- MIMIC THIS! When you get invited to events 3000 miles away (or 20 of them just across town), use COPY & PASTE with the really interesting events to seed your own community's plans for similar events. Why start from scratch.... Beg, borrow and mimic! More....
- Welcome recently added members. Check periodically to see if friends you have invited have joined.
- Find others members in your hometown, region, state, country. (E.g., Country=Austria or City, State = Vashon, WA)
- Produce a list of members who use keywords similar to your inerests when describing theirs (E.g.,Permaculture, intentional community).
- See LATEST ACTIVITY on GTIA for results of comprehensive scans of Transition activities around the globe.
- New links to Twitter via GTIA -- Twitter via #TransitionTowns. Twitter now displayed on GTIA Latest Activity.
- Experiment by clicking on TOP NEWS vs ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO SHARE in the center column -- two types of Latest Activity.
Making Contacts & Carrying the Message
We were at a nice party over the weekend - a birthday celebration that included a number of people we'd never met before. During the food and festivities, some of us began talking about the "Good Old Days" in Sedona - back in the 1960s - 1980s - before West Sedona had turned into a "Strip" with a highway running through it. The old-timers are artists who were very interested to learn about our Resilient Communities endeavors. They asked me to keep them informed - and I asked them to bring their insights and their friends to the process.
Later, I was talking to a couple about how they had upgraded the energy efficiency of their home. It was really impressive what they had done and are doing themselves to save energy in a typical, production builder home. I mentioned that their energy efficiency projects are the kinds of things we'd like to encourage everyone to practice as we pursue our efforts to transition off the fossil fuel based economy. They were intrigued by the Resilient Communities process, and asked me about speaking to their homeowners association meeting. You know me, I never turn down an offer to talk about something more sustainable.
So - here we have a couple of casual encounters that led to the introduction of the Verde Resilient Communities network and our goals for the Verde Valley. In both, people were excited to learn about the process and wanted to participate in some way. During a birthday party, there arose two opportunities to grow our network.
Let us know about your experiences. I know you all are engaged in some aspect of sustainability, transitioning to a value-based economy and improving the quality of life. How can we spread the word and get others involved who might not currently be part of our efforts?
Tags: contacts, food, fun, networking, transitions
Views: 7
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Irani on -
I'm interested in things that "regular people" can do to connect and make changes. For example, my partner and I are renting, so without the funds to buy land in Sedona or build our own home (which would assuredly be so Eco, it wouldn't be permitted!), we feel pretty stuck. We KNOW there is more we can do, but as renters, our hands our tied.
So, something I'd like to put out there is the idea of co-housing in the Verde Valley. Places built (or retrofitted) where even renters feel they can make positive changes that will last, that there is shared land, places for kids to play safely, green spaces that aren't cut through by cars. A land trust. A trailer park transformed into a co-housing community with shared gardens, orchards, etc, how about that idea?? :)
Or, how about education regarding alternative fuel options for regular people. Many people simply can't afford to go out and buy a new FlexFuel car, a Hybrid, or an electric. Alcohol conversion kits? Running cars on water? Are these viable options for us, without having to spend a fortune? I'd love to explore this, bring some experts in, do some research, talk with mechanically-minded people...host some workshops. And, of course, make it happen! I will happily use my car as a guinea pig! And if it works, plaster it with bumper stickers bragging about the fact!
People need to see real examples of these ideas at work, and they need to see that they are affordable and doable, and have the encouragement and technical support to do it...then we're more likely to reach a critical mass! -
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Permalink Reply by John F Neville on -
Great ideas. As for an eco-home, you can do it here. It takes a little effort, but we have Earthships in Yavapai County, and Coconino County has a green building program. I used their checklist when I built my place.
Good idea on the co-housing. They have co-housing in Prescott. We could look into something in the Verde Valley. As a renter, you may be able to partner with other renters to encourage your landlord to green up the building. There are rebates and tax breaks for building owners to go green.
How about co-car ownership? There are ride share concepts all over the place. Perhaps, a group of us could partner with one of the electric car companies to share a vehicle among a group of people. The electric vehicles tend to have limited speeds and ranges. So, we'd have to think that through. Meanwhile, we're still working on a shuttle bus.
You want some ideas - come to the Clean Green Expo at the Sedona Library on June 5th. There will be a lot of ideas there. -
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Irani on
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I love the co-car idea...I know electric cars are limited in speed and range, but for driving around West Sedona to run errands, they would be perfect. Or maybe making a jaunt to Cottonwood, something like that. I'm not sure the details of how something like this would work, but it would be pretty cool to have little electric cars zipping around town for running errands.
I am marking June 5th on my calendar! :) -
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