Community

The Dublin-based organization Cultivate does great work -- I wish they could set up chapters in towns across the world. They have created a documentary and seminars to teach people how to deal with peak oil, climate change and other issues. (Full disclosure: I contributed to one back in 2006 or so). They are building an ambitious eco-village in County Tipperary, using natural building techniques and clean energy to create a largely self-sufficient neighbourhood. Their Convergence events have brought together activists from around the world – well-known figures like Megan Quinn Bachmann, Daniel Lerch and the creators of the first Transition Town in Kinsale, Ireland – as well as hundreds of others across Europe, America and the world.

Most recently, they began a Powerdown course, to train people over several weeks to help their own communities. I attended a session of the course last night, filling in for another FADA member who couldn’t make it, in the organisation’s converted church in Dublin. After listening to a talk by Cultivate founder Davie Phillip about the loss of community in the Western World, we brainstormed ideas for restoring our own neighbourhoods, and how we can help them adapt to the changing times.

I’ll share more details later – for now, it is always good to be reminded of all the unsung people transforming their own jigsaw pieces of the world, and how none of us in this movement need ever feel alone.