GREYTON TRANSITION TOWN (GTT)

In January 2012 Greyton became one of South Africa’s first Transition Towns.

Have a look at our beautiful new website: www.greytontransition.co.za kindly donated by Michael Ash.

The Transition Movement was founded in the UK seven years ago and has spread to over 3000 communities around the world. It aims to create resilient communities that have the adaptive capacity to respond to the challenges of peak oil, climate change and global economic instability. Simply put, it’s about entering into a process of transitioning off dependency on fossil fuels.

Grounded in permaculture design, effective community facilitation and group process, the intention is to unlock the collective genius of a community by creating spaces for conversations around topics of sustainability and local resilience. Community members work together to design an Energy Descent Action Plan to create a timeline into a future that people truly wish to live in.

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

GTT recognises that many individuals and organisations in Greyton are already making a significant contribution to sustainable living and we seek to support and promote their example. We realise that our community has the answers to create the systems that will sustain us for future generations. We facilitate people, ideas and projects rather than create a hierarchy that tells everyone what to do. The point is to create a ‘resilient’ community, so that, if there were to be any sort of global economic collapse we will still be able to power and heat our homes, feed our families and trade locally.

To achieve this, GTT is building working groups on local food, energy, waste, economics, health, education, heart and soul, transportation, arts, housing and local government liaison. Representatives from these groups are meeting to coordinate their projects and initiatives towards a greater overall vision for the entire community.

LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION . . . COMMUNITY GARDENS

Working with TWK Municipality, schools, Conservation Society, Red Cross, Ratepayers and Residents Organisation and Tourism, we are planning and implementing projects that include local food production, community owned renewable energy, a local complementary currency and trading system, time bank, community gardens, community owned assets and infrastructure, reusable and zero waste strategies, skills training and social enterprise.

We already have our first Transition entrepreneur who is connecting local food suppliers with the restaurants, shops and members of the public who want to buy fresh, locally grown, organic produce. Every Wednesday morning we have a table of local produce to buy, sell or exchange outside Via’s restaurant in the main road. A recycling system has been set up and awareness raising is taking place in schools and throughout the community. Our municipal dump is about to be transformed into a garden waste recycling centre, seed bank and woodland. Currently, we are hosting post-graduate students from the renowned Schumacher College in the UK for three months to complete their dissertations on transition and sustainability.

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