What if…?
A few years ago for the Rices of the World Day in Mungia some friends of BBT did a sketch called Han eta Hemen at the end of which we distributed a newsletter, A Fair World, with some fictitious news to make us think. Rob Hopkins, the founder of the Transition Town Movement believes it is fundamental that people start using their imagination and asking the question “What if…?” . It reminds us of one of the slogans in the Paris 1968 Revolution “l`imagination au pouvoir!” Rob proposes that there is no “But…” answer to the question. He tells us of a workshop he did in Liège four or five years ago when he asked the transition group there to ask the same “What if..?” question. One of the questions was “What if most of the food in Liège was locally grown? (Good exercise to practise your Second Conditionals!!). Last year when he went back to Liège there were 25 new cooperatives, an alternative currency, new shops and all with 5 million euros invested by local people! The movement works very closely with the mayor who realizes how necessary transition based on a local economy is. In fact, he says that before they wanted Liège to be a smart town, now they want to do everything they can to make it a transition town. What a wonderful example! Sadly here we are still very far away!