we’re tweaked now, because we’re living in these weird things.
5/16/11 3:34 PM
TUE., JUNE 14, 6-8PM
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FEATURE 33
dEscEnding ThE pEAk
SEVEN DAYS
bW JE by To pho
06.08.11-06.15.11
If there is an archetypal Transition Town member, Deb Lisman isn’t it. Until recently, she held a corporate job, admits she’s no good at gardening, and has always held a dim view of activism. But for the last two years, Lisman has been kneedeep in all things transition. She wants to learn how to homestead. She’s becoming well versed in emergency-preparedness strategies. And she’s working to
PeoPle have it ingrained in their bodies to live in structures made out of natural materials, and that’s why
SEVENDAYSVt.com
The NeophyTe
build a network of neighborhoods in that she began working on her own comMontpelier, where she lives. munity’s resiliency by building a website This transition to Transition Town aimed at connecting her neighborhood. happened concurrently with what the The neighborhood network never quite 53-year-old calls a “midlife crisis kind took off, but Lisman’s organizing gusto of thing.” She was working in leader- caught the eye of McCleary, as Transition ship development at Green Mountain Town Montpelier was just getting off the Coffee Roasters when she ground. McCleary asked Lisman to condecided she needed a sider joining the group’s steering change. She took a committee. four-month sabThose early days batical to help weren’t easy for Lisman: her figure “I didn’t know near out her next what everyone else move. knew,” she says. During “But I just continthat time, ued to learn as I Lisman, went.” an enShe bought thusiastic stacks of books talker on peak oil, comwith munity building and short, dark local food systems. hair and an She participated in eager smile, workshops on gardenBE N Gr A h Am, NAtur A l Buil D E r researched ing. She tried to figure out numerous topics, how to make her lifestyle more hoping one would spark sustainable. All of it was outside her her interest. She kept returning to comfort zone. sustainability. “I’m Joe average citizen,” Lisman In 2008, Lisman went to a lecture says. “I do everything wrong.” given by Naresh Giangrande, a coExcept she doesn’t. She’s not perfect, founder of Transition Town Totnes. She but she’s embraced transition. Little by was hooked. little, Lisman is making changes in her8v-OneMoreTime051811.indd 1 “It was completely positive commu- life, the biggest being readying herself to nity building. It was about creating a re- handle some kind of crisis. silient community that has much more A year ago, Lisman quit her job of a sense of community,” Lisman says. at GMCR. In that time, she has been So inspired was Lisman by the pre- working on NeighborNet, an initiative sentation and the concept of transition aimed at connecting people who live in close proximity. She has designed a curriculum for neighborhoods to determine how prepared they are to weather an at the Skinny Pancake Transition Town Montpelier emergency such as a power outage — or, (89 Main St. , Montpelier) steering committee closer to home, serious flooding. The member Deb Lisman. Every second Tuesday of the month, seven-week course revolves around environmental fans and professionals a series of potlucks where neighbors meet up for a beer, networking and examine key areas of survival and prediscussion at Green Drinks. paredness. People who feel informed This informal crowd is a lively mixture of folks from NGOs, and connected will experience less panic academia, government and if a crisis does happen, Lisman says. business. Find employment, Rather than giving her discussions friends and new ideas! a doom-and-gloom tinge, Lisman tries to make them fun — hence the THIS MONTH’S PRESENTER: potluck format. That way, drawing participants becomes more of a pull than a push, she says. Lisman’s zeal for neighborhood organizing and emergency planning still surprises her. But she’s settling into her role and growing more comthanks to our sponsors: fortable by the day. “It’s really bizarre, the fact that I’m into it,” Lisman says, laughing. “But it feels like the right thing to do.” l Al Ac EbR od EU R
Not only does he believe natural building makes sense in terms of energy consumption and resource management, but, Graham says, it represents how humans were meant to live. We aren’t built for living in concrete structures with vinyl siding and fiberglass insulation, he claims. “We’re taking this old technology and developing it for present modern living,” Graham says. “People have it ingrained in their bodies to live in structures made out of natural materials, and that’s why we’re tweaked now, because we’re living in these weird things.” In an effort to spread the gospel of natural building, Graham helped found Village-building Convergence, a sustainable skill-sharing conference of sorts that is part of Transition Town Montpelier. On June 14, Graham, who regularly teaches at Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Waitsfield, will present a workshop on practical solutions for sustainable shelter. He’ll remind participants that, with all the mainstream “greening” of home construction these days, it’s easy to forget that people have been living in natural structures forever. “I’m trying to make natural building accessible to everyone,” Graham says. “We’re showing engineers that natural materials actually perform better than this other shit that you’re working with that’s actually destroying the planet. But it’s not easy to convince these people.”
6/6/11 12:37 PM