Yesterday I gave a presentation about relocalisation and RWBI to the Central and North Burnett Community Services Network. The meeting was held in Mundubbera, about an hour and a half drive away. There were 11 people in attendance, and they came from community groups like Lifeline and the Mundubbera Community Development Association.

When speaking to community groups who may or may not have knowledge of oil depletion, it is impossible to explain the concept of relocalisation without including a bit of the "why"- so the presentation gave a brief overview of peak oil before going into relocalisation in general, RWBI specifically, and finally a few words about the Oil Depletion Protocol. Unless you have the entire day, its quite challenging to cover so much information and keep your listeners from being overwhelmed.

This is only my second ever presentation on the topic of relocalisation, which is much different than, say, introducing a band, emceeing a show or handing out awards- the type of public speaking I used to do in my "former life". I admit to being quite nervous yesterday - there's always a possibility that someone in the audience will strongly disagree with everything you have to say when talking about peak oil. But yesterday, the audience was very open to what I had to say, even with such a challenging topic plonked down in front of them.

Out of 11 attendees, nine of them gave me their contact information and expressed interest in learning more. As several of the members work closely with young people, lots of wheels were turning on the idea of getting youth involved with community garden projects. Another spoke to me about biofuels. Another asked about how the trade and barter system would work. Yet another asked whether we need funding!!

I left after the break with a number of new contacts and a lot of hope. I look forward to working with everyone from the CNBCSN.

View the presentation PDF. (327KB)