Transition Towns Birmingham

05 October 2009

The recently launched "Transition Towns Birmingham" community network has held two successful public events -  
"The Power of Community"
was a showing of the film describing how Cuba faced its own 'Peak
Oil' crisis in the 1990's.

The second was a meeting with
Roberto Perez,         

a Permaculture expert from Cuba, with powerful personal experience of how this island nation survived and then began to prosper, under an entirely new, environmentally sustainable, way of life, without our global dependence on oil and all its by products.
The film is available for further showings and can be borrowed from Transition Towns Birmingham.

Be inspired by how the people of Cuba have responded to their energy crisis , and explore how we can apply solutions to our circumstances in Birmingham.


Roberto Perez says, "It is the focus on the three C’s -  Community,
Conservation and Cooperation that has been the key to Cuba’s survival
during this crisis.  Change and sacrifice has been based on what is good
for the community and not based solely on needs of individuals."

For more information, please contact Transition Brum

by email: transitioncitybirmingham@riseup.net

- or tel/text: 07980 272 940

TRANSITION TOWNS BIRMINGHAM is playing a major role in

CHANGING LIFESTYLES 2/3/4 February

at Birmingham Town Hall (see elsewhere on this web site for further details).

Notes for Editors

1.  A Transition Initiative addresses the challenges of both Peak Oil and
Climate Change through people re-building a self-reliant local community.
The Transition Network
(http://www.transitiontowns.org/) currently links over 700 communities,
including 100 working Transition Initiatives.   The Transition Movement
was initated by permaculture teacher Rob Hopkins, who writes the
Transition Culture blog: http://transitionculture.org/

2.  Roberto Perez is a permaculture designer and teacher from Cuba who
works for the Cuban NGO the Antonia Niñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature
and Humanity.  During Cuba's Special Period, Roberto Perez developed urban
food growing in Cuba using permaculture techniques, which seek sustainable
solutions by following nature’s patterns.

3.  "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil"
(http://www.powerofcommunity.org/) was filmed on location in Cuba during
2004.  It documents how Cuban people responded to The Special Period
imposed upon them by the collapse of the USSR.  Cubans are a living
example of how people can thrive in the face of the end of cheap and
abundant fossil fuels.

4.  Transition City Birmingham (http://transition-brum.wikispot.org/) is a
network of individual volunteers and groups who are developing Transition
for the City of Birmingham.  Everyone interested in Birmingham is needed
by - and welcome within -Transition Brum.