Creating a Transition Town in Victoria, Australia

By Sandra Nichols 

Sandra Nichols is an environmental educator and an active member of the National Brahma Kumaris Green Team. Now retired, she formed Transition Clunes to promote community resilience through produce and clothes swaps. This article tells the story. 

Clunes, in the central highlands of Victoria, has a population of only 2,000 and is one of the most economically disadvantaged towns in the state. However, up until COVID, when volunteer rates plummeted, it had the highest volunteer rate of any town in Victoria. It was a good place to launch a ‘transition town’. 

The concept was originally developed by permaculturalist, Rob Hopkins, in Kinsale, Ireland, as an exercise for his students in response to ‘peak oil’ (which didn’t eventuate as a supply problem but is now looming as a political issue) and climate change. It’s a positive movement encouraging the growth of local economies in uncertain times. Its headquarters is in Totnes, Devon (watch YouTube video The town that tried to change the future – Totnes Devon,UK). 

Transition Clunes was initially comprised of a small team of four people, with different interests. Two were keen on a produce swap, one on a clothes swap and one on a repair café. Subsequently, our first event was a clothes swap. Participants were asked to bring along, to the two-hour event, up to 8 items of clean clothes or accessories, such as handbags, shoes or scarves to swap. The purpose of the clothes swap, where no money changes hands, was to promote the ‘circular economy’ where one person’s unwanted clothing was someone else’s ‘treasure’. The result has been a reduction in waste going to landfill and the building of community. Both these results will lead to a more resilient community in the future where residents can rely on their fellow residents for one of the essentials of life.

The success of the clothes swaps, which are now run twice a year for autumn/winter and spring/summer attire, encouraged the setting up of our two-hour monthly produce swaps. Saturday morning was chosen at a local community hall in the main street of town, as this is the busiest time of the week in Clunes. Although most of the produce is food grown in residents’ backyards, other produce has included preserves, seedlings, flowers, cakes, handmade craft items and even sheep manure! Tea and coffee is always on hand to encourage people to stay awhile and chat. Recipes have been swapped and information shared on the best growing conditions and techniques for various crops. Again, no money changes hands. Swappers can take as much as they like. Leftovers are taken to the ‘Clunes Food is Free’ venue which operates all week. Advertising is mainly word of mouth, articles in the monthly town newsletter and postcards distributed widely across town.

Funding was obtained from the local council to have a banner and tablecloth made for the produce swap and to pay for clothes racks. The produce swaps now provide a source of fresh, organic food for free to whoever brings something, however small, to the table. It solves the problem of food waste going to landfill and builds a resilient and connected community for the future.