Our baby grows up in Goomalling

Thursday night was the launch of Living Communities Goomalling.  It was the birth of an idea that has been gestating for the best part of two years. But it’s growing quickly and nearly time for Martin and myself to let it run free. It is no longer just a dream of its creators, it is a friend for everyone to share and help shape.
As the co-founders, we know that the program will not survive if it is left to two guys with great ideas but no money. Our role now is to nurture it to the next stage by allowing others to take charge of various aspects.
Right now that means letting the practitioners do what they feel is required to make the program work. After a launch event that drew over 10% of the Shire's population and recruited 5 more members for the project's steering group we are extremely confident that the community is going to be fully involved in this process and because of that, chances of some great results are high.
Community led change is a sweet uplifting process. Watching a community fully participate in describing what their greatest wish and greatest fear was for their town had me a bit choked up. But what the community contributes to this pilot will of course do much for the development of the Living Communities program.
We're breaking new ground here. A living community like Goomalling can create solutions and solve problems that government simply can't, no matter how much money and how many experts they throw at it.  And communities can tackle things that big business won't touch, like providing a local solution to energy and food systems.
We’re not the only ones doing something like this in the world – we’re part of a movement of change and the people of Goomalling are leading rural Australia. Let’s watch and see if Australia follows.