The Community Powerdown Course: Training for leadership, livelihoods and local resilience

Course starting in Dunmanway Tuesday 13th October 2009

Info evening Tuesday 6th October Dunmanway Family Resource Centre

“Bursting with insightful analysis and creative solutions to the twin challenge of climate change and peak oil, The Powerdown Course is an inspirational pointer to life beyond fossil fuels. Essential learning ; a flash of light in the darkness.”

Rob Hopkins founder of the Transition Movement

“The course was very positive. The structure was very good with lots of opportunity to learn from one another. As a professional in the community sector for 15-years, I was surprised to see some new formats I had not come across before. I would recommend it be made available to local communities everywhere as an opportunity to look at the future sustainability of their community and take positive steps to ensure the same. Great course and very enjoyable”

Fergal Conlon, Manager Social Inclusion West Cork Development Partnership.

Community Powerdown is a 10 week learning programme, developed by Cultivate, to help empower people to positively respond to the global challenges we face today. Central to this is the concept of resilience – the capability of communities to hold together, adapt and maintain their ability to function in response to change. The objective of the course is to nurture community leadership in sustainability. A leader; in this new context can be described as anyone who consciously chooses to engage in collaborative, transformative change aimed toward the goal of a sustainable future. A person who will hopefully act as a catalyst for change, for the good of their own community.

Themes explored on the course include:

• The Challenges Ahead Climate, Energy and Sustainability
• The Power Of Community: Social Capital, Resilience and the Local Economy
• Deconstructing Dinner – Food Miles, Trade and Food Systems
• Shelter – Future Proofing Our Homes and Buildings
• Where Do We Go From Here? :Communication & Livelihoods

Learners that complete this course will:

• Understand the social, environmental and psychological issues of peak oil and climate change
• Develop a range of practical skills for appropriate community responses
• Be able to present and articulate the need for building local resilience & strengthening the local economy
• Identify a pathway for personal and community energy reduction
• Be empowered and inspired to apply what they have learned in their local community

The course facilitators are Sustain West Cork founder members Caz Jeffreys & Matt Mills .

We have a limited number of subsidsed places available at @50 per person. The full cost is euro150

Price includes a DVD ROM Toolkit of resources including all 10 episodes of Cultivate’s new TV Show.

For further information contact Caz on 028 25978 or Matt on 028 23675 Email festival@sustainwestcork.com

Supported by the West Cork Development Partnership under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013.