The Transition Movement is comprised of vibrant, grassroots community initiatives that seek to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. Transition Initiatives differentiate themselves from other sustainability and "environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning to increase local self reliance and resilience. They succeed by regeneratively using their local assets, innovating, networking, collaborating, replicating proven strategies, and respecting the deep patterns of nature and diverse cultures in their place. Transition Initiatives work with deliberation and good cheer to create a fulfilling and inspiring local way of life that can withstand the shocks of rapidly shifting global systems.

It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: How can our community respond to the challenges and opportunities of peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis? This small team of people begin by forming an initiating group and then adopt the Transition Model with the intention of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to kick off a Transition Initiative. They start working together to address this BIG question:

"For all those aspects of life that our community needs in order to sustain

itself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience (in response

to peak oil), drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change)

and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)?”

To begin with, it is important to note that although the term “Transition Town” has stuck, what we are talking about are Transition Cities, Transition Islands, Transition Hamlets, Transition Valleys, Transition Anywhere-You-Find-People.

The Transition Model, as outlined in the Transition Handbook, provides a framework which includes the following:

During the process the community recognizes these two crucial points:

That we used immense amounts of creativity, ingenuity and adaptability on the way up the energy upslope, and there's no reason for us not to do the same on the downslope.

If we collectively plan and act early enough, we can create a way of living that's significantly more connected, more vibrant and more fulfilling than the one we find ourselves in today.

Transition Initiatives make no claim to have all the answers, but by building on the wisdom of the past and unlocking the creative genius, skills and determination in our communities, the solutions can emerge.

Now is the time for us to take stock and to start re-creating our future in ways that are not based on cheap, plentiful and polluting oil but on localized food, sustainable energy sources, resilient local economies and an enlivened sense of community well-being.

Learn more about why we see the Transition Movement as being so important =>