Totnes in Transition

Deep in India's staggering landscape, a gentle wick glows in a cart. The proud owner of his little flourishing peanut frying business, has more sweat beads to wipe and not all from the sweltering heat. The rising cost of oil is a risk to his business. As the sparks from flames, they bring unanswerable questions into the still air of the night. Why is oil getting more precious? Is it ever going to get cheaper or will we, along our peanut seller, live to see a life where oil is not affordable any more? What if we ran out of oil and fossil fuels? What if transportation became too expensive for the common man – or alternative technology was just for the Donald trumps and football players that could afford it? What then?

Miles away, a little town embroidered in the sceneric landscape of south Devon, Totnes, is asking the same question and coming up with some answers. In keeping with the English adage of “In fair weather, prepare for foul”, Totnes has begun an extra ordinary journey in its preparation for the harsh conditions of a world of the future, a future with no fossil fuels. Known as the transition town, Totnes boasts of a community led effort in sustainability, resiliance and local reliance. To put it simply, Totnes is preparing for a life less dependent on oil.

Rob Hopkins is a mentionable man in these parts of the world. He teaches people how to reduce their dependence on oil and thus live sustainably. And like most men in the transition network, Rob understands that we probably have reached the “peak oil” stage. Peak oil is a phrase used to describe a situation where global oil supplies have reached a peak. Following this, the oil supplies curve is sloping downward and is predicted to decrease. Many leading geophysicists believe that we have reached the peak oil phase or we will get there by 2015. Meanwhile, in the real non-Totnes world, our reliance on oil continues to increase exponentially.

The transition movement in Totnes believes in reducing its carbon footprint by restructuring how societies work. The idea of localisation is its core. It encourages more people to live locally, not just in terms of sustainability like growing its own food but also in terms of a political structure. It is trying to make buildings, projects, food, consumerism, local. Its a movement that takes globalization back to its roots, localisation. In living in the dark future and in having that vision today, Totnes is making huge strides. When you make your own food and put it in your own markets, the cost of transporting it through thousands of miles is reduced from its price. Go ahead and deduct fuel charges and miscellaneous driver charges from it. Then you get a Totnes price.

Perhaps India has a huge lesson to learn from Totnes. We are in many ways, nascent in our consumerism. Many parts of India remain untouched by gucci and Cafe coffee days. Our villages are largely eco friendly. Tuning out our large dependence on oil, which is ever increasing in our mad pursuit of development – while Totnes is trying to slow it down is a paradox indeed.

Can we cut out the trailing and be pioneers of a living sensitive to the future is a question that every Indian must ask himself or herself. Maybe it will help reduce the sweat beads on a peanut seller's forehead somewhere.