It started as an email on "The Law of Two Feet."

"The Law of Two Feet" came up in a side discussion tonight (at a very traditional committee-style meeting for climate action). I thought I would share this, as it relates closely to another topic of another side discussion that deserves further (and central) consideration (by this particular group): that topic being Transition Towns. (I started to right this as an email to a few members of the group, then it seems to have turned into a blog post, so... enjoy!)

The Law of Two feet is part of a scalable organizing approach for groups "focused on a specific task". It's called Open Space Technology (OST) as wikipedia defines it,

"The approach is characterized by five basic mechanisms: (1) a broad, open invitation that articulates the purpose of the meeting; (2) participant chairs arranged in a circle; (3) a "bulletin board" of issues and opportunities posted by participants; (4) a "marketplace" with many breakout spaces that participants move freely between, learning and contributing as they "shop" for information and ideas; and (5) a "breathing" or "pulsation" pattern of flow, between plenary and small-group breakout sessions." ...The approach is often defined by its lack of an initial agenda.

The Law of Two Feet promotes the "breathing", "the flow" of the gathering. It is a critical operating instruction, which states:

“If, during the course of the gathering, any person finds themselves in a situation where they are neither learning nor contributing, they must use their feet and go to some more productive place.”

This is an example of an organizing process that can maximize the creative output of a large and diverse group of people, WITHOUT the need for hierarchical power structures and it's related ego-battles. In fact, as this Transition Culture website puts it,

"If you are a control freak, you will hate organizing an Open Space event! It involves a lot of trust that the process will work but at the same time I have never seen or heard of one not working."

I've been part of open space activities, and can personally attest. By simply setting an intentional tone for a gathering with simple rules, one can allow people to express and synthesize their ideas to their greatest potential as a fluid yet cohesive group. That is why this organizing tool is central to Transition Town model. One way I define the Transition Town (or Transition Initiative) model is as an organizing model for community-scale climate action, based in the principles of permaculture, that builds community resilience and decreases dependence on fossil fuels. With this scale of intent, and in the context of our climate emergency, we can see how such efforts to maximize the creative potential of a group (and to abandon dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics) seem most appropriate.

I would strongly suggest to anyone who is concerned with climate change and/or peak oil: look at the Transition Initiative model. They can borrow the book from the library, read the pages and forums online, or start with this 49-page primer. Then all they have to do is find someone else in their community and turn them onto it. Then... they're ready to start.

Transition Initiative, as an organizing model, gets at the root causes of climate change. It addresses the ways in which we relate to each other, to ourselves, and to the planet. It helps us to think about the climate and energy crises in a more holistic context, with sensitivity to the psychological and emotional reality of our situation. And even if a person is not ready to start an Initiative herself, the principles, theories, and tools will surely be useful in the years ahead.

more useful links:
A Brief User's Guide to Open Space Technology, Harrison Owen
http://transitionus.org/ - Transition United States