Think the Earth

Back to Table of Contents What is Transition Town?

Many of you may have heard of Ecovillage. Ecovillage encompasses a great range of activities, from communes that cultivate new communities to establish self-sufficiency within the region, building communities around eco housing that reduces environmental impact as much as possible, to building collective houses. What all these activities have in common is that they attempt to establish a completely new community from ground zero. Although this provides an opportunity to develop an idealistic community, you have to build houses, farms, and the structure for collectives from scratch, so it requires a vast amount of energy and time.

In a nutshell, Transition Town is a movement that transforms existing regions (towns and cities) into an Ecovillage. The word, transition, evokes a sense of "change," a "shift." But what are we transitioning from and to? In this respect, the transition is from "a vulnerable society that is completely and heavily dependent on cheap fossil fuels" to "a resilient, robust society that is regionally based." Having said that, it is not as though Transition Town and its initiatives advocate a special social organization or ideology. As expected, the shape of the society that lies beyond the transition will differ from region to region, and you can "think about what it will be like as you take action." This is the thinking that underlies the Transition Initiative. If we describe Ecovillage as being initiatives that are objective-oriented, that plunges forward in pursuit of an ideal society, perhaps we can describe Transition Town as initiatives that are process-oriented, that value the processes.

Needless to say, we aspire to create a low carbon society. But what do we need to bring this into fruition? Believe it or not, we already have many of the necessary solutions and technologies. Local production for local consumption employing organic farming, permaculture, and natural farming methods; energy self-sufficiency using biomass energy, solar and wind power generation; streamlining transportation with community transportation, car sharing, rental cycles, etc.; eco construction that is health friendly and has little environmental impact; developing eating habits that incorporate a greater proportion of fresh vegetables; the importance of moving our hands and bodies, such as by farming - as you can see, we already have more than enough vocabulary to carry on a discussion about low carbon societies. What were lacking, and thus precluded us from combining and using the means described above well, were the consent of and the cooperation amongst the people in the community. This is where the Transition Initiative comes in; they serve as a catalyst that bridges together the various individual initiatives.

Back to Table of Contents How the Transition Town Totnes began

The transition activities began in the autumn of 2005 in Totnes, a small town located in the country of Devon in South West England. Although Transition Initiative began in this small town with a population of 8,000 people, in just about 3 and half years, it spread across United Kingdom, and on to numerous other regions such as Europe, United States, and Asia. Currently, it is said that there are 170 towns that have been officially designated as Transition Towns and 1,000 cities are said to be making preparations to join the ranks. But why has the Transition Initiative caught fire, resonating with a great number of people across the world in such a short time?

It is not as though Totnes, the first Transition Town, which has produced great results in 3 years, went under a great visible transformation. In other words, people didn't follow in its footsteps because they thought that Transition Town Totnes was an interesting and appealing case example. So why have the activities resonated with so many people and why are so many towns ready to make this transition? One of the reasons may be that the "process" of making the transition is "fun." The process defined states that we must remain tuned in to the circumstances of the town, while effectively utilizing its unique resources. This process involves 12 steps, but let us first take a look at the key characteristics of the Transition Initiative.

• Aspire to develop fundamental and comprehensive countermeasures that address both Peak oil and climate change issues
• Focus on the region
• Bring out the creativity, adaptability, and solidarity of the people of the region
• Maximize resources that are present in the region and organically combine such resources
• Strike a balance between the "3Hs" - the head, heart, and hands
• Envision a better future, believe that it is attainable, and have fun in the process

Every element is important, but the most attractive aspect of the Transition Initiative may be the last point - "Envision a better future, believe that it is attainable, and have fun in the process." Although we may want to help society make the shift towards the better, we may become burned out in the process. Rather than clenching our teeth and running the risk of becoming burned out, we should all cooperate and have fun. Let us not act from "the fear of what our futures may become," but act to "bring the future we have envisioned to life." This positive thinking is what is great about the Transition Initiative.

