1. Starting out
This first stage takes you from Transition being just an idea or an aspiration to its being something that is under way with a good chance of success.
Adding stages to your blog posts
By Ed Mitchell 12th October 2011
We are about to launch an entire set of ‘Transition ingredients’ which will be handy ‘ingredients’ for groups doing things on the ground. They form about 4/5 of the new book, and are organised into ‘stages’ based on an initiative’s evolution (not perfect as ingredients get used at all sorts of times, but we’ll make it more sophisticated in later versions).
You will see the reference to ‘stage’ when you write a blog post – this is what it’s about. At the end of this month, when we launch the book and publish all the ingredients on the site, people will be able to choose what stage they would like to get support for, and see all sorts of things related to each stage (ingredients, tools, resources, and stories).
So if your story is about starting up, the correct stage would be ‘starting’. If it’s about something a bit further along the line, it might be deepening. It’s not an exact science, and I’m aware that we’re asking you to refer to things that don’t exist in the public domain yet, but if you could think about this when blogging, it would be great!
The stages are:
2. Deepening
Your Transition initiative will build momentum and practical projects will start to emerge. You may have to design for the sustaining of the organisation and the deepening of its work, broadening its engagement across the community and being more efficient and effective. This set of ingredients and tools relates to what seem to be key elements of this stage. They explore the need to consider the sustainability of your initiative, for practical ‘outer’ Transition work, and also its ‘inner’ aspects.
3. Connecting
It is often said that the scale of a proper response to peak oil and climate change would be akin to the preparations for World War Two. Every aspect of our lives needs to turn on a sixpence, in a coordinated and effective way. The ingredients in this section explore how Transition initiatives can play a part in that process, and take Transition to a wider audience.
4. Building
Transition groups aim ultimately to catalyse the localisation of their local economy. They strive to move from running small community projects to thinking and acting much bigger. New skills and ways of thinking will lead Transition initiatives to become social enterprises, such as becoming developers, banks, energy companies and so on. This approach often challenges those traditionally involved in community environmental issues, but is vital for big results. The ingredients in this section explore aspects of this step up.
5. Daring to dream
The old saying ‘Think global, act local’ is still relevant. The ingredients in this section imagine the stepping up of Transition thinking to the national stage – imagining what it might look like if every settlement had vibrant Transition initiatives setting up food networks, energy companies, growing food everywhere and catalysing a new culture of social enterprise . . .