transition comes to town
Monday night Jude and I joined 100 or so other island residents to consider a
transition strategy. This is a world-wide movement, started in Ireland, to help
communities prepare for the current and looming problems associated with
food security , Peak Oil, and climate change. It’s based on the principles of
permaculture, the designing of human activities and agricultural systems
around natural ecological models.
One of the key reasons Jude and I moved to Canada was to find some acreage on
which we could do this. We had read a bit about permaculture, but hadn’t heard
yet about the transition movement. It didn’t matter because one of the ideals of
permaculture is to observe and learn your immediate environment before making
any changes.
Since we couldn’t think long-term anyway until we got our permanent residency,
we used that 3+ years to renovate the house in case we had to sell it and move back
to the states. We did install the micro-hydro/solar system during that time, but
only because we needed electricity to watch Stewart/Colbert.
The essential pillars of a transition strategy are energy self-sufficiency, food
security, financial stability and social rebalance. A different person spoke about
each pillar. Our very own Em spoke about food security. If you check the link on
her name, you’ll see a fellow named Derek in the photo below the one of her, Sonia
and Jane. Derek spoke about energy self-sufficiency.
Although the transition movement originated with towns in mind, we’ll approach
it here island-wide. There are about 2700 hardy souls spread throughout the
island. We have three villages and a few isolated pockets of individuals like our
neighbourhood of 50 or so.
The meeting was started by Phil, who helms a biweekly publication that ably
chronicles island happenings and provides a forum for public opinions on our
most pressing issues. Phil asked the group some provocative questions: What
would happen to us if the ferry stopped sailing? How would we survive?
The island residents are a creative, free-thinking lot. I believe that comes with the
territory, especially when that territory is a small area with very distinctive boun-
daries. Jude and I were immediately drawn to the independent spirit of the folks
here. The meeting tapped into an immense community interest in self-reliance
and an immense frustration with the failure of government to address the urgent,
daunting problems the province/nation/world faces.
Derek has an engineering background. He spoke about sustainable transportation.
As we were breaking into smaller groups, I told him I was particularly interested
in bio-fuels and had some resources that could help set up something.
Many other ideas filled the air, and I felt a strong organic energy in the room. If we
can tap into that, we’re on our way. Jude and I are very excited about all this, and I
plan on keeping you right in the middle of it.
