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The following is a precis of the 63 Patterns in the forthcoming Transition Pattern Language. There is an on-line version of the Patterns as part of the 2010 Transition Conference booklet which you can download as a PDF. There will also be an interactive on-line directory shortly on http://www.transitionnetwork.org/.
Meanwhile at the recent Transition Suffolk meeting we discussed working with these Patterns and exchanging our experiences with them. In this way we felt we could hold all these Patterns in common (rather than struggling to do all of them on our own).
Do use this on-line space to catalogue and showcase your initiative’s patterns. These can be reports or reflections, photo-essays, short and pithy paras or longer philsophical pieces. Feel free to comment and respond to others too!
Set One - What we Start With – Skills and Qualities
1.1. Post Petroleum Stress Disorder awareness of peak oil and climate change - sharing and weathering those End of Suburbia moment feelings
1.2 Critical Thinking the ability to assimilatie and dessiminate intellectual and scientific knowledge - learning the Transition language from climate science to economic structures1.3 Understanding Scale Deciding what size neighbourhood the initiative should cover
1.4 Thinking Like A Designer thinking in terms of possiblity and systems e.g. permaculture
1.6 How Others See Us/How We Communicate being aware of how you communicate Transition
1.7 Civility/Manners How we communicate with each other – agreement to have non-aggressive communications and give positive feedback
1.8 Standing Up To Speak How we speak out what we know.
Wholefood Co-op, Transition Circle, Norwich
Set Two Starting Up An Initiative
2.2 Inclusion/Diversity Going out and meeting/ listening to the community, finding out what its strengths and concerns are
2.3 Transition Training weekend intensivecourse run by the Transition Network to help inititatives get started - covers both the inner and outer aspects of Transitiion, including key information about peak oil and climate change
2.4 Running Successful Meetings One of the principle arts of Transition – making agreements with facilitation and structure so everyone is heard and valued
2.5 Visioning Process whereby communities and inititives can see forward into the future and create the structures necessary for a post-oil world
2.6 Becoming a Formal Organisation Finding a structure that suits your initiative and makes funding possible
2.7 Arts and Creativity Creating the culture of Transition - an essential ingredient of all events
2.8 Awareness Raising Bringing climate change and peak oil to the attention of the community – holding a positive vision for the future – providing throught-provoking and imaginative events where people can meet each other and discuss issues
2.9 Communications with the Media Making links with the local press, radio and television – learning how to write press releases and selecting spokespeople for the initiative
2.10 Forming Working Groups Small interest groups around a specific subject or project, who can take things forward independantly of the steering group
2.11 Building Strategic Partnerships Making links with organisations whose objectives run parallel with Transition (events, funding, speakers)
2.12 The Project Support concept catalysing, inspiring and enabling other local projects to flourish, lending assistance from publicity and administration to sense of common purpose
Making Hives for the Bungay Community Beehives; Transition Circle cake
Set Three Deepening and Broadening
3.1 Transition Towers –having an office or not Deciding how to run the initiative from a dedicated space (that could also be a meeting place, library, café . . .)
