Here’s a link to Sven Eberlein’s blog post about visiting Transition Palo Alto for the Holiday Sharing Expo.
http://svenworld.com/2013/01/16/biking-the-train-to-the-swap-meet-or-life-in-a-carbon-proportionate-world/
Sven Eberlein of shareable.net visited our Holiday Sharing Expo in December and spoke to some TPA Transitioners. His article just came out. Enjoy!
http://www.shareable.net/blog/how-to-bring-transition-town-style-sharing-into-your-community
UPDATE: “Bart here. I think Sven really captured the flavor of Transition. He interwove stories from other Transition groups with his reporting on our sharing event. Here’s an excerpt. Be sure to see the original article for photos and a video.
Transition Palo Alto has been doing a clothing exchange twice a year for the last four years, but it’s their Craft Swaps and Sharing Expos that take the swapping to another level. At their recent Holiday Sharing Expo I got to see first hand what’s possible when people come together to exchange gifts, crafts, stories and ideas. From clothes laid out on a tarp to a table full of toys, from Tom Kabat’s wooden bike creation to Connie Beal’s cookie decorating demonstration, from Willi Paul’s Transition Tales to Herb Moore’s Scrapophony of instruments made from glass jars, PVC pipes, tuna cans, and a set of old keys, the event was like a demonstration project for life after cheap oil and quarterly profits.
Rani Jayakumar, one of the driving forces behind the TPA swaps, explains their organic evolution. “Two years ago we did a Christmas event because there wasn’t enough produce to share,” Jayakumar says matter-of-factly. “So we thought why not enlarge the scope and include crafts and Christmas decorations, in case people were tired of certain things and wanted to swap them out? Six months later we did another one in the summer, then other people got ideas and carried it on, and it just kept on going from there.”
Transitioners from as far away as Humboldt and Monterey gathered at the Berkeley library on Saturday January 12 for the first quarterly regional Northern California Transition convergence. Local attendees included Dave Lantz, Victoria Armigo, William Mutch, Eitan Fenson, and Barbara Weinstein. After an excellent potluck lunch, folks shared what’s happening in their local Transition initiatives and how others might help. The breakout sessions featured brainstorming about topics ranging from affordable housing to energy, group dynamics, climate change, local currencies, and more. To learn more or get involved at the regional level, check out the Transition US web site (http://www.transitionus.org/) or write to info@transitionus.org.
Starting this month, mark your calendars for Fourth Friday, our ongoing monthly event. Each month, on the fourth Friday, we’ll have an activity (film, speaker, panel discussion, or other topic of interest).
This month:
January, 25, 2013
7:00p – 7:15p: Transition for Newcomers
7:30p: Film “Bag It” and Guest Speaker
Has your life become too plastic? We’ll show the film, “Bag It” and have a speaker about the status of an upcoming Palo Alto ordinance to ban retailers from distributing plastic carryout/checkout bags. Come hear what Palo Alto is doing and learn what this will mean to you when you shop.
“Bag It”, is an award-winning documentary film that started out being about plastic bags, but evolved into a wholesale investigation into plastics and their effect on our waterways, oceans, and even our bodies.
Friday January 25, World Centric, 2121 Staunton Ct, Palo Alto, 7:30pm (7pm meet and greet).
Garden shares are held twice each month.
By Peter Ruddock
The South Bay Local Garden Share kicked off at Common Ground in Palo Alto in the summer of 2010, a joint project of Transition Palo Alto, Slow Food South Bay and other community organizations. It was consciously modeled after the existing garden exchange at Transition Albany and intended to kick off as part of Slow Food’s Dig In! National Work Day, shepherded by Peter Ruddock and Jan Butts. There was so much enthusiasm, that it actually had a couple of trial runs before the National Work Day. Despite some qualms during slow periods during the first winter, Peter and Jan were patient with the event, nursing it at its weakest points. By the spring of 2011, it had become a monthly gathering with a loyal group of regulars. In fact, it excited folks enough, that in the summer of 2011, Victoria Armigo and Michelle Philips decided to replicate the event at Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale. Since that time we have had Garden Shares twice monthly, on the second Sunday at Common Ground and on the fourth Sunday at Full Circle Farm.
