Derek Povel and John Champagne are spearheading the campaign which includes having the community heavily involved in formulating a plan and taking on the challenge of making the transition from where the town is now to where it needs to be.

At a recent forum on ideas and opportunities initiated by South East Area Consultative Committee, Mr Champagne suggested the idea of Transition Town, which was enthusiastically accepted.

The project’s official title is South East Transition Towns (SETTs) and will spread right across the Bega Valley, as well as further afield.

Mr Champagne said peak oil and climate change were two of the biggest problems in the world and “we need to redesign our economies toward an energy descent scenario”.

According to Mr Champagne, the Transition Town philosophy looks at the impact that oil has on “nearly everything we do”.

“Food, transport, education, business, waste management and all types of sustainability, are all affected by oil useage,” he said.

“And with the world’s stocks of oil running out, we need to have a plan in place to cope with that.”

Mr Povel said the community needed to identify where its own needs were and to work out how to reduce its need for those sorts of resources.

“The plan is formulated by those who take part, whether they be organisations, committees or individuals,” he said.

“It is a very creative process and one which welcomes participation from everyone across all sectors of the community, as the problem will eventually affect everyone.”

Mr Povel said it was a “grass-roots process”.

“This is something that people can have ownership of and not feel they are just being ‘told by experts’,” he said.

“Everyone can feel part of it and there are no restraints on ideas.”

The men have been overwhelmed with support and have been asked to go to many other towns to promote the idea and “show others what can and should be done”.