Totnes Field Trip Report_LSE

TOTNES TRANSITION TOWN LEARNING

EXPERIENCE – REPORT Geography and Environment Department – 2013

Funded by the LSE -­‐ Annual Fund

Introductory report for inspiration and information.

During 03 days, students from the Geography Department from the London School of Economics, visited and learned about the Transitions Town Movement. This is a report about these days.

Participants: Michelle Arellano, Mukund (Mook) Bangalore, Cristobal Barros, Andrina Beaumond, Daniela Carrion, Herbert De Lima, Dane Erickson, Carolina Figueroa, Philippe Flamand, Christina Gkouvali, Benjamin Greiner, Roger Guiu, Martin Jacobsen, Han Li, Ling-­‐Tuan Liu, Alejandra Lopez-­‐Carbajal, Beatriz Luraschi, Francesca McGrath, Mikaela Rambali, Victor Raynaud, Amanda Rycerz, Julia Sausen, Malia Schroeder, Omar Valencia, Amy Weaving, Karina Watkins Dates of Travel: March 23rd 2013 – March 25th 2013

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Acknowledgements The students of the geography department would like to acknowledge and thanks the LSE ANNUAL FUND for its huge contribution in order to realize this project. Without this help this journey of learning and discovery would never be possible.

We also thankful to everyone who helped us in the organization of this dream: Sam Colegate, Elaine Gascoyne, Hal Gilmore, Sue Weaving, Jo, Jay Tompt, Miles and Gail Fursdon, Ingrid, Dr. Bike, Jonathan Rae, Tim Crabtree and Arrow.

We know that people can be forgotten here, but its acts will never be blurred from our minds.

When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.

Native American Saying

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ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT 2012-­‐2013 TOTNES TRANSITION TOWN LEARNING EXPERIENCE – REPORT Participants: Michelle Arellano, Mukund (Mook) Bangalore, Cristobal Barros, Andrina Beaumond, Daniela Carrion, Herbert De Lima, Dane Erickson, Carolina Figueroa, Philippe Flamand, Christina Gkouvali, Benjamin Greiner, Roger Guiu, Martin Jacobsen, Han Li, Ling-­‐Tuan Liu, Alejandra Lopez-­‐ Carbajal, Beatriz Luraschi, Francesca McGrath, Mikaela Rambali, Victor Raynaud, Amanda Rycerz, Julia Sausen, Malia Schroeder, Omar Valencia, Amy Weaving, Karina Watkins Dates of Travel: March 23rd 2013 – March 25th 2013

FRIDAY MARCH 23rd Itinerary 13:06 16:00 18:00 20:00

Leave London for Totnes Arrive in Totnes Dinner Group Meeting and Discussion

Summary On Friday, we left Paddington station at 13:00 to board our train to Totnes. Our train departed the station slightly later at 13:30, but our group was nonetheless brimming with excitement. We discussed our upcoming plans during the two and a half hour train ride while enjoying the scenic views of the English countryside.

We arrived at Totnes at 16:00, where our Totnes Transition Town liaison (Hal Gilmore) greeted us and took us to our residence at the Higher Poulston Farm. We settled and discussed logistics of the trip with Hal.

We then cooked dinner at 18:00 and held a group meeting at 20:00.

We talked about our aims of the trip and our learning objectives.

We discussed the trip for a few hours and then decided to go to bed – we had to be ready by 9am the next morning for a presentation by the Transition Town organisers.

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Reflection

Day 1 was mostly about travel and the logistics of the trip. However, our discussions with Hal and among the group about our aims and goals of the trip was fulfilling. Among our most common aims were as follows: 1. Learn how the transition movement got started in Totnes 2. See the way of life in Totnes, and how it is different from London 3. Analyse to what extent the transition can be scaled-­‐up to other communities around the world This discussion provided our group with a great starting point for the rest of the trip. Our aims and goals were outlined, and for the next three days of the trip, we sought to achieve these objectives. __________________________________________________________________________________ SATURDAY MARCH 24th Itinerary 7:30 8:00 9:00-­‐10:30 10:30-­‐10:45 10:45-­‐12:00 12:00 12:30-­‐13:30 13:30-­‐15:00 15:00-­‐16:00 16:00-­‐17:00 17:00-­‐18:00 18:00-­‐19:00 19:00 21:00

Wake Up Breakfast Totnes Transition Town Presentation Part I Coffee/Tea Totnes Transition Town Presentation Part II Head to Totnes Lunch at the Bay Horse Inn, Food Link Project Presentation Totnes Tour Visit with Totnes Transition Streets Project Participant Visit Totnes High Street Visit Totnes Transition Town Offices Debrief in Local Pub Dinner Group Reflection

Summary Our day started early, as we woke up at 7:30. We cooked breakfast at 8:00. Our liaison from the Totnes Transition Town, Hal Gilmore, arrived at our residence with two of his colleagues, Ines and Jay, to provide us with a presentation about the transition.

