December 2008:Transition or Hobby? Have We Got Change Underway?

Anyone who has watched the film End Of Suburbia will be clear about the nature of the challenge for the UK and many other countries in order to survive, and even prosper. So far central government has responded to resource/climate/economic meltdown by advocating increased shopping. Assuming state leadership may be some time coming what is action within the wider public like so far?

Some early 2008 positive stuff encompassed make’n’mend, homebaking, allotmenteering, etc all well covered by the mainstream media. Most of this was amenity/choice rather than necessity but useful skills none the less. Some green figures such as Caroline Lucas pointed out populist important themes such as bus services, inequality of wealth but most politicians said don’t be alarmist. Survivalists found salvation in a real threat to stock up for and cults everywhere warmed up for busier times.

The Soil Association and many Peak Oil writers were certainly up with the issues and campaigners finally got onto a runway in late 2008. The reaction to what will in due course look like a very reasonable act, showed just how many middle class people in particular like flying. Amidst the wider public the biggest change so far has been simply to buy less, albeit compared to a decade or more of extraordinary consumption. Food shopping reduced for the first time in decades with cheap frozen growing and salads and fruit sales shrinking.

Writers began to investigate self-sufficiency issues again with Simon Fairlie and Graham Harvey hindering otherwise well informed pieces by assuming grazed pastures were perpetual energy machines. Clive Ponting updated his seminal history of the world and only he and Jared Diamond seem to have really got the significance of forest cover. To their credit writers from the early 1970s seem to have remained busy Eg Francis Moore Lappe, and avoided saying we told you so.

Regular issues of the Organic Grower magazine by the re-emergent OGA showed a network of commercial growers alive and kicking just at the moment their routes to the public were shrinking under the weight of ZanuLabour’s laissez-faire adventures. Lack of planning central or otherwise seems a recurring societal theme, state collusion with global capital is perhaps less surprising.

Permaculturism and Transition Towns continue to sound very positive while so far offering some serious red herrings. We certainly all want examples and inspiration but the hobby-necessity axis was apparent here with Wwoofers busy weaving on holdings while the owners earned their crust elsewhere. Permaculture designers reached plague numbers while occasional practitioners got hungry before getting back to town. The grain consumed by 70 million people alone seems to be an issue beyond most people involved . Unfortunate parallels with the LETS movement of the 1990s seem clear enough.

What could organised campaigners have done? Some ideas;

Trees, trees, trees. Keep planting, even Tolkien saw a tree solution. Organisations such as TreeResponsibility and Trees For Life in the UK and the Japanese Government have kept at it aware that it takes 25 years minimum for real payback.

Wood heating in the UK. Wood stoves of poor design however popular are a poor answer. Legal, efficient designs are readily available but little recognised in the UK. Laissez-faire no help to the market here. Any transition campaign could raise funds to buy woodland locally (upland or north facing slopes might be as little as £1000/acre). Planting woodland is a perfectly achievable local project with tangible outcomes such as secure fuel.

Public transport/mass transit. Car ownership will dwindle but walking/cycling initiatives have been generally tokenistic. Buses and trains serve commuters better than most but buses in particular suffer culture resistance outside of Ken’s London work. Haven’t noticed any direct action on bus access and fares so far.

Solar Thermal Heating. These type of solar panels heat water efficiently for much of the year but are much confused with PV or electricity generating panels. The latter does not seem relevant at present. Mass introduction of solar thermal would seriously reduce the UK energy bill and might prove a better return than giving public money to bankers.

Food Production. Much talked about but little happening beyond individual gardens and growers. Local planners got away with giving permissions on fertile land for developments nobody wants to buy or edge of town retail to destroy existing central facilities. Beyond Farnham and Unicorn schemes (and perhaps Soil Ass. Land Trust) seems little appetite to acquire land despite its relatively low value. Control of, and access to, land is one of the big historical issues which as food prices rise will re-emerge.
Is there a grain mill in the region? Do we have a local brewery? Experiments such as Fife have shown plenty of threads to pursue.

Local Planners. After a decade or more of shameful trashing of local life room for improvement. Scrutiny of, campaigning on and embarrassment of planning departments might be in everybody’s interest. At least the UK has a planning system.
Until housing, jobs, schools, etc are planned Havana style for proximity we will be cursed by travel and beyond walking distances.

Local Politics. Get elected, time consuming but some real power remains and may yet increase. Get involved before someone less altruistic does.

Action on the above would increase the resilience of a community and its chances of surviving, even prospering. Organising and attending lots of meetings, driving around the UK a lot or slipping off to Stanstead for some cheap Yoga trip will not help much. We still have some breathing space in which to act and invest in our futures – let’s use it sensibly.

January 2009: New Blood

After the coldest December for some years the Winter salad leaves suffered some tests and limited picking. Using fleece on leaves under cover can protect against very cold nights, say –4° or below although each plant has different cold tolerance. Winter Purslane continues to be the most impressive in harsh conditions.

Outside the Russian Kale is picked to a standstill until reshooting in February and the Spinach Beet we hope will revitalise in March for a few weeks of picking. Most efforts have however gone into planning the transition to new operators at Glebelands, Glebelands City Growers Ltd.

The new team consists of Ed+Sally, moving up from Bristol, and Adam and Charlotte both of whom worked on site in 2008. They have registered a new company and will take over the site during February. A pending Local Food funding bid offers the opportunity to secure and expand production, chiefly through more protected areas/polytunnels. Dramatic prices increases in imported veg prices, due to a weaker £, reinforce the need for such an approach.

Adam and Lesley, operators for the 8 years since opening, are going in to a brief respite period post selling their house. While looking at further work on seasonal extension they will also be continuing to write, speak and advise on food production and selling issues. As James Kunstler points out in his thoughtful 2009 predictions www.kunstler.com/Mags_Forecast2009.html there’s a lot of change going on, not least in farming.

Adam York

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