Totnes is the UK’s first Transition Initiative, that is, a community in a process of imagining and creating a future that addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of.

The challenges presented to us today by global warming and peak oil (and gas) are perhaps the greatest that humanity has faced. This time brings a great opportunity for rethinking the way we live and making conscious choices about what kind of community and world we would like to live in. Change is coming whether we like it or not – and a planned response to the change will leave us in a much stronger position than if we wait until change is upon us.

Transition Town Totnes (TTT) believes that only by involving all of us - residents, businesses, public bodies, community organisations and schools - will we come up with the most innovative, effective and practical ideas, and have the energy and skills to carry them out. Our future has the potential to be more rewarding, abundant and enjoyable than today, and by working together we can unleash the collective enthusiasm and genius of our community (that means you!) to make this transition.

With this in mind, our mission is two-fold:

1. To explore and then follow pathways of practical actions that will reduce our carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
2. To build the town's resilience, that is, its ability to withstand shocks from the outside, through being more self reliant in areas such as food, energy, health care, jobs and economics.  

How will this be achieved? We don't exactly know yet (although we have some good ideas). Our approach is to support you, the community, in exploring the practicalities of this challenge. The main aim of TTT over the next 12-24 months is to create an Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP). We'll create a collective vision of how Totnes could be in say, 2030, then we'll figure out which pathways will best take us there. Meanwhile there's plenty going on in TTT, and lots of different ways for you to get involved - for example you can start to use Totnes Pounds for your weekly shopping or take a look at our list of things we would love to get some help with.

At the moment we have 10 groups and about 20 projects on the go, plus a wide range of events and workshops. If you have time, skills, resources or cash to spare there are lots of other ways to support us. To stay informed, please register to receive our monthly bulletin. This is packed full with news, updates and more ways to participate.

All of our groups are listed in the menu box on the left of the page, just click on one to find out more about what they do and how to get involved. If you want more information or to discuss any ideas then contact us directly, or pop in and see us on Fore Street. We hope to see you soon...

We also have a FAQ page that answers common queries, and a press room where you can see all the media attention we have been getting.... keep an ear on the Archers for the current transition storyline! Check out our newsfeeds for the latest external news about the environment, climate change and peak oil.

Finally, and most important of all, we recognise that lots of people have helped TTT become what it is today and we want to give thanks to everyone for their fantastic efforts so far. In addition to the huge amount of voluntary time that has been freely given, we wouldn't have gotten very far without some hard cash and we want to also thank our benefactors. See here for information about our funding process, and how we are spending current grants.

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If you are interested in starting up your own Transition Initiative where you live, then see the Transition Network for advice and support. Already there are over 60 other communities that have been inspired by TTT to become an official Transition Town, City, Village or area... with another 700+ mulling it over around the world.

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete". Buckminster Fuller

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This website was first made public at the beginning of April 2008. It replaces our old wiki with, we hope, a better organised website that lets you easily find the information you are looking for. A few pages are still under construction. If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback please do contact us with them.