An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent
Transition Culture has moved
I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.
Last Friday, in Totnes Civic Hall, saw the historic launch of the Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC). A key piece in the relocalisation of Totnes and district, TRESOC offers members of the community the chance to buy into their own renewable energy company. The evening started with Cllr. Tony Whitty, the Mayor of Totnes, who put the work of TRESOC in the context of the town’s wider spirit of being a pioneering town, a spirit now embodied in its identity as a Transition Town. He mentioned the 74 photovoltaic panels now adorning the Hall as part of the Transition Streets initiative, which will be formally ‘switched on’ at the Energy Fair next Saturday. TRESOC, he told the nearly-full Civic Hall, is another key step towards enhancing the sustainability and resilience of Totnes.
This Friday night in Totnes (7pm in the Civic Hall), a historic event occurs, the launching of the Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC). TRESOC describes itself as “an Industrial and Provident Society established to enable the community of Totnes and surrounding parishes to take charge of the development of our renewable energy resources and provide maximum benefit to the local economy”. It originally emerged from an Open Space Day on energy held by Transition Town Totnes, and although it is not a TTT project, it is clearly a key part of the infrastructure of relocalisation as set out in the Totnes & District EDAP. Anyone in Totnes or the surrounding parishes will be able to buy between £20 and £20,000 of shares, which will entitle them to one vote. The model means that the company will be democratically owned, and provides a safeguard from takeover by large commercial interests. TRESOC will be announcing, on the night, news of its first major renewable energy projects which have, until now, been kept tightly under wraps. The share option pack will also be available on TRESOC’s website from just after the launch. I will be posting a report about the launch, and will be taking my cheque book in order to be among the first to invest in the renewable energy future of my community!
Two months’ worth of round up in quick succession… normal service will be resumed next month. So, let’s start this roundup in Europe, with an interview with Ellen Bermann of Transition Italia, sat on a terrazza somewhere with a rather nice view (understanding Italian an advantage…).
Transition in Germany is going on well, with another successful training and a further one coming up on 9 October in Bielefeld, so if you’re interested do get in touch with them. There are also lots of new registered users for their German-speaking Transition Network, as well as meetings with key players in German peak oil organisations, and increasing interest from the media as more articles appear in German publications. And congratulations to TT Bielefeld as they celebrate their first year! Thanks to Gerd for this update. Here is a film of him giving a presentation about Transition (understanding German will help considerably.)….
In advance of the publication next week of Chris Bird’s Transition Book ‘Local Sustainable Homes’, I spoke to Chris about the book, and about what he set out to achieve in writing it. The book will be available to order here at Transition Culture from next Thursday (the 9th).
So Chris, how does ‘Local Sustainable Homes’ differ from all the other green building books out there?
You could fill a bookshop with volumes on green building. There are so many works on sustainable design and construction and green materials that choosing what to read has become almost as difficult as deciding which spectacle frames to wear! But this book is different because it concentrates on how individuals, groups and communities are making it happen. Okay, I admit that in places the book does drift into looking at materials and construction methods but the bread and butter of the text deals with examples from around the country of how people are making sustainable homes a concrete reality – but without the concrete!
Open Eco-Home days are a great way of promoting the idea of green building in all its many manifestations. I have no idea whether the two events were planned to coincide, but two Transition initiatives, Totnes and Stroud, are holding Open Eco-Homes weekends at the same time, the weekend of the 11th-12th September. The Totnes weekend (see poster left) provides access to 13 houses which have taken steps to reduce their energy use, ranging from a new cob house with a thatched roof (absolutely gorgeous) to some of the houses that have participated in Transition Streets and have made a range of energy efficiency improvements. You can download the flyer for the weekend in 2 parts, here and here. The Stroud event visits over 20 homes, and has become an established part of the local calendar. They also produce an excellent leaflet for the event, which you can download here. You can find out more about the Stroud events here. Transition Town Lewes also did one last year, but I haven’t been able to find any links to their doing it this year. Perhaps they, or any other Transition initiative doing one, might let us know in the comments thread below? Do try and get along to support one of these excellent events…
How might our response to peak oil and climate change look more like a party than a protest march? This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations
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Last Friday, in Totnes Civic Hall, saw the historic launch of the Totnes Renewable Energy Society (TRESOC). A key piece in the relocalisation of Totnes and district, TRESOC offers members of the community the chance to buy into their own renewable energy company. The evening started with Cllr. Tony Whitty, the Mayor of Totnes, who put the work of TRESOC in the context of the town’s wider spirit of being a pioneering town, a spirit now embodied in its identity as a Transition Town. He mentioned the 74 photovoltaic panels now adorning the Hall as part of the Transition Streets initiative, which will be formally ‘switched on’ at the Energy Fair next Saturday. TRESOC, he told the nearly-full Civic Hall, is another key step towards enhancing the sustainability and resilience of Totnes.
