This CTP involves the formation of Transition Bro Gwaun as an official transition initiative. It is based in in the town of Fishguard on the south west coast of Wales.
Tom Latter is an organic farmer who first became aware of the Transition movement through the Soil Association which is a UK based organic agriculture advocacy and accreditation organization. [Rob Hopkins was a trustee of the Soil Association for three years in the second half of the 2000]. Patrick Holden, the then Director of the Soil Association, was a keen supporter of the Transition movement in its early years. The interviewee thinks that he heard about a Transition related meeting in Lampeter through the Soil Association. This was held on Tuesday April 3rd 2007 at the Arts Hall, University of Wales. Rob Hopkins – the co-founder of the Transition movement – spoke at the meeting.
Tom felt that the Transition town idea would be of interest to other people in the area because at that time there wasn't a focus for environmental concern so there was no issue with "treading on anybody's toes".
Following the Lampeter meeting, Tom brought people who he thought would be interested in the approach together. A couple of other friends had been at the meeting too.They got around a dozen people together and held some public meetings which were quite well attended (by around 25–30 people). The people were likeminded people (interested in green issues) who were partly from the farming community. A few came from a local wholefoods buying co-operative as there was no wholefoods shop in Fishguard
They invited Rob Hopkins along to speak at a larger meeting (an "unleashing"). That raised awareness of the group in the community and thereafter they constituted themselves into a formal unincorporated community group [later, in 2011, they would register as a company, and in 2014 as a charity]. Anne Bushall, Brian and Dot Jackson and Chris Samba formed the core group, along with him.
For the early meetings, they picked topics that they thought people would be interested in - for example recycling. They screened films in the local cinema. For example, they had a memorable screening of the "Message in the Waves" documentary by Rebecca Hoskings. They tried out various things from the Transition Network 12 steps - including holding an "open space". These were set out in the Transition Primer which provided guidance on how to set up groups.
These activities were reasonably successful. Nonetheless, the interviewee doesn't think that they would get as many people if they tried to launch it now. It was a relatively new idea and it was a new environmental group.
His own interests in the Transition idea were based on interest in energy and Energy Return on Investment and how this linked to our survival and sustainability. It is what also motivated his interest in organic farming. Frustrated by the fact that the government weren't addressing the problem, he subsequently felt that if communities showed what could be done, it would give government the strength to take ome action but we are still in that "limbo state".
Two agencies in the county were helpful:
- Pembrokshire Association of Voluntary Services. For a nominal fee, they provided access to resources and support for voluntary groups.
- PLANED – Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development. They are based in Narbeth and have been running under diferent names. Also been very supportive. Focused on sustainability.
Local authorities (municipalities) more helpful currently, although they did help with allotments early on.
All the subsequent Transition Bro Gwaun activity followed this CTP. For example, in the earlier years they did three or four carnival floats in succession. These were quite successful, they were eye-catching and a lot of people got involved. At the beginning they didn't really form sub-groups, these came later e.g. Energy group (2010) and Transition café group (2012).
A couple of people dropped out after it had been set up, because they felt they weren't needed after it had been established. For them, setting it up was far more important than what happened afterwards.
Remarkably, little turnover otherwise and no major fallings out. The key organisers of Transition Bro Gwaun are reasonably thick skinned and share a commitment to stick in there and not let go. There is a sense of personal responsibility which means that activists don't want to let the side down, in fear of standstills and inaction.
The launch felt significant in that it raised awareness of the initiative and gave them some momentum. Some kind of renewable energy was always on the agenda but the Transition café project came out of the blue.
Tom's main ambition for the Transition group was to raise awareness of environmental issues because it wasn't that clear what could be done practically, apart from the idea of developing new local allotments.
The development of specific projects has depended a lot on chance. One of the main volunteers in the wind project is a wind developer (he has acted as an agent to help farmers put turbines up which was very helpful experience). If he hadn't been around, it would have been a lot more difficult.
The majority of the group have been people who are not very native to the area (i.e. incomers). It is about half and half. Often the civil society groups seem to be set up by the non-natives, often this is what happens because people who have lived here a long time accept things how they are. He is local but has also spent time away.
