The Launch of Transition Town Warri

Banner outside the Blossom Event Center in Warri, where the training took place. Photo courtesy of Yvonne Omatseye.

Originally published by Transition News.

Last month, I had the honor and privilege of being invited to participate in the launch of Transition Town Warri. While the explicit purpose of my trip to Nigeria was simply to co-facilitate an introductory Transition Launch Training, as I’ve done many times before, it ended up being much more than that. For me, it was an intensely challenging but hugely transformational and deeply hopeful experience I’ll never forget.

I was invited by Yvonne Omatseye, who I first met in 2023 when she joined an online Train the Trainers course I coordinated for Transition Network called Transition Facilitators Training. As we stayed in touch afterwards, I learned that she had written her master’s thesis on Transition Towns in England, was working with youth in her hometown to establish community gardens, and wanted to help spread the Transition Movement not only in her part of Nigeria, but possibly throughout the African continent.

I knew right away this was something I wanted to support in my role as Training Coordinator – at that time, there were no internationally-certified Transition Trainers from Africa, and, as far as I could tell, no Transition Trainings had ever taken place there – but I also knew I needed to tread carefully. An important tenet of the Transition Movement has always been that Transition groups and hubs emerge organically from the bottom up and are governed entirely by the people who live there, who adapt the Transition approach to their local culture and conditions. Transition Network exists to support, not drive, any expansion.

Nevertheless, this was an opportunity to spread Transition authentically, in accordance with our values. In my work with Transition Sarasota, Transition US, and now Transition Network, I’ve always looked for the bridge builders, those exceptional people who have the ability to bridge multiple worlds. It was clear from the start that Yvonne is not only a bridge builder, but one with the passion, leadership skills, and charismatic personality to potentially help spark a movement.

When Transition Network gave her a £3,500 grant to host and facilitate her first training, I assumed Yvonne would work with a trainer from Southern Europe or someone much closer to Nigeria than I was in Boulder, Colorado. However, when I proposed a few options, she said wanted me to come instead. Since I try to fly as little as possible because of concerns about global warming, I countered with the suggestion that she recruit someone from her local community to co-facilitate and I would coach them over Zoom. But Yvonne didn't want that either. She said she wanted somebody with a lot of experience in Transition and I was the only person she knew and trusted. Eventually, I relented, and we started to plan my visit.

On the Ground in Nigeria

After some scheduling delays, I flew from Atlanta, Georgia to Lagos on March 24th. Since we had to pass through Lagos on our way to Warri, Yvonne had arranged a workshop the following day with a local organization stewarded by the Kabzeel Group called the Greenland Permaculture Association. It came as no big surprise to me that none of the 25 participants (except for the main organizer) had ever heard of Transition Towns, but because Transition had been founded by a Permaculture teacher and was based on Permaculture principles, there was an instant connection.

One of the breakout groups at the workshop in Lagos. Photo courtesy of Bomi-Daniels Folasiji.

I explained that Transition could be thought of as “community-scale Permaculture,” introduced the basic Transition model, and facilitated a discussion about how David Holmgren’s 12 Permaculture principles might be applied to community-scale projects. Then, participants broke into small groups to design projects using those principles. Delivered Shark-Tank style towards the end of the workshop, the final presentations turned out great. I was particularly intrigued by one proposal to build a zero-energy, charcoal-based refrigeration system for a co-op of local farmers. Although I didn’t have money to invest, all the courageous presenters received a copy of my Regeneration Handbook.

The next day, Yvonne and I traveled from Lagos to Warri via Benin City. It was a somewhat harrowing drive during which we got pulled over twice by government authorities and chased by paramilitary, but we finally arrived in one piece. I settled into my hotel to rest and finish editing my slide deck, while Yvonne visited with her mother and daughter and continued working on other preparations for the training.

The training was scheduled to begin a day and a half later. Although we ended up starting a few hours late, nobody seemed to mind, and the more than 50 participants who showed up were warmly welcoming and attentive. I presented on the Seven Essential Ingredients of Transition and the Eight Transition Principles, and we discussed the biggest issues their community was currently facing as well as the visions they held for their community’s future. Towards the end of the day, Yvonne invited participants to self-organize into smaller groups by neighborhood and elect “chiefs” to help facilitate the development of practical projects.

Right after we closed on that first day, I was told the King was ready to meet with us! Yvonne had secured an audience with the Olu of Warri through her work with the Royal Iwere Foundation, which is funded by the Warri Royal Family. Around a dozen core team members came out that evening to meet the monarch and represent Transition Town Warri. When he walked into the ornate throne room at his personal residence, I have to say I thought the Olu looked a bit like the British actor Idris Elba.

