Rob Hopkins
Rob Hopkins did his permaculture design course in 1992, and around the same time saw Bill Mollison lecture in Stroud, and both of these things dramatically changed his life. He became involved in the Bristol Permaculture Group, and at the same time did a degree in Environmental Quality and Resource Management at UWE Bristol. His dissertation, ‘Permaculture - a new approach for rural planning’ is on his website. He moved with his family to Ireland, where he began teaching permaculture and laying the groundwork for the ecovillage development he wanted to undertake.
He set up Baile Dulra Teoranta, the first company granted charitable status for an eco-village development in Ireland. In September 2005 he moved to Totnes in Devon, to begin a PhD at Plymouth University looking at Energy Descent Action Plans, refining the model in such a way that they can be done anywhere.
“Transition Initiatives are based on four key assumptions:1. That life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable, and that it's better to plan for it than to be taken by surprise.2. That our settlements and communities presently lack the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.3. That we have to act collectively, and we have to act now.4. That by unleashing the collective genius of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching and that recognize the biological limits of our planet.”