3.2 Volunteers Making sure volunteers from outside the initiative involved in any project or event have a rewarding time
3.3 Financing Your Work Going beyond self-financing – locating funding and sponsorship - making projects economically sustainable and planning for the future
3.4 Celebrating Celebrating the small and large achievements – anniversary parties, shared meals
3.5 Emotional Support/Avoiding Burnout Creating small self-organising support groups – making sure responsibility for the initiative is shared - having time for rest and recuperation
3.6 Momentum Making sure the initiative keeps focussed and moving forwards
3.7 Celebrate Failure (and Success) Making sure everything is celebrated (even the things that don’t work out)
3.8 Gathering Feedback (how are we doing?) Making time to reflect on the progress and shortcomings of the group
3.9 Practical Manifestations Making sure there are visible manifestations of your initiative at an early stage (and you are not just a talking shop)
3.10 Local Food initiatives Engaging in food-related projects - starting up community orchards, garden-share, CSAs - getting involved with local school gardens and farmer's markets
3.13 Ensuring Land Access Finding land that can be used for growing food for communities – garden shares
3.14 Unleashings A bold and inspirational celebration of an initiative’s presence in the community - an event that marks the beginning of Transition
3.15 Conflict Resolution Dealing with difficulties between people – making sure everyone is heard and decisions are clearly agreed upon – bringing in outside help if necessary
Halesworth in Transition preparing their Upscaling Bag project; Transition East Regional Gathering Downham Market March '09
Set 4 Outreach
4.1 Transition Together/Transition Circles Personal carbon reduction in the areas of home energy, transport, food, waste and “stuff” – bringing awareness of climate change and peak oil on a street level
4.2 Form Networks of Transition initiatives Connecting with other initiatives in the region to share resources, skills and experience – organising gatherings so local Transition groups can meet and exchange ideas
4.3 Becoming the Media Using available technology to create stories about what is happening in your Transition group (blogs, making Youtubes) - writing for Transition Network newsletter4.4 Engaging the Council Exploring ways of interacting with your local authority in a constructive manner e.g. how the initiative can feed into Council policymaking
4.5 Energy Resilience Assessment A tool developed by Transition Training and Consulting that determines the degree of oil vulnerability and business resilience for local businesses
4.6 Community Brainstorming Tools Holding open space and world café sessions to enable people to find solutions to the problems facing their town or community
4.7 Oral Histories finding ways for elders and others to tell their stories about the bio-region –organising events so knowledge from the “living library” can be expressed and handed down
4.8 Engaging Local Landowners involving people who own or manage surrounding areas – rebuilding relationships between local communities and their hinterland
4.9 Engaging Young People giving children a voice in Transiton – involving local school and youth groups in community and Transition activities (including your own!)
4.10 Engaging Schools (training teachers) work with local schools – classes in visioning the future and reconnection with the local area - reskilling
4.11 Meaningful Maps creating maps that engage and inform people about the shifts Transition will make in their neighbourhood – from transport schemes to community orchards
4.13 The Role of Storytelling Telling stories that tell us what a future might be like if we respond creatively to peak oil and climate change – stories from the past that inform us about a low-energy resilient world
4.14 Networks and Partnerships Collaborating with existing groups in your area – organising events and projects together
Transition Circle discussing Resilience and Community; Transition Cambridge storytelling team during a Creative Partnerships/Transition Norwich Peak Oil class
Set Five The Bigger Picture
5.1 Energy Descent Action Plans Designing an engaging and research-based community process for a practical and coherent vision for a lower-energy future – a route map of what Transition will look like so the initiative and the community can plan ahead
5.2 Social Entrepreneurship Finding avenues in the local area for businsses enterprises in line with Transition principles – providing training and events to help this happen5.3 Scaling Up Ensuring you have a strong organisational stucture to evolve the initiative – broadening the initiative’s impact
5.4 Community Renewable Energy Companies Making renewable energy owned and managed by the local community (as opposed to distant organisations)
5.5 Strategic Local Infrastructure Reinstalling local infrastrucutre e.g. mills that are economically viable and supported by the community (as directed by the EDAP)
5.6 Strategies for Plugging the Leaks Making schemes which keep money circulating in the local area – developing projects and strategies that link goods and services – exploring timebanks, local currencies, Credit Unions
5.7 Intermediate Technologies exploring low-tech solutions which can be sourced and repaired locally (as well as bringing social benefit to the local area)
5.8 Community Ownership of Assets Engaging in ways the community can have ownership of land and renewable energy and food production
5.9 Community Supported Agriculture/Farms/Bakeries etc Owning shares in local farms or setting up a community farm – increasing relationship between the community and local farmers
5.10 Strategic Thinking considering the infrastructure for relocalisation of power and food production- strategic underpinning to stimulate social enterprises
The Bro Dyfi project which inspired the Transiton Ipswich community wind turbine
Set Six National Policy Making
6.1 Policies for Transition (the role of politics) Working to change the cultural story on a national and political level – influencing policy making to bring about a sustainable world
6.2 Peak Oil Resolutions Lobbying your local and regional council to pass a peak oil resolution– Transition Training for key staff
Transition government - the 2010 Conference
