From oil dependence to local resilience

Craig 33, Male Auckland New Zealand: Share on Facebook Share Twitter

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Peter Luiten replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Christoph, I think when you speak of the credit union contract and I speak of the savings/loan account, it amounts to the same thing: a record of savings and loans. I speak of accounts because savers making savings/term deposits and borrowers making…"

Aug 19, 2009

Christoph Hensch replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"I agree that the 'credit union' does need a rigorous accounting system. However, I don't see the need for two accounts per person. Once an amount is 'saved' with the credit union, then it is transferred to the credit union.…"

Aug 19, 2009

Craig replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"That's not sounding totally crazy. ;) I need to ponder this for a bit I think."

Aug 19, 2009

Peter Luiten replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Craig, Step 3: I presuming you are speaking of B's act of lending rather than B's act of saving. B basically wants to have points to call on at some future date, but the only means of doing this is by entering an agreement with the whole…"

Aug 19, 2009

Craig replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Yes, sorry, I meant B above. Eg: ** What's B's motivation for this transaction. She still has her 100 savings points. This transaction didn't change her account values at all. If I'm understanding your example correctly, the…"

Aug 19, 2009

Peter Luiten replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Craig, Step 1 is fine. Step 2: Of course B is stashing points away for a rainy day. Of course B doesn't want to trade those points. However, feelings and motivations are quite irrelevant here. We are devising a system that works regardless of…"

Aug 19, 2009

lee0007 replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Kia Ora Chris, Thanks for the quick reply, I'm happy to hear "easy & straightforward" :-) because we are strictly a service marketplace - no goods - intentionally so to avoid any monetary valuing of people's time and tax…"

Aug 19, 2009

Craig replied to Craig's discussion LETS/Green Dollars and "zero shift" in the group Transition Currencies

"Thanks Peter, I think I've got a handle on how your system works now. I think though that much of my earlier criticism still applies. I'm going to breakdown your example scenario and give some comments inline. Step 1 A buys from…"

Aug 19, 2009

Profile Information

In the context of Transition Towns my interests / passions are:: I'm very much a product of the "me" generation, for which I bare full responsibility, but (with only slight hesitation) I'm looking forward to a world where I have to work a bit harder, and consume a bit less, but on the whole hope to have more meaningful and more local work. I'm a fairly passably amateur cabinetmaker, and I'm hoping that in the future it will be affordable to spend some of my time crafting things out of wood, which is currently nothing more than a hobby because no one can realistically compete with imported products.

What are you happy to share about yourself:: I live in Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood, a residential development of 32 houses, designed and organised by it's residents to be a model of urban ecological and social sustainability. It's a great environment for kids, as cars are left outside the neighbourhood, and the houses and our central common building are connected with footpaths and gardens. My wife Tracey and I live in a small but beautiful rammed earth house, and rent a neighbour's spare room for my office where I work from home as a computer programmer.

We grow a lot of vegetables at Earthsong, but we don't have enough space to even consider being self-sufficient in food. I don't think that we could even manage to be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables, let along grow grains, meat and other staples. We're reliant on electricity, bottled gas, sewerage, and town water (although we also have tanks).

Where do you live (City or Town):: Ranui

Skype Address (optional, but very helpful for collaboration) Install Skype from http://skype.com/download: craigambrose

Website1:: http://www.craigambrose.com

Craig's Blog

Earthsong 2020 - Part 2

Early morning and Swanson Road is a bustle of activity. If you had seen this street a dozen years ago, you might be a little surprised at the types of activity that are taking place. Our younger children find it funny to think that this road was once so busy with automobile traffic that crossing it required waiting and careful attention to safety.

These days the traffic is of a different sort, and it certainly isn't all in a straight line. Swanson Rd remains an important route to… Continue

Posted on June 3, 2008 at 13:22

Earthsong 2020 - Part 1

Part 1: Breakfast

The sky is just starting to glow in the pre-dawn light and there’s a winter’s chill in the air as I make my way down to the common house. I’m not a morning person, but it always starts to grow on me once I’m up and out of the house, despite the zombie like way that I shaved and washed my face after rolling out of bed. I’ve taken to showering in the evenings in order to get a better result out of the solar hot water, and also because I now get a lot sweatier and… Continue

Posted on June 3, 2008 at 13:21

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At 10:23 on September 19, 2008, Stacy Rendall said…: Sweet, enjoy! I gave her some input into the talk, but I'm not sure if she is using it or not...

At 9:51 on September 19, 2008, Stacy Rendall said…: Hey Craig,
My supervisor is giving a talk tonight at Earthsong, covering part of the Transition movement (I have been meaning to tell you for a while, but kept forgetting), you may have heard about it already. It should be interesting. I have attached the flyer, hopefully it is visible.

Cheers,
Stacy

At 14:43 on July 25, 2008, Stacy Rendall said…: Awesome! Well, not the bit about having a cold. Glad the broad beans came up well.
That's great about the jointer, it did seem pretty strange to be unable to adjust something that important...
Would you make something like a table by hand? Sounds like fun!

At 14:08 on July 18, 2008, Stacy Rendall said…: And you moved. Wow! Look forward to seeing some photos...

At 14:06 on July 18, 2008, Stacy Rendall said…: Hey Craig. How's it going up there?
Did you get that jointer thing fixed?

At 13:59 on June 3, 2008, Rhys said…: Craig - the Sustainable Living Programme is a community education course plus a web resource site. Michelle Dawson (their in-house energy specialist) has run evening series on several occasions, most recently at Swanson, and will have a new colleague helping her at Waitakere City Council offices soon. Also single topic workshops or courses at Sustainable Living Centre, Olympic Park (EcoMatters Trust) and proposed at Waitakere WEA.
Rhys

At 11:16 on June 3, 2008, Rhys said…: Craig, are you connected with the Swanson-based course in Sustainable Living that Michelle Dawson has aranged recently?
Rhys (National Coordinator, Sustainable Living, check us out at sustainableliving.org.nz