CCSC moving to Transition Towns

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CCSC moving to Transition Towns

By jimw ⋅ May 10, 2009 ⋅

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Tags: Crum Creek, Swarthmore, transition town

Members of Crum Creek Sustainable Community,

On Friday, May 1, we held our monthly membership meeting in Swarthmore Borough Hall. Ten members attended.

I opened the meeting with a proposal to approve a merger between CCSC and the Transition Handbook Reading Group, pending similar approval by the reading group. The groups’ memberships overlap; both have similar interests and goals; and the international and US Transition networks will provide us the support of numerous like-minded groups around the world.

After a brief discussion the meeting approved the proposal to join Transition US and to
“rebrand” CCSC as apart of the Transition network. Transition groups come in four different types. The one that best describes CCSC is the “temporary initiating hub,” which the Transition Primer describes as “a collection of acquainted individuals [who] work with each other to help set up ‘local transition initiatives’ in their home communities.” (Since we come from a number of different communities, it would be difficult for us to constitute one single Transition Initiative.)

Six members of the reading group have already begun work to launch a Transition Initiative in Media. CCSC, as a “temporary initiating hub,” will provide whatever support we can to the Media initiative as well as encouraging the formation of local initiatives in other communities, while continuing our ongoing series of public forms, films, and “reskilling” events.

A brainstorming session followed on what sorts of activities of a “practical” nature we can carry out in addition to promoting Transition and continuing our public forums and films. Gardening projects, experimenting with solar ovens and rechargeable batteries, canning parties, and other activities were suggested.

Jack and Margaret extended an invitation to our group to visit their farm, suggesting that the best time would be after the end of May when they’re less busy. At our next meeting we will try to pick a date for this visit.

Our next meeting is currently scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on June 5. If CCSC and the Transition Handbook group merge as expected, the date and time may need to change to accommodate the combined membership. More on that later.

Best,
Don

Some background:
Since last November, a reading group formed under CCSC’s auspices has been studying “The Transition Handbook,” the how-do guide to the global Transition Towns movement. Many of the book group’s members, though not all, are members of CCSC. As participants in the reading group can attest, the goals of the rapidly growing Transition Towns movement are entirely consistent with the goals we set when we started CCSC. At Friday’s meeting I will propose that CCSC join forces with the members of the reading group and together affiliate with Transition US, the U.S. branch of Transition Towns. If you’re not already acquainted with Transition, I urge you to read some of their introductory materials here: http://www.transitiontowns.org/.

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