We were told before he arrived that he had had a long day, and he started off by checking his phone while sitting on a high throne. However, as Transition Town Warri team members spoke about the benefits of building local community resilience and furthering local economic development using local resources and solutions, he looked up and paid attention. Towards the end, he said he was very interested in what was happening with Transition Town Warri and would be looking forward to progress reports. The whole thing only took about 15 minutes, but it was quite the experience. Our meeting even ended up making the news.

Yvonne speaking to the Olu of Warri during a meeting at his private residence. Photo courtesy of Yvonne Omatseye.

The second day of the training started even later than the first and was focused primarily on the continuation of project planning in neighborhood groups. While this was different than any other training I had facilitated before, I trusted Yvonne knew what she was doing, and this paid off (big time) a day later. After three days of developing these projects, the neighborhood groups and their chiefs were more than ready to present their work to a much larger audience the following evening.

For the third and final day of the training, Yvonne had rented a large hall for a celebratory dinner. She hired a DJ, enlisted volunteers to cook, and invited representatives from local and state government to attend. Everyone dressed in their finest. The head of the Delta State environmental office and an assistant to the Warri South local government chairman both gave speeches. However, the main attraction was the project presentations.

They were all excellent. There was one on using black soldier flies to produce compost and animal feed from food waste, another on generating cooking fuel and electricity from biogas digesters, and another on creating fire and flood-resistant building materials from sand and waste plastic. Some of these proposals were approaching full-fledged business plans with well-defined phases for rolling them out, how much investment would be needed at each stage, how many people would be employed, and how much revenue would ultimately be generated. Over the past 15 years of being a Transition Trainer, I’ve never seen such impressive practical outcomes come directly out of a training.

On my last day in the area, Transition Town Warri core team member Henry Erikowa drove me down to the coast to visit Falcorp Mangrove Park, which he had founded as an ecological preserve and educational center years earlier. I was surprised at first to see a lot of familiar faces from the training, but soon learned that many were Henry’s helpers and employees. After encountering a 20-foot alligator and feeding a baboon, walking across a treacherous pathway over the swamp, and tasting cashew fruit for the first time, we came to a fence with a sign that was veiled by a piece of cardboard. Henry asked me to do the honors of removing the cardboard to reveal a sign that read: “Transition Town Warri Innovation Hub.” Everyone cheered and took photos.

The great unveiling of the Transition Town Warri Innovation Hub. Photo courtesy of Henry Erikowa.

This was the perfect ending to the trip for me. I felt incredibly grateful to see where the practical projects that were presented the night before will be prototyped before being moved out into the wider community. Although Transition Town Warri (like every Transition group) is sure to face challenges in the future, they are off to a great start with a strong, committed leadership team, many enthusiastic participants, and a physical location from which to launch their regenerative projects. As I wrote in the guest book before we drove back to the city: “Long live Transition Town Warri and the Innovation Hub!”

Closing Reflections

This was a challenging trip for me personally: the heat was unrelenting, I was half-sick for about four days with food poisoning, and I never quite felt like I knew what I was doing. Nevertheless, it was undoubtedly worth it. I learned a ton about cultural differences, humility, trust, patience, and the importance of open, straightforward communication. I also made a bunch of new friends with people I deeply respect and admire.

That doesn't mean, however, that I’ll be traveling back to Africa anytime soon. While I would go again in a heartbeat if I felt my presence would make a real difference, I think it's in their capable hands now. They have everything they need to adapt the Transition model to African soil and spread this movement (if they want) throughout the continent themselves. Transition Network will continue to support, but not steer, this unfolding process.

In just the few weeks since I’ve been back, Yvonne has let me know that Transition Town Warri is continuing to meet and Transition activity is starting to bubble up in East Africa as well. Joseph Kathuku from Kenya, who was introduced to me by a colleague at Transition Network and participated in the training in Warri, is already planning a training for later in the year in his hometown of Machakos. We’re also currently working together on a presentation about Transition Towns for a Permaculture Design Course in Uganda that’s starting later this month.

What will ultimately happen is uncertain, but this experience makes me wonder about other places where the Transition Movement hasn't really landed yet – such as India, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. While remaining true to our values, isn’t there something we can do to at least make it known that Transition exists? One thing we can definitely do is to look for the bridge builders like Yvonne and Joseph. People like them don’t come along every day, but when they do, we should make sure to recognize and support them.

Participants in the first-ever Transition Training on the African continent. Photo courtesy of Yvonne Omatseye.