What is also important is "striking a balance between the '3Hs' - the head, heart, and hands." We should not merely just think about it in our heads. We should move our bodies, acquire the skills necessary to live, and also pay attention to our hearts. Indeed, the Transition Initiative provides measures to ensure that the core members of the initiative do not become burned out.

Mr. Rob Hopkins is the founder of the Transition Initiative. As he has pledged that he would not use airplanes, he participated in the Ecovillage Conference held in Tokyo at the end of April by video.

Back to Table of Contents 12 steps to make the transition

12 steps
Step 1: Set up a steering group and design its demise from the outset
Step 2: Awareness raising
Step 3: Lay the foundations
Step 4: Organize a great unleashing
Step 5: Form sub groups
Step 6: Use open space
Step 7: Develop visible practical manifestations of the project
Step 8: Facilitate the great reskilling
Step 9: Build a bridge to local government
Step 10: Honor the elders
Step 11: Let it go where it wants to go
Step 12: Create an energy descent plan

Steps 1 through 5 comprise the initial stage, and steps 6 through 10 comprise the growth stage. And step 11 helps get you in the right frame of mind, while step 12 is the final destination. Mr. Rob Hopkins may not have developed all these individual steps, but his philosophy is very much reflected in every one of them. This also reminds us that he is a lecturer on permaculture and a specialist on natural architecture. As each element has a wide range of functions and is supported by various other elements, it seems as though the principle, which values diversity and makes the most of natural patterns, have been applied to a social movement.

Of course these 12 steps need not be undertaken in order. They only serve as guidelines, so you can proceed as you best see fit. (Currently there is a move to do away with these 12 steps, but I included them in this report because I thought it would be helpful in understanding what the Transition Initiative was about).

A flyer, which introduces numerous events held in Totnes in December 2006. The main event is the unveiling of the Transition Initiative. Many other lectures and seminars were also held.

Back to Table of Contents Peak oil

The Transition Initiative attempts to address both climate change and peak oil issues. Peak oil refers to the point in time when the amount of petroleum extraction from the oilfields currently known reaches peak production. This may give you the impression that we still have half way to go, but once the oilfields reach their peak production, extraction becomes more laborious, and the quality of the crude oil worsens. In other words, it will be more and more difficult to obtain crude oil at prices that are cheaper than water as we do now.

Needless to say, civilization in the 20th century has been founded upon mass consumption of crude oil, but this was because crude oil was cheap. The movie, "The End of Suburbia," which zooms in on the peak oil issue, well captures the subtleties associated with this issue. Taxes are not levied on gasoline in the United States, so you can buy gas there for about 50 yen a liter. That is why fuel intensive American cars could be sold and people could commute by car to their work place, which may be more than 100km away from home. But what would happen if the gas prices rose to 100 yen or 200 yen?

Of course this will not only affect commutes. Gasoline is essential in transporting farm goods and processed foods, and materials such as timber and steel. If we take a look back how it was like when the oil prices soared, we can easily imagine how badly the distribution system would be affected by a sharp rise in crude oil prices. In addition, oil can be "transformed" into various other items, from food, clothing, PET bottles, plastic, to electricity. Its application is extensive; it is used for personal computers, video game consoles, packages of software such as DVDs, and food trays used by supermarkets. Crude oil is used either as a raw material, in manufacturing, for transportation, or in all such processes. Nearly everything is oil-derived or uses oil-derived substances.

If the price of oil doubles or even quadruples, we would suddenly be facing a crisis. It would be such an earth-shaking event. The Transition Initiative attempts to mitigate our dependency on oil and to build a regional-based society, which would not be affected even when we reach our peak oil supply. Needless to say, this would overlap with the movement that focuses on minimizing, as much as possible, the impact of climate change. If each region forges a path towards a low carbon society, enhances its self-sufficiency with respect to food, agriculture, and energy through the Transition Initiative, it is clear as day that CO2 emissions would be also decrease.

