The journey to resilient communities won't be a top down effort (in fact, there will likely be top down resistance), nor will there be only one approach. One simple and straightforward approach is being used in Todmorden, UK. It's called Incredible Edible. The goal with this program is to simply gain food independence for the town by 2018. So far, it appears to be working. The most salient signs of this include a:
- Big increase in local food production including community "help yourself" food gardens in central plots (fruit to herbs).
- Thriving local food market. 7 in 10 buy local food regularly. The market "groans" with local meat and vegetables.
- Switch at the 8 local schools to serving only local produce at lunch.
Process
The incredible edible process appears to be relatively simple (17 tips):
- Start small. Self-financed plantings with a small group is all that's needed.
- Expand organically, using a very practical approach. Only do what can be done now (forget the rest). Ask people to do what they can, not what you wish them to do.
- Leave big issues/philosophy out of it. Be reasonable in your requests and terse in your explanation of why.
- Attach your efforts to community building activities at the town/neighborhood level. Harness institutions. Always propose things that lighten the workload/costs of the town/neighborhood governing council.
- Be patient and nice. Things move slowly.
Platforms and Engines
To accelerate efforts, here are some things that the Todmorden team has done or has in the works:
A surplus egg map (Google mash-up -- click pic at left).
Daily blogs, twitter, and flickr
An effort to build/fund an aquaponics facility (fish/vegetables) at the local school. The byproduct being training for students in food production that will yield awareness for all and lots of meaningful jobs/careers for some (given that conceptual or academic eduction = preparing for jobs that increasingly don't exist). The school already has a polytunnel.
Workshops on honest food like preparing a chicken from scratch.