A little taste of Eudlo

A little bit about our town of Eudlo. The picture above is by local artist, Kristen Tiver Cutlack. We bought this card at the local markets which are held every three months in and around the Eudlo Town Hall - next one is on December 13. We have the photo in our profile to the right.

Our town has about 850 people living in and around it. We have a primary school, general store, coffee shop, hairdresser, tennis courts, rural fire service and a train station with a direct line to Brisbane.

We also have the Chenrezig Buddhist Institute just out of town too. The first Tibetan Buddhist Centre in the Western world and still one of the largest. Chenrezig is open to the public for teaching, meditation which has the Big Love cafe too. Visit their website at www.chenrezig.com.au to check schedules and make sure they are open before you visit.



Chenrezig is home to many Buddhist nuns and monks.



Here is a photo of the Gompa.



We also have a local Swiss Cheese Maker - Fromart - in town too.

Most people who live in Eudlo have acreage, while homes in town are average sized blocks.

We are located in the foothills of the Blackall Range half way between Palmwoods and Mooloolah. If you haven't been here before it's worth the drive and you can enjoy a coffee and a meal at Sweethearts Cafe and visit Chenrezig - they are open to the public between Wednesdays and Sundays.

As I said, our next Market Day is on the 13th of December starting at 7am - drop in and say hi!

Cheers,
Sonya
Transition Town Eudlo
Coordinator

Eudlo Town Market

Eudlo will host a market day on Sunday March 15 from 7am at the Town Hall.

Transition Town Eudlo will be there with information about what we're up to, how you can be involved and we'll also have some yummy local organic fresh food for you to buy.

The markets have given Eudlo a new dimension in community. People swarmed to the last one proving these types of events, where people get to meet their neighbours are popular.

2009 Plans...

We had our first meeting for 2009 on the first Sunday of February with an excellent turn out of people. New faces from neighbouring towns - Palmwoods, Mooloolah and Keil Mountain.

We've decided to keep Sunday morning get togethers as a social catch up and we'll start a core group of initiators working on projects that will meet separately. That way we can spend time meeting new people, talking to others and still have a formed group who work together to get projects done in the community.

Interest of the group lies in food, energy, water, waste and heart & soul, so that is an excellent foundation for us to start from.

A great starter project is a food co-operative.

Other passions include biodynamics, permaculture and homeopathic remedies for gardens, seed saving, herbs and alternative medicine.

Event ideas include local market and local film nights.

Core group will be meeting February 24th at 7pm at our place to start work on projects and who can do what.

Welcome

Hi,

Welcome to the blog of Transition Town Eudlo. We are one of the first Transition Initiatives in Australia and we are looking forward to moving our community from oil dependency to local resilience.

We'll post all the happenings, what's on, how it is all developing... whatever unfold from our transition experience.

There has been an active group of people working on positive solutions to climate change and peak oil in Eudlo for the past year, we are now morphing into a Transition Town.

Sonya - Co-ordinator

The town of Eudlo

Eudlo, [Indigenous Australian for fresh water eels], is located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, about half way between the towns of Palmwoods and Mooloolah. Settled in 1891 as a timber and cattle town, Eudlo now consists of a primary school, general store, post office, tennis courts, a volunteer rural fire service, a town hall and an enthusiastic and active relocalisation action group that will celebrate its first birthday this month (July 2008).

Eudlo lies on the national rail line, so we are well positioned for a future using less energy. We have access to fertile soil, good rainfall, established local food growers and experienced and active permaculturists living in the area. Eudlo does not have any town water or sewage systems, so has avoided the population and development explosion currently happening in surrounding Sunshine Coast towns.

Existing group
Eudlo started a peak oil/climate change/relocalisation group in July 2007. Since then we have developed many successful initiatives including;
Bulk buying dried organic goods, oil, tahini etc etc
Seed saving group
Share/swap/barter excess fresh produce from our gardens
Bulk buying/delivery of things like mulch, mushroom compost
Permablitz working bees at member’s homes- helping others establish home food gardens
Emergency support phone list (in case of cyclone, storm, flood)
Car pooling (happening informally among members)

Exciting new initiatives just started;
Establishing a co-operative based on the Maleny (Sunshine Coast, Queensland) model

Initiatives in the pipeline for Transition Town Eudlo;
Working with the local town hall committee to establish social gatherings for the community
Establishing the Eudlo Grain Growers Group (EGG) – researching suitable grains to grow here in the community, growing and distributing them
Buying a community grain mill (engineering a pedal powered one)
Establishing an edible landscape plan for the local park
Working with the local Buddhist Centre (Chenrezig) to develop meditation/discussion groups on change in the context of peak oil and climate change – offering support through change process
Working with council on bikeways, pathways, and a paved town centre for pedestrians
Exploring ways to create a social hub – eg through a co-operative, café, guest speakers, music etc in the heart of the town

The Eudlo group is very active and we have been working well for the past year. People have taken on individual projects they feel confident doing and passionate about. We have permaculture educators, alternative health therapists, home birth and home schooling people, a dietitian, and a regional Transition Initiative Coordinator in the group, which has a vibrant multicultural mix of Spanish, Japanese, Canadian, Swiss, English, Australian, and Creole/Mauritius. We have a lot of relevant expertise in our community.

2006 census – Eudlo statistics
Size 17 sq kms
Population 852
Vehicles - number of cars 303
Household numbers - Predominantly one or two people households
Housing - Predominantly separate houses – owned or being paid off
Religion - Buddhism followed closely by Christianity
Average annual rainfall (over past three years) – 1550mm
Closest major town – Nambour – pop 9774 – 20 minute driveHeight above sea level – rail station in town centre is 27 metres above sea level