The town of Chapel Hill/Carrboro, North Carolina became a Transition Town in 2009. While the community has always been highly involved in local food, sustainable housing, and renewable energy initiatives, local organizers like Margaret Krome-Lukens hope the official status will help inspire people to action.

Krome-Lukens also happens to be the farm manager for an organic farm and learning center called the Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain. While the institute isn’t officially involved in the Transition Town movement, when we visited, owner Tim Toben explained how he founded the farm with his wife as a way to help prepare us all for a more sustainable future.

“Our work is rooted in the belief that the fate of future generations will depend on their connections with the land,” explains their website.

In this video, we visit the Eco-Institute to talk to Toben and Krome-Lukens about the farm, the future, transitioning by 2050, life and death of non-CAFO pigs, local building materials, downsizing, and why a focus on transition shouldn’t be doom and gloom, but an opportunity to improve our lives.