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.
The final day started with the final session of workshops. There were sessions on funding, ESCOs, transport, training, avoiding burnout and Transition Universities. I co-presented one with Adrienne Campbell from Transition Town Lewes, sharing our experiences so far with developing Energy Descent Pathways. It was a very useful look at how the thinking is going on this process which is a key aspect of the work of Transition Initiatives. It also included a very powerful activity led by Adrienne, which was used to help people develop a sense of what visioning is.
Spent a glorious weekend in the garden, sowing seeds, building a compost heap, digging over a new bed and generally getting everything ready for the emerging Spring. In the interests of trying different approaches alongside each other to see what works best, I made a double-dug terraced bed, a lot of work but something you only need to do once. I have been putting in some soft fruit bushes and our first seedlings, salad rocket, have just started to peep through the compost in their seed trays. When I sat down this morning though, with my lower back still feeling the exertions of my double digging, I found, via. Energy Bulletin, a wonderful film about a permaculture farm in Australia, which makes my wee plot rather pale into insignificance!
Today started with bacon, which made a lovely change from cornflakes and apple and got me ready for the days first session, which was Richard Heinberg, who was amazing and really drew every thing together by telling us what positions that we’re in and how much longer we can go on for like this (as in the oil dependent lifestyle), basically we can’t.
Today was quite a relaxed day and mainly comprised sleep, in or out of talks. The day started off to another bowl of the ever-neutralising apple and cornflakes bathed in milk. We then headed to the first session where this dude was talking about community owned sustainable energy systems, yep pretty break through stuff, whoop whoop whoop.
Here is something you might enjoy. I am often asked what students from the Kinsale permaculture course have done in their post-course lives. Did they go off and set up hemp building companies or become comfrey millionaires, or did a career in telesales beckon? It is hard to keep tabs on where people go and what they do (although I often hear rumours of great projects), although the Permies Portal site set up by students, a kind of PermiesReunited, is a great resource for that. I do know though what Nadia Hillman, now resident of Bristol is doing, and its rather wonderful. Have a look at the film below, about her project, Grofun.
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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The final day started with the final session of workshops. There were sessions on funding, ESCOs, transport, training, avoiding burnout and Transition Universities. I co-presented one with Adrienne Campbell from Transition Town Lewes, sharing our experiences so far with developing Energy Descent Pathways. It was a very useful look at how the thinking is going on this process which is a key aspect of the work of Transition Initiatives. It also included a very powerful activity led by Adrienne, which was used to help people develop a sense of what visioning is. 
