Building sustainable livelihoods is a central part of what Transition Stroud is about. Climate change means local production and consumption, and that means we all have to be making and sharing things with each other rather than going to shops to buy things made in China.

While that much is clear, it is still rather difficult for the Lifestyles and Livelihoods group of Transition Stroud to find its way. Should it be a green business agency, promoting already existing sustainable businesses? Or act as a broker for new businesses? Or simply link Transition people in to the already existing organizations that perform these roles in Stroud? Or perhaps we should provide venues for people to trade with each other locally?

The consensus so far has been that we need a local currency to support our local economy to replace the LETS scheme. There are two candidates that we may simply need to support and publicise: Earth Hours (www.earthhours.co.uk) and the Stroud Time Bank (contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Some members are keen to make our own circulating currency, although more active support for this idea from other within Transition Stroud will be needed.

Certainly we have a role in networking expertise and being a store of valuable information as the process develops. We should, perhaps, work more closely with the Education Group to find ways to share the knowledge and expertise more widely.

February 2008