Transition Movement: Ordinary folks busy building communities

No 2 Posted by fw, March 28, 2010

The unidentified young woman in the photo is captured in mid-sentence as she tells her story about creating an allotment garden in Bristol, England with her chums in an absolutely delightful 3:27-minute video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C13bCNXeuas

As she puts it, “Whether we know which bit of the science or the figures of peak oil is true, and when the date might be, and when the changes might start really biting . . . and whether we know how accurate the science is of climate change and whether it’s even possible to rescue the situation we’re in, for me the key to all of this is building community.

The whole climate change thing and peak oil, when you really delve into it, the more you delve in the more overwhelmed you get. If you’re sitting as an individual at home with all of that, that’s a bit hard to take. But if you kind of look at community building and there’s more of you, you’re taking action and trying meetings  . . . no matter what happens, I now have a group of people I know, I like, I can trust, I know it’s going to work . . . together with me, trying to find solutions.”

This charming creature, who describes herself as a “no-dig girl”, will narrate her way into your heart. She and her mates are members of the Transition Network. Founded in the UK in 2006, it’s role is to inspire, encourage, connect, support and train communities around the world as they self-organize around the transition model, creating initiatives that rebuild resilience and reduce CO2 emissions.  http://www.transitionnetwork.org

Turning to the video clip itself, it’s part of a larger documentary project, The Journey, dedicated to finding and filming “inspiring ideas and projects over a wide spectrum of individuals and cultures, whilst examining our ability to reform our ideals, and our lifestyle in order to make positive changes for our planet and the human race.” The journey-men and –women who travel the globe in search of these stories are equipped only with minimal filming gear and personal possessions. They observe, question, learn and document their experiences. It is an organic process that grows, evolves and takes its own direction. With no planned route, nor pre-determined destination, they believe they will connect with the right people and places at the right time to film, aid and guide them to the next location. The project is currently filming and traveling through the U.K. As the project travels, short films are uploaded that can be viewed on YouTube and other networking websites. The long-term aim is to create a feature-length film for free public viewing.

The hope is that “this project will touch and inspire people, by conveying the beauty within human nature and our world and resonating what is actually possible, when it comes it comes to our ability to change the world for the better.” You can follow The Journey at www.the-journey.tv or on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Journey/81206620786

Stay tuned for future posts about Transition Movement developments in Ontario.

RELATED LINKS

• I first came across the Bristol allotment story at the Transition Culture website http://transitionculture.org/2010/03/25/transition-bs3-in-bristol-start-their-new-allotment/, which also provides access to the film clip. Transition Culture is the personal blog of Rob Hopkins, a principal founding member of the Transition Network.
• If you know of an inspiring story and want to get involved with The Journey project, email info@the-journey.tv