Old skills look for the future

By Tania Martin
A GROUP of Emerald residents is stepping back in time in the name of sustainability.
Emerald for Sustainability (EmFSust) has joined the Transition Towns movement which was started in the United Kingdom by Rob Hopkins.
Group spokeswoman Lee Fuller said to remain sustainable in the future people need to look back in time. “We are not reinventing the wheel here,” she said.
One example of this is returning to the good old days of shopping locally rather than driving to larger supermarket chains.
Ms Fuller said it was also about retraining people in the skills of knitting, quilting, sewing on a button or even basic carpentry. “We have lost a lot of skills our grandmothers had,” she said.
“We are just bringing it all back to what it should be.”
Emerald Community House’s Mary Farrow said it would be a cheaper way to live.
“From an economic standpoint it would be cheaper to buy, cook locally and it would mean less packaged food,” she said.
The aim of Transition Towns is to give communities all the tools they need to cope with climate changes and reduced oil supplies.
Those who take part in the program are urged to find new ways of reducing energy as well as increasing their own self reliance.
Earlier this year, EmFSust presented a book written by Hopkins to La Trobe MP Jason Wood in a bid to raise awareness of the initiative.
Now another group, Em2Gem, has been formed to cover the towns of Emerald, Avonsleigh, Cockatoo and Gembrook.
Ms Fuller said the group hopes the hills can do something similar to towns in the UK in developing local solutions to environmental problems.
“It may not happen tomorrow or next year but it’s going to be in our generation,” Ms Fuller said.
“We need to look at suggestions and guidelines on how to do that now.”
The group is now looking for more people to join.