About the programme

In this section find out what the programme will do for you, how it works, more about the workbook and the extras...

What will it do for me?

Cut your household bills with this new programme that offers easy, helpful, practical advice to help you:

  • Take control of your daily costs
  • Reduce your impact on the environment
  • Understand better these times  of change and uncertainty
  • Act together with your friends, family and community
  • Have fun, make friends and save money at a pace and schedule that suits you

Transition Together helps you build a Practical Action Plan. It cuts through the massive amount of often confusing information that's out there, and provides you with reliable facts and practical tips from the experts. It provides local information relevant for all of us living here in Totnes and District. This programme is free (for the first 100 participants!) and only available to local residents.

Designed for you, your home and your street, it enables you to take straight-forward, practical steps with your neighbours, your friends, your work colleagues and your family. Transition Together helps making changes not just easier, but much more enjoyable. It will save you money and bring you and your community closer together.

The workbook shows you the easiest ways to improve your home’s energy efficiency, save money on your water and utility bills and reduce waste. It explores easy, practical ways to take advantage of cheaper transport options and the best value, healthy, local food available in our town. It also helps you understand what’s behind the rising oil prices and climate change, and what this means for you, your family and your local community.  It helps you to develop ways to live well in these times of change.

How does it work?

The programme is very flexible. Together with your group, you arrange dates and venues where you'll make your way through the workbook together.

  • The ideal size for a group is 5 - 8 households
  • You'll meet about 7 times, usually once every 2-3 weeks
  • Group members generally take turns to host a meeting at their homes, but other places can be used
  • There's a new chapter for each session which you'll discuss together, but you'll each develop your own plans specific to your home and family
  • Some actions are shared by the group e.g. one person calls to find out about cavity wall insulation grants for homes in your street
  • In between the sessions, you have time to start to put your plans into action
  • At the next session you have space and time to catch up with the rest of your group, share trials and tribulations, exchange ideas and offer support and generally, consume a lot of cake!

The workbook

You will each get your own practical workbook. Over a series of 7 sessions, you will together explore practical ways to control your usage and cut your bills in these key areas:

  • Energy
  • Water
  • Food
  • Waste
  • Transport

The workbook provides a great range of effective actions that you and your family can take. It's up to you to decide how much or how little you want to take on. It includes how to find out about current grants available.

The extras

As well as the workbook, there's a wide range of other things that will help support you in carrying out the actions and making the savings:

  • Access to a range of discounted products, such as energy meters and water saving devices
  • A low energy light bulb sample kit that you can borrow and try out in your own home
  • Enery monitors that you can borrow for a day or two to see where you money is actually going
  • A professionally run, enjoyable, engaging workshop on offer to help your group work well together
  • How to get free access to relevant DVDs and books that you can enjoy in your own time
  • Ideas for getting more involved in local activties, if you so choose