Moving the Collective Biodiesel Conference to Canada from Washington D.C. and changing the name to Biofuels seemed risky, but it paid off. Would attendees follow the conference across North America? Could we attract a local base? Thankfully the answer to both was yes. People came from BC and across Canada, ten U.S. states were represented including North Carolina, Texas and Hawaii, and we even had someone come from Iceland! The spirit of the conference was alive and well at this year's event, with a palpable excitement as attendees delved into all aspects of biofuels.

As CBC organizer and host Brian Roberts said, "At home, we're like aliens with our talk of transesterification. But here, we speak each others' language." It's true most of our friends and family don't have a burning desire to discuss oil collection routing software, co-op development, grease theft or titrations. But it's more than that - as another attendee wrote "'Community' is an aspect missing from my daily life, but it is compensated to great extent by my biodiesel friends." We're all comrades on a mission to bring sustainable fuel to our communities.

A premiere screening of FREEDOM started the CBC, with producer Josh Tickell participating in a lively panel discussion about ethanol and sustainability. It was great to see the level of community interest in the film, and government officials including the Mayors of Duncan and North Cowichan, federal Member of Parliament Jean Crowder and provincial Member of the Legislative Assembly Bill Routley came out to support renewable energy. Michael Rensing with BC's Ministry of Energy and Mines spoke on the film panel as well as at the conference. 

Saturday morning CBC Keynote Lyle Estill kicked off the workshops with a talk on Biodiesel's New Leaf. His conclusion - it's the people that make everything work in our business. And the people at this year's conference spent all weekend building that capital. Die-hards lingered in the parking lot until the early hours of the morning, discussing business ideas and how to better collaborate on the struggle we all face - providing sustainable ethical fuel alternatives to our communities. 

This weekend was soul-nourishing for me, and renewed my commitments to sustainability and community. The open source and collaborative atmosphere was inspiring,and so was the mix of familiar faces back and new people full of excitement and ideas, ready for another year in this rollercoaster business.

This weekend wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of Cowichan Energy Alternatives and the Cowichan Bio-Diesel Co-op, who hosted the event, as well as Conference Gold Sponsor Vancity. All the weekend's activities were held in beautiful facilities including the Quw'utsun' Centre and Queen Margaret's School (who are going to start running bio in their buses!). A tour of the Bings Biofuel Facility showcased Cowichan Valley's first community-scale biodiesel processor, in a unique recycling partnership with the Cowichan Valley Regional District. