We asked Tooting Transitioners what they’d learnt from getting involved with our local collective response to global challenges. Here’s a random selection of what they said:

Malsara:
I am touched and amazed by the generosity and kindness of the people I have met through TTT. What a refreshing change from the profit driven madness of the recruitment world, thank goodness I have left that behind me! …Being a member of TTT has given me the opportunity to learn new skills and do things I would not have had the opportunity of doing, it’s been quite an experience.

Ethel:
Knowledge is power, and this is why I joined TTT and I have never looked back. The whole experience has made a difference in my daily life, I stopped driving to work at Chelsea and Kensington and travel by bus or train. I tell my friends and family to live gentle on the land God has given us to plant more trees and to use the produce at harvest time for our food. I have learnt a lot from the meetings, the conference at Battersea Arts Centre and also watching Age of Stupid, raised my awareness to some of the issues affecting poor countries in the world, and that we should try and live simply and allow others also to live. I think I can make a difference, as a midwife giving advice to pregnant women about health and wellbeing, I can look into health issues. I envisage the future for Tooting is to have trees on the pavements on the High Streets, and no cars to cut down on the carbon.

Jo:
To me being part of a transition group, even on an adhoc basis due to my travelling, helps me to give a moment, sometimes just a thought, to how I live my life and how that effects others near and far.

David:
I have been amazed at how a seemingly small insignificant thing can snowball into a much bigger more significant thing; for instance my photos and videos as picked up on and used by others. It makes me feel that small things can assist in facilitating real change towards a more sustainable and resilient society. An ocean comes from many raindrops.

Lucy:
I look at everything differently. I feel clearer about my role and I feel calmer that I have now taken into my own hands responsibility for acting on behalf of the planet and my community. I am hopeful and excited about some of the things I think we can achieve in Tooting. I have learnt that the earth needs our help and there is a lot we can do. TTT has helped wake me up to this and set me on a road that will be full of adventures. It has given me a framework in which i can lead my life which is coherent and committed.

Hilary:
I’ve learnt that I don’t need the ‘authority’ of a job or a job title to get out and make things happen. I’ve walked through doorways in Tooting that I passed by for years and behind them have found wonderful spaces, lovely people and caring and supportive communities. I’ve met many great people with whom I can share my fears for the future without fear of judgement but also make plans with a sense of imagination and creativity which feels like it might just make changes possible.

Giulia:
I really do believe now that together people can make a difference and that there is scope to reinvent our lives and the places we live in. It has been a very “dynamic” year, exchanging great ideas, developing our vision of a better future and mostly, making things come true!!

We look forward to welcoming more of you in 2010