Back to Table of Contents Transition Fujino

Fujino, a town blessed with rich forests and lakes, is home to great many artists, who have moved to Fujino seeking nature.

Currently, Fujino is implementing activities as an official Transition Town in Japan and regions such as Hayama, Sagamiko, Kamakura, Zushi, and Takao are making preparations to join the initiative. We spoke with Mr. Hidetake Enomoto, who launched the Transition Initiative in Japan and the initiator of Transition Fujino.

Mr. Enomoto introduced the Transition Initiative at the Ecovillage Conference as the representative of Transition Japan.

"I first heard about Transition Town in November 2007 while I was living in Findhorn, an Ecovillage in Scotland. I was very intrigued by the speech made by Mr. Rob Hopkins, who had been invited to speak at the 'Be the Change Conference' held in London. It was also the first time I learned about the peak oil issue and I was shocked by the gravity of the situation. I learned, however, that Transition was one way to help resolve such issue.

I was particularly intrigued when I heard that the Transition Initiative encompasses region-based activities and utilizes the strengths of the local community. It was based on the idea that by bringing out the power of each citizen in the community, we may enable to tackle systematic problems the human civilization faces. Another point I found interesting was that the Transition Initiative lets you work with a positive image about the future. It is important to face up to the problems, but we should not act from "fear" for the bleak future that could descend upon us. A future without crude oil could be a richer, more resplendent era. So the idea is to not fear the onset of peak oil, rather consider it a great opportunity to make the shift towards a "richer, better world."

Another fact that made the concept more associable to us was that Mr. Rob Hopkins was a lecturer on permaculture and natural architecture. The Transition Initiative is also based on permaculture in some ways. The key word here is "ties." Although ties cannot be seen, they certainly do exist. The idea here is to use such ties to build cities. I thought that the Transition Initiative serves as a catalyst for bringing together diverse people and carious resources of the town."

Fujino is a town in Kanagawa prefecture with a population of approximately 10,000. It became part of Sagamihara city in 2007 but the autonomous region will be present until March 2011. It is well known for its rich forests, lakes, and for its art, and numerous artists have migrated there. Also, the Permaculture Center Japan is located in the area, thus it is considered the home of the permaculture movement. Moreover, the Steiner School was opened about 3 years ago. It can be said that Fujino is a region where people with an alternative cultural background reside.

"The Transition Initiative in Fujino began with 3 core members, who are relatively new residents who have only lived in the region for less than 10 years. They visited old residents as well as organizations and individuals involved in regional activities to gain their understanding and support. The core members also asked former executives of the town hall to get influential people together and made presentations. Being new residents, we were worried that the old residents may reject our new proposal. However, they listened to us with an open mind and even began telling us how they would like to change their region. I was very pleased, and felt glad to have moved to this region." (Mr. Hidetake Enomoto)

A scene from the "heart and soul" workshop held jointly with Transition Sagamiko. Transition Initiative not only places emphasis on visible activities necessary in realizing a low carbon society. It also focuses on "inner transition," in other words, changes in the meaning of life and sense of values. In Transition Fujino there are also workshops on renewable energy and preserved foods, and planning or operational meetings on such activities are held at the beginning of March and April. This is representative of the spirits of the people of Fujino who value a lifestyle in which they can remain tuned in to nature and the changes in the seasons.

Back to Table of Contents Transition Hayama

Hayama is also known as a region where many artists live. Moreover, there are many people who have moved to Hayama from other regions because they fell in love with Hayama's environment. You could say that Hayama is a region that leads the way in eco consciousness. It is here in Hayama that a proposal was made to carve out recreation trails. Mr. Shunro Yoshida from Transition Hayama is one of the people who spoke out against the construction of such trails.

Mr. Shunro Yoshida from Transition Hayama. Realizing that it wasn't his true calling, he left the company he had been working for in 2008. He is trying to hack out a "way of living" in Hayama he could feel satisfied with.

