Transition Culture

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.

Archive for “General” category

Showing results 211 - 215 of 506 for the category: General.


15 May 2010

Exclusive Interview: Chris Johnstone on Inspiration, Finding Your Power and Transition

findyourpowercoverChris Johnstone‘s ‘Find Your Power’ has just been revised and republished, this time by Permanent Publications.  ‘Find Your Power’ is a book that many people involved in Transition initiatives have found very useful.  Chris is a medical doctor, an addictions specialist and an empowerment coach.  He has pioneered the application of positive psychology within the NHS, and is renowned for his workshops and his talks to Transition groups.  An interview with Chris was a key feature of the ‘Heart’ section of the Transition Handbook, and so, to celebrate the new edition of ‘Find Your Power’, I interviewed Chris about the book and some wider themes that it covers. 

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Discussion: 12 Comments

Categories: General


14 May 2010

Situation Vacant: Transition in Action Project Manager (Totnes based)

totnesedapcover1This is a new position of significant responsibility and profile to enable Transition Town Totnes to successfully navigate new terrain and expand its reach and impact through starting the process of implementing its recently launched Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP).  This is a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial individual of proven professional management capability, ideally with experience of social enterprise creation and community engagement.  Job share arrangements would be considered if the right complement of skills and experience are matched.

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28 Apr 2010

How the Totnes Energy Descent Action Plan Came To Be…

totnesedapcover2As we sit, expecting 1.5 tonnes of Energy Descent Plan to arrive at the TTT office next week, and are nervously wondering if the floor joists of our listed hundreds-of-years-old office (once described in the Sunday Telegraph as a ‘rickety set of rooms) will take the weight, or whether the opticians below will find themselves flattened by lath, plaster and EDAPs, it feels as though we are reaching the finishing line of a marathon.  This is a process that began in September 2008 with a launch event, and now, 19 months later, we are done.  Tomorrow I’ll reflect on the process, but for today, here is how it came to be.

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27 Apr 2010

May 7th: Launching the Totnes and District Energy Descent Action Plan!

edaplaunchposterThe long awaited launch of the Totnes and District Energy Descent Action Plan will take place on Friday 7th May 2010 in the centre of town. Over the next few days I will be posting more about the Plan, a labour of love for the last year and a half, which has emerged as a quite extraordinary piece of work.  You can now pre-order copies here.  The official launch of the Plan will be on Friday May 7th, the day after the Election.  Shoppers at the Friday market will be given some tasters of energy descent in colourful and musical spectacle as a parade of enthusiasts carrying pledges weave their way from TTT’s office in Fore Street up to the market and through the stalls at noon. The book will be on sale and a film loop of how the EDAP was created will be on show in adjoining venues during the afternoon. At 5pm there will be a formal launch with local advocates, book signing and cutting the cake in Totnes Civic Hall. All are welcome.  Keep up with developments here.

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21 Apr 2010

Reflections on Eyjafjallajokull: Let’s Not Waste Another Wake-up Call

volcanoLast week none of us had ever heard of an Icelandic volcano called Eyjafjallajokull, and still even now, very few of us can actually pronounce its name.  The volcanic dust spewn forth across Europe as a result of its spectacular eruption has had a remarkable effect, leading to, among other things, the total grounding of the UK’s aviation fleet for several days until this morning.  The headline on Metro, the free newspaper the person next to me on the train is reading as I write this, is “Fly, fly again”.  It will take days to clear the backlog and to get things back to normal, but let us not pass up this opportunity to meditate on vulnerability and resilience, which led to major disruption to the air freighting of produce from Kenya and other places, thousands of people stuck in their Easter holiday destinations, and Liverpool Football Club having to travel to its Europa League fixture with Athletico Madrid on public transport .  But perhaps rather than seeing it as the ‘misery’ most news broadcasts labelled it as, we might see it as good practice for the near future.

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