Am I allowed to put my email address and phone number here?

robertcircle1@yahoo.co.uk

01792 792 442

In the 8 months since our Unleashing the Energy group has created an Energy Services company that has won the bid to distribute Lewes District Council’s energy savings grants including one for £130,000 for solar water heaters. The Ouse Valley Energy Services Company is in the process of turning itself into a coop and aims to generate energy entirely from our local renewable resources.

The Business group has set up a website http://www.lovelewes.com to help local businesses save energy and money. They’ve been working with the Chamber of Commerce to create a business survey to help businesses identify their energy vulnerability and hope to develop an energy auditing service.

The currency group is investigating launching a local currency in the coming year, initially for raising awareness and also to incubate a local economic tool for when it’s more needed.

The waste group is investigating a community-scale, community-owned Rocket composter for composting business waste including food and cardboard, which they identified as being a major problem for businesses.

The food group is looking at community-owned approaches to food provision, with our local cooperative, Common Cause, as well as, through the land group, how to overcome the major obstacle of land ownership.

A parallel organisation in Lewes, the Lewes Community Land Trust, is setting up a Community Interest COmpany (CIC) to bid for land that might otherwise be sold to developers, to develop for community use such as local business and affordbale housing.

The transport group is starting a feasibility study to set up a community-owned car club, starting with 5 cars, in association with the district and county councils, which would be scalable.

The textiles group has printed the second edition of the Lewes Community Bag – Love Lewes Shop Local – which is stocked by many shops in Lewes.

The Heart and Soul group has started a monthly meeting, which is open to all, to discuss how we feel about climate change, peak oil and the changes ahead.

This is in eight months, entirely fuelled by volunteers.

To answer your next question, there is definitely a recognition of the need to encompass everyone, not just the middle educated classes, and this might happen later once the wave is underway.

In Lewes the schools group is starting to ask youth how they want to engage, both with their schools and in their own lives, in nature, for example. The Oral History group is seeking funding to invite the older people to share their experiences in a way that is helpful to us now. Another member is looking at how older people will be looked after in changing times.

It’s early days and as the reality of our future becomes more apparent, more people in Lewes are becoming engaged in the areas they are passionate about. It’s not our job to change people, only to invite as widely and inclusively as we can.

To have the elements in place and able to be nurtured and grown quickly as the need arises, is a key part of the transition. The other part will be the driving force of necessity that it seems is arriving fast enough.

This matches with the sentiments of David Holmgren (Co Founder of the Permaculture concepts) on his recent visit to New Zealand. He suggested strongly that the time for banging the drum to wake people up to the Peak Oil and Climate change issues, was not the most effective way to use our energy.

What is needed, he said, is examples of how we can meet our needs. Then as people notice the existing systems, that keep our society functioning, begin to get the wobbles, they can look around and find people to show them how to do it differently.

An example is my raised bed food garden, which has generated a level of interest I wasn’t expecting. A sign of the times?