We often say that failures in Transition are just as important as our successes, that Transition is an iterative process where what matters is that we learn from honest assessments of what we have tried. In that spirit, today’s post offers a fascinating and illuminating case study of a Transition initiative stalling. We are deeply grateful to members of the steering group of the now-dormant (hopefully temporarily) Transition Oxford group for so honestly and openly sharing their thoughts as to why things have reached the stage they have. Their reflections are largely unedited, and have been left anonymous. My thanks to Jo Hamilton for collating them.
OK, OK, I promise tomorrow I’ll start blogging about things other than the Brixton Pound, but today, here is a great film made by Positive TV about the launch, featuring some of the Brixton Pound crew and really giving a powerful sense of the event.
“One of my first experiences of currencies along the lines of the Brixton pound was in Ithaca in upstate New York, where they have had an amazing printed currency for the last 15 years. You can get loans in it. The biggest loan was for $36,000. Not bad for a local currency. Some of the notes are printed on paper made from Angora rabbit fur, which is an innovative solution to the problem of counterfeiting which has not yet struck the Bank of England.
There really was nowhere else to be last night. Given the amazing amount of press coverage and the fact that this was the first urban complementary currency specific to an urban neighbourhood, Lambeth Town Hall was the place to be for the launch of the Brixton Pound. I arrived after a day of giving a talk at Google’s London offices, visiting Transition Tooting for a chat and a look around the place (thanks folks), and made it to the Hall for 6.30pm. The event started at about 7.40, having been warmed up by some singing local teenagers and a small steel band. Then, with the hall full to capacity, and hundreds of people crammed in around the walls, the event was underway.
So, ‘Local Food: how to make it happen in your community’ has arrived, and copies are flying out of the door! As you can see, at Transition Culture central we have been parcelling up orders and winging them to the 4 corners of the globe. They have been rapturously received by those who have got their hands on early copies, although we are still waiting for the first formal reviews. You may be interested to know that the launch of ‘Local Food’ will take place at the Totnes Bookshop on Thursday 24th September at 7pm. I’ll be saying a few words and introducing Tamzin, who will speak about the book (see below for the promotional flyer). There will be a big launch in London a week or so later (details to be confirmed). Do come along, and help celebrate the birth of this rather wonderful and very timely addition to the Transition literature!
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We often say that failures in Transition are just as important as our successes, that Transition is an iterative process where what matters is that we learn from honest assessments of what we have tried. In that spirit, today’s post offers a fascinating and illuminating case study of a Transition initiative stalling. We are deeply grateful to members of the steering group of the now-dormant (hopefully temporarily) Transition Oxford group for so honestly and openly sharing their thoughts as to why things have reached the stage they have. Their reflections are largely unedited, and have been left anonymous. My thanks to Jo Hamilton for collating them. 