"The mayoral elections had just ended, and I was just thinking that it would be great if I could turn Hayama into an Ecovillage. Shortly after, in March, I was invited to go to Findhorn by Mr. Enomoto. That is when I listened to Mr. Rob Hopkins' lecture and learned about Transition Town. I knew that I just had to try it in Hayama. Hayama has great seafood and because it is blessed with mountains covered in dense forests, it can also count on food from the mountains. Artists have been moving to Hayama since 30 years ago. There are also a great many number of people who love the region and its environment. As soon as I returned to Hayama in May, I conducted three orientation meetings. Many people from Hayama, Zushi, Kamakura, etc. came to the meetings. And I have been actively taking part in environmental events, rice reaping, harvest festivals, and river clean up activities among other events to establish a great relationship with other entities. Moreover, we also created a market where farmers can sell their produce directly to promote local production for local consumption. Although at the moment we only offer a limited range of products, someday soon we hope to also offer fishes caught by local fishermen." (Mr. Shunro Yoshida)

A photograph of a Transition Hayama event, "A look back at the good old days of Hayama." This event offered an opportunity to learn about how people lived and what they ate from the elders of the community.

"Shiro-san," a famous fisherman in Hayama. Although he is quite jovial usually, he spoke to the people gathered in a very compelling voice. "Because the catch in Hayama is quite small, the Tsukiji fish market won't take us seriously. I want the people in Hayama to enjoy the fishes in Hayama. As a fisherman, this would give me greater joy." Perhaps the Transition Initiative has the power to make this wish come true.

A photograph from the Transition Hayama's event, "Bun Bun Tsushin (Communication) Vol. 1." In response to the movement against nuclear power plant in Iwashima, the event called on people to think about the energy issue.

A global cafe style meeting. Transition Town places importance on holding creative meetings and drawing out "collective wisdom" by also incorporating methods used in the business environment such as open space technology.

The meetings become more fun and enjoyable with coffee and homemade foods.

A local market where farmers can sell direct to local consumers built by Transition Hayama with the cooperation of the local people.

The Transition Hayama team's farm. Employing permaculture and natural farming methods, they grow a great variety of crops.

Back to Table of Contents Huge movement that makes use of diversity

I hope I was able to give you an idea of how the Transition Initiative instantaneously draws many people in. Social and environmental movements in the past have begun when people shared the same vision and sense of purpose, however, with the Transition Initiative all you need is a shared awareness about peak oil, and to realize a low carbon society to overcome this issue. Other than that you are free to uphold any ideology or philosophy.

Another key feature is that it is a regional initiative. Issues such as food and energy had been national level issues addressed by the government. However, it is true that this thinking has lead to superfluous centralization of power. The farther we transport food and energy, the more petroleum we consume. It would be ideal if we could produce and consume both food and energy locally. Creating such a mechanism before the national and local governments get into gear. This is also true for education and social welfare. And even the way businesses are run may be localized. Everything rests on each and every citizens' self-motivation and creativity.

Casting off the roles imposed upon us by a great wave of "labor" and "consumption," and thinking as an individual citizen, and acting in cooperation with the local people. And resolve big issues not with the wisdom of a single individual, but with creativity using collective wisdom. An individual, Mr. Rob Hopkins, began the Transition Initiative, but he only built the scheme. It is each citizen in the region who puts it into action. You can simply start by talking to people who live in the region, who you get along with "about how you want to change the region you live in." Why not begin Transition Town activities in your town?

Meeting among the members of Transition Town Takao, which has just begun its activities. It brings people who live in the same region great joy to be able to get together and talk about the future of the region.

For more information about Transition Town please see:

Transition Towns WIKI
http://transitiontowns.org/

Kato Hisato Biography
Born in Tokyo in 1957. Graduated with a degree in French Literature, from the College of Arts, Rikkyo University. President of Basho House. Publishes books on the environment, energy, climate change, recycling, localization, etc. Member of the board of NPO Natsukashii Mirai (Nostalgic Future). Author of "ecoyomi 3."