that has evolved from Hopkins' early work in England has spread rapidly to some 320 officially recognized transition Initiatives in 16 nations, including more than 70 in the US.  These are joined by thousands of other communities who are just beginning their jouney to adopt and adapt the process, making this perhaps one of the fastest-growing social change movements in recent history.

Within a particular community, Transition Initiatives at first may visibly manifest themselves with a marked increase in local organic food production--from home gardens, to community gardens, to vibrant family famrs and farmers' markets.  Meanwhile, more mature initiatives may launch new local currencies to keep economic vitality from leaking out of their communities.  Others are stimulating local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to retrofit homes and businesses for greater energy efficiency, and to offer "re-skilling instruction in fundamental life skills that will be increasingly importnat in a post-oil society (e.g., food production and preservation. beekeeping,home and clothing repair, etc.)

The core of the Transition process begins as a small group of passionate volutneers (an "initiating group") who launch a campaign of awareness-raising and networking with existing groups in the area, articulating the need for adopting and adapting a Transition approach, and demonstrating ways to "unleash the collective genius of the community."

As this early group grows, ad hoc working groups naturally self-organize, addressing key areas of local concern, such as food, energy, transportation, housing, education, etc.  These groups will then develop assessments, explore plans, and create practical projects that can contribute to the overall relocalization effort, loosely coordinated or facilitated by the Transition Initiative.

When the initiative has progressed sufficiently, it embarks on an intense community-wide planning process, which results in a long-term Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) for the community.  This part of the process, which includes local government, involves researching the strengths and vulnerabilities of a local system, assembling a compelling and inclusive vision of a possible future, and actually mapping the pathways to true sustainability and low-carbon emission.

Once the EDAP is drafted--which may take a couple of years--implementing this comprehensive plan becomes the initiative's primary project, sharing successess and failures along the way with those in other Transition Initiatives who are attempting to follow the same path.

Transition and the New Cosmology

Answering a deep inner calling (and often with little or no previous experience in activism or community organizing) many leaders of Transition Initiatives are finding themselves exploring innovative ways to anchor, deepen, and support their efforts.  For instance, at Genesis Farm in New Jersey--a center fostering Earth Literacy and Transition Culture, founded by Sr. Miriam MacGillis (www.genesisfarm.org)--Transitioners are exploring how the New Cosmology inspired by Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme can enhance their work, connecting them more deeply to an Earth-based sense of the sacred.  Here, as in many locations, they also explore the Inner Transition, the "Heart & Soul" work that is helping Transition groups to deepen relationships and avoid burnout or "crisis fatigue."  By integrating creative techniques such as those of deep ecologist Joanna Macy and others into ordinary organizational processes, they hope to cultivate deeper communication and promote community healing.  At Genesis Farm, transitioners are in effect becoming students of Emergence, the evolutionary process by which the universe self-organizes, finding profound and practical lessons in how to catalyze Transition in their communities.  While Emergence may not be a traditional part of the Transition orientation, it perhaps demonstrates that the movement represents an opening where breakthrough understandings and processes can readily emerge and make significant contributions.  After all, since no one has yet successfully relocalized a community, it is quite likely that both new and ancient approaches will be needed.

*Michael Brownlee is co-founder of Transition Colorado, the first officially recognized Transition Initiative in Northm America.  He is also a co-founder of Transition U.S., and served on its original board of directors.




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