By the spring of 2012 we were talking with Rani Jayakumar who coordinates a similar event for sharing craft material, the Craft Swap. We decided to occasionally combine the events, and began to add other opportunities for sharing. We have now done this three times, the last two of which have attracted about 100 people. We have had bike repair, a soap making demonstration, a cookie decorating demonstration, clothes, books, toys and more to swap, video tales of Transition, and our own unique event, scrapophony, the brain child of the unique Herb Moore, where he teaches people to make instruments out of scrap material.
We consciously chose the word “share”, rather than “swap” or “exchange” to emphasize that we do not place a specific value on any given item. All items are placed on a table. People tend to stay for most of the hour or so that we run. There is a great chance to talk to other sharers and so build the Transition community. People often talk about the source of the things being shared, be that someone’s garden, someone’s kitchen or somewhere else. It is particularly nice to know all about something that you are going to take home. You take home what you want – no one counts (although everyone keeps an eye out for someone who overdoes things, which has only happened once). In the rare event that we have leftovers, we donate them to a local food bank. And don’t fret if you do not have anything to share in a given month: share yourself, take something home, and come back with things when you have them.
The future looks bright for the Local Garden Share. We will continue our monthly sharing events at Common Ground and Full Circle Farm throughout 2013 and beyond. We are looking into adding a third monthly event. We will plan to have a few joint events with the Craft Swap and others. And we are looking forward to the Great Reskilling Expo, a full day of sharing skills with each other, which is being planned for the spring of 2013. Garden, kitchen and other skills will be well-represented at that upcoming event.
Transition Palo Alto brings people from South Bay and beyond together to build a a more just, sustainable, and regenerative world from the ground up. We promote regenerative agriculture, the sharing and gift economy, and social, economic, and environmental justice as the means to transition from an exploitive, fossil fuel based society to one that values all life on earth.
| 2nd Tuesdays | Transition Cafe. Second Tuesday 6-7:30pm Mediterranean Wraps, Palo Alto. Meet monthly to discuss changing topics and build resilience. More information here. |
| October | Scare Faire and Costume Swap. Sunday, 1-3pm Museum of American Heritage, Palo Alto. Bring old costumes to share and share in the spooky-good skills. For more information, see here and below. |
| 4th Sundays | Sunnyvale Garden Share. Fourth Sunday 11-12, Charles Street Gardens, Sunnyvale. Wear your mask and bring anything from your garden that you’d like to share. For more information, send email to transitionpaloalto@gmail.com. |
To get involved, check out these links:
How to get involved! and What you can do about climate change. And sign up for our spam-free mailing list for information about important activities and events. And want to get in touch? Send a message to transitionpaloalto@gmail.com.
A Transition Cafe is a gathering of people at a local independent cafe to share ideas and experiences – and it’s been gathering steam. William Mutch started hosting Transition Cafes this fall, each time holding down a table at a local independent cafe and inviting people to come and chat about a pre-announced topic. Topics have included housing, community and food, the Transition/permaculture connection, activism, reconciliation, morality and the environment, religion, and storytelling and have been held in Menlo Park, Palo Alto, and Mountain View. Sometimes it’s a few people, other times it’s lots more – but it’s always a fine opportunity to learn, share, and connect.
The guidelines are simple:
To learn about the Transition Cafes, just make sure you’re on the Transition Palo Alto mailing list (go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/transitionpaloalto/ to sign up) and keep your eyes open for announcements.
Thanks to all who helped make the Transition Holiday Party a great success! Last night’s party at World Centric was full of familiar faces and some new ones, all enjoying delicious food and excellent company. A special thanks to those who helped with setup and clean up. The one regret is that were all so busy visiting we forgot to take photos…
Happy holidays to all, and we look forward to seeing you in the new year!
Holiday cheer was in the air at Common Ground on Sunday December 9. No dashing to the mall to load up on as much stuff as possible! Instead, folks came to enjoy the spirit of the holiday season by sharing – holiday decorations, clothing, books, crafts, garden treats, and more. In the spirit of the season, Connie Beal gave a cookie decorating demonstration and gave out samples of her creations. Herb Moore was there with his musical instruments, Tom helped out with bike repair, and Willi continued his video interview project – on sharing, of course.
You’ll find Willi’s video below the gallery of photos.
Transition Palo Alto 