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During Part I of the Presentation, Hal asked the group what we wanted to learn during the course of the trip. In an interactive session, the group listed the following objectives: 1. To find out how successful the Totnes Transition movement is 2. To see the spirit among the people behind the movement 3. To see how we can “spread the word” 4. To see small scale businesses and micro-­‐ enterprises, and how these organisations interact with their customer base 5. To see the local food system in Totnes 6. To see the challenges that the Totnes Network has faced 7. To see how Totnes works as a community 8. To have fun in Totnes 9. To make new friends 10. To see and experience a new way of life 11. To see the English countryside 12. To gain a more sustainable view of the countryside 13. To see how the Totnes community keep themselves going 14. To walk along the beach 15. To see the motivations of being in the movement 16. To be out of London for a while 17. To understand Totnes Hal then gave us a PowerPoint presentation about the story of the Totnes Transition Network, how it started, where it is today and some of the challenges and opportunities ahead. After Hal’s presentation, his colleague, Ines gave us a presentation about happiness and economic growth.

Ines first asked us to list the things that made us happy. Some of the things we came up with included: 1.

2.

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Going to markets Shopping at Oxford Street Farming Taking pictures Sleeping Travelling Being with family and friends

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We then discussed the concept of economic growth. We talked about the concept of Gross Domestic Product, and how oftentimes increases in GDP do not translate to increases in happiness.

Afterwards, Ines talked extensively about the work of Manfred Max-­‐Neef, who is a Chilean economist and former Professor at Berkeley. She talked about Max-­‐Neef’s theory of needs and how all human beings, and those needs are: 1.

2.

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Subsistence Participation Creation Freedom Understand Protection Leisure Identity Affection

We discussed how oftentimes we can satisfy all of these needs without hurting the environment or improving economic growth. We had an enlightening discussion about happiness, the environment and economic growth using Max-­‐Neef’s theory of needs as a starting point.

We then took a 15 minute tea break to talk informally to the presenters. After the break, another employee of the Transition Network, Jay, a former entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, gave us a presentation about what lies forward for the Transition Network. He discussed 5 main points during his presentation: 1.

2.

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Strategy Financial Localisation Engagement of Local Businesses Community Outreach Sparking New Businesses

After these three presentations, we were ready to see the town and headed to Totnes.

We had lunch at a pub called the Bay Horse Inn, is run by two women entrepreneurs and specialises in local foods. We had some great food and a presentation of the Food Link Project, which is a project run by the two entrepreneurs to increase the sustainability of the food supply in Totnes.

Afterwards, we took a walk around Totnes. We saw the many small-­‐scale enterprises and business that Jay talked to us about in his presentation.

Afterwards, we were kindly invited into the home of Jo, who is a participant in the Transition Streets program. The Transition Streets program is a community-­‐based initiative in which Groups of friends and neighbours meet every few weeks with a practical workbook to make easy changes in how they use energy, water, food, packaging and transport. Jo has been a part of Transition Streets and

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discussed her experiences with us – she frequently mentioned that the program reduced her energy use and improved her sense of community and belonging in Totnes.

Next, we visited the Totnes High Street, which can be considered the “Oxford Street” of Totnes. Our guides, Hal and Jay, gave us a historical account of the city. Also, we interacted with the locals and discussed their experiences with the program. Afterwards, we headed to the head offices of the Totnes Transition Network. Here, we had a discussion about the way forward for the organisation with Hal, Jay and a member from the Board of Directors. We talked about the strengths, weaknesses and challenges ahead for the organisation.

At 18:00, we had a de-­‐brief of the day in a local pub called The Albert with the education outreach officer of the Transition Network, a woman named Isabel. Here we discussed our experiences of the day and the opportunities for LSE students to get involved with the network.

Afterwards, we headed back to our residence to cook dinner and have a group reflection of the day’s proceedings.

More information about the events of the day can be found in: On the Transition Network: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/initiatives/totnes On the Food Link Project: http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/groups/food-­‐group/food-­‐link-­‐ project/ On Transition Streets: http://www.transitionstreets.org.uk

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Reflections

Saturday was a packed day of information for our group. We learned a lot about the Transition Town movement, and it was even better to have a first-­‐hand experience and visit the town itself. In the morning presentation session, it was great to discuss the aspects of life that made us the most happy and our relationship with the environment. The people here at Totnes are trying to increase community and well-­‐being while reducing their environmental impact; which we believe is a great step forward.

Moreover, it was great to have the local food presentation at the pub nearby. In London, many of us buy our food and groceries from large chains such as Tesco. That sort of food system is not very sustainable, yet the delicious food at the bar was sourced within 30 miles and the bread that we ate was sourced that very morning! It was great to experience a great meal that was sourced locally and is more sustainable than what we have eaten previously. Moreover, it was wonderful to interact with the locals at the bar and around town – everyone is very friendly, unlike London sometimes!

Lastly, it was great to be in the headquarters of the Transition Town network and see how they operate. Meeting an individual from the Board of Directors was a pleasure, as she provided us with important information about the Network.

