Hyperlocavore - Book Club 12/02/09 The Transition Handbook - Preliminary

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Help Hyperlocavore and Your Local Book Shop - by the Book via Indie...

Welcome everyone!

First let me say I am so very glad you are here and participating! Before we get started on the book itself, I have some questions for folks. Don't feel like you need to answer all of them. I am just hoping to create a space for all of use to get to know each other a little bit!

In no particular order:

Some questions I have for folks participating:

1. Is this the first book you've read that covers "peak oil."
2. How did you come to hyperlocavore? (Interest in gardening, localist movement...other)
3. What is your current stance / feeling at the state of the world? (Optimist, Pessimist, Anxious, Enthusiastic, Fearless, Fearful.... or whatever terms make sense to you.)
4. Did you grow up in a real community or an alienated non-community (or somewhere in between)
5. Are you surrounded by an extended family and large group of 'chosen family.'
6. Where would you like to be in 5 years?

As interesting as I think politics are - I am hoping that you will consider answering the questions without ideology or politics to whatever degree possible. There will be time for all that.

December 7 - Introduction and Chapter 1
December 14 - Chapter 2 - The View From the Mountaintop
Dec 21 - Jan 3 - Holiday break (my apologies for the overlap with Hannukah)
Jan 4 - Chapter 3 and 4 and 5- Why Rebuilding Resilience is as Important as Cutting Carbon Emissions + Why Small is Inevitable + Post Petroluem Stress Disorder
Jan 11 - Chapters 6 and 7 and 8 Understanding the Psychology of Change, Harnessing the Power of Positive Vision, A Vision for 2030.
Jan 18 - Chapters 9, 10, - Kinsale A First Attempt at Community Visioning, The Transition Concept
January 25 Chapter 11 and 12 - How to start a Transition Initiative and The First Year of Transition Totnes
Febuary 1 Last chapters and wrap up - Some Manifestations of Totnes Transition, Viral Spread of the Transition Concept, Closing Thoughts



I am curious mostly about how everyone is feeling these days...

I will have more questions to draw out the discussion. These are just so that people who are participating will get to know where we are all coming from....

Happy Digging!
LizM

[Maureen]

1. Not really. I just finished 'Depletion and Abundance' and she touches on pretty much everything we may be running out of, including oil.
2. I came to Hyperlocavore because we started gardening in our neighbors yard and wanted to see how others were handling the situation.
3. I'm more worried than I think I should be. As a Christian I do believe the future is in God's hands but I also think he has entrusted us to take care of the earth in a responsible manner and we are failing miserably. I worry about my children's future more than my own.
4. My dad was in the Navy so I grew up in a lot of different communities but I always thought that I would some day live on a farm and grow food and raise animals. We now live in a small town, have a front yard garden and keep chickens....so I'm sort of living the dream :)
5. Both. I come from a family of 7 kids who are nearby and across the country...we visit each other as often as possible. Also, since we've started gardening in our wonderful neighbors yard I feel like I've extended my family to include her and her children (and grandchildren).
6. On 2 acres in the country....or exactly where I am right now (only with a much fuller pantry!)

[LizM - Site Moderator]

I love that you are 'living the dream!' - My main problem is I have many dreams in fierce competition with each other...hard to settle on just one! :D Thank you!

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Please jump right in folks - if you're not up to answering the questions - just introduce yourselves and maybe why you're into participating!

[James Martin]

1. Is this the first book you've read that covers "peak oil."

I've read some of Richard Heinberg's writings as well -- and did purchase Transition Handbook, but have not read a lot of it yet.

2. How did you come to hyperlocavore? (Interest in gardening, localist movement...other)

I found it while searching the web for info on relocalization efforts -- related to peak oil and global warming.

3. What is your current stance / feeling at the state of the world? (Optimist, Pessimist, Anxious, Enthusiastic, Fearless, Fearful.... or whatever terms make sense to you.)

Both anxious and enthusiastic. It seems that few people in my community are taking up the Transition approach. And lots of folks look at me with glazed-over eyes when I mention "peak oil". There is some feeling of "alienation".

4. Did you grow up in a real community or an alienated non-community (or somewhere in between)

Somewhere in between -- but, sadly, mostly "alienated".

5. Are you surrounded by an extended family and large group of 'chosen family.'

Yeah, I wish! I have some friends, but overall, I'm the weirdo -- an outlier in my concerns.

6. Where would you like to be in 5 years?

I'd love to live in an ecovillage -- set in a culture which is catching up on these sort of things.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Hey! Thank you! Have you checked out dancingrabbit.org - an ecovillage in the Midwest?

Also - just think of yourself as 'an early adopter' rather than an outlier - that way you are 'forward looking and innovative' rather than 'weird.' ;D

[James Martin]

Yeah, I'm aware of Dancing Rabbit. I've been following the whole ecovillage and "intentional community" movements for a while. The ecovillage movement, in my own opinion, is much under-appreciated, both among the general population and the green movement/s.

One great challenge of the ecovillage movement, I think, is restrictive land use regulations -- which ultimately make it too expensive for newcomers to start up new communities. That's a long story. Perhaps, over time, I will have an opportunity to discuss that issue here. In any case, I think a lot of folks would love to live in an ecovillage -- if they could afford to get started. Land is expensive! Especially land with good food-growing (arable) conditions. Splitting the costs goes some way when the zoning allows higher densities. But it often does not, as many who follow this stuff realize.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Very true! It's daunting! Part of my inspiration for hyperlocavore was the potential of having 'eco village' like settings emerge from work were we are now...

[Nanci Kuykendall]

This is my vision and hope. We did our time on rural land trying to build community without success. We are now in a small, walkable town, working on Neighbornets and building supportive and cooperative connections. Hyperlocavore is only one of those efforts for us. There are two empty homes next to us, and three on the next street over, and we're hoping to get like minded folks in those who will help grow the community and sustainability effort in this area. I think in the near future a project for us will be putting a bench and community bulletin board at the edge of our property, as well as trying to get neighbors to start communicating about neighborhood needs and issues.

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Nanci - If you write a blog post and add some pictures of the area I will be happy to feature the post!

[LizM - Site Moderator]

Here's the new blog post link

http://hyperlocavore.ning.com/profiles/blog/new

[Marilene Richardson]

Hello James,

You can also look at www.ic.org It is a listing of most of the intentional commuities in the country and many abroad. It might be helpful.

In Community,
Marilene

[James Martin]

Thanks, Marilene! I've been reading at www.ic.org / ReachBook, for many years now. Good stuff!