Our group hopes that the transition will spread not only across England, but across the globe, as the concept of a sustainable community is admirable and needed in today’s world.

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SUNDAY MARCH 25th

Itinerary 7:30 8:00 9:00-­‐12:30 12:30-­‐13:00 13:30-­‐14:30 14:30-­‐17:30 17:30-­‐18:00 18:00-­‐19:00 19:00-­‐19:30 19:30-­‐20:30 20:30-­‐22:00 22:00-­‐22:30

Wake Up Breakfast Visit to the Old Walls Hydro Head to the Dartmoor Highlands Lunch at the mountain and Gaia Theory talk Hiking Head to Schumacher College Dinner Briefing about Schumacher College Open Space on Technologies Schumacher College´s Pub Head back home and group reflection

Summary With a very early start for a Sunday morning, we woke up at 7:30 and had breakfast at 8:00. Hal Gilmore arrived at our residence at 9:00, this time to take us to the Old Walls Hydro, a small-­‐scale hydroelectric project in the village of Ponsworthy, between Poundsgate and Widecombe-­‐in-­‐the-­‐moor on Dartmoor.

The Old Walls Hydro is a project created and ran by Miles and Gail Fursdon, who were our guides during the talk. They started building the micro-­‐hydro system in 1995, drawing water from the West Webburn and channelling it along the valley side (for 460 m) and to the turbines where 90 kW are generated by the force of the 16 m fall of the water that after that returns to the river.

The hydroelectric project provides electricity to 80 households in the county, through the National Grid and has been carefully designed in order to not damage the biodiversity surrounding it and it is recognised by the Dartmoor National Park authorities as an example of linking modern technology without damaging the local environment.

More information about the hydroelectric project can be found in www.waterleat.co.uk.

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We then hiked to the highest point in England, a 400 m peak in Dartmoor where we had a cold lunch and where Hal Gilmore talked to us about James Lovelock´s Gaia Theory. By showing us the surrounding area that was a breathtaking scenery of rocks, frozen grass, fog and very strong wind, he then explained how Planet Earth or Gaia (taking the name of the Greek goddess of Earth) is an interrelated system in which nature diversity, in all its forms, has an instrinsic value (e.g. coccolithophorids) and a specific role to play in the global balance of the system. He then finished saying that the current environmental situation – e.g. climate change-­‐ is taking things out of balance on Earth and a deep change is necessary to maintain the needed equilibrium.

More information on the Gaia Theory can be found in http://www.jameslovelock.org/.

Intro to Gaia and Closing the Loops presentation http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24405813/Gaia%20Closing%20the%20Loops.ppt.

Dr Stephan Harding's original presentation http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24405813/Dr%20Stephan%20Harding%20Gaia.ppt.

The next three hours were dedicated to do more hiking in the surroundings by the river and the moss woods.

We then headed to the Schumacher College. We arrived around 6:30 pm to find our dinner ready to eat. Schumacher students cooked mushrooms pie, salad and baked apples for us. After dinner, we had an introduction to Schumacher´s philosophy and student life by the Head of the College, Dr. Jonathan Rae and a couple of other students. We introduced ourselves and they explained how they live in community throughout the year of postgraduate courses that so far relate to Holistic Science, Sustainable Horticulture and Food Production, Economics for Transition, and Ecological Design.

Immediately after this introduction, both LSE and Schumacher students shared an open-­‐space model to dialogue on different topics of technological change that included questions of education, radical change, entrepeneurship and exchanging experiences, an exercise that ended up in prolonged conversations in the pub of the college.

For more information about Schumacher college: http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/.

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Reflection

Sunday was also a very busy day with lots of information coming to our heads. The Group in general learnt a lot in the micro-­‐hydro project and many of us started thinking how this can kind of experiences could be replicated in different contexts and different countries of the world, both developed and developing, in looking to build small-­‐scale technologies that can benefit a number of people in an environmentally friendly non-­‐intrusive manner.

Since it was one of the coldest days of the year, the several hikes were also a great experience to enjoy the countryside and warm our bodies.

Finally, everybody found the visit to the Schumacher College as a very interesting and controversial one. On the one hand, LSE students were interested in the experiment that represents living, cleaning, cooking, interacting and studying together during a whole year and for some, this could be an enriching exercise to build a community sense but it was also hard to imagine whether our cohort could have lived the same experience. Interesting to say, Schumacher students were also eager to know LSE´s students perspective over the possibility to transcend the present economic model, in harmony with nature. In the end, we found that many of the questions Schumacher students are asking are not different from the ones LSE students try to answer, from a different academic point of view.

In general, the group was enriched by the many experiences that so far have been presented as a model for sustainable communities. __________________________________________________________________________________ MONDAY MARCH 26th Return to London and end of the journey.

Credits of photos: Carolina Figueroa, Alejandra Lopes, Malia Schoreder, Herbert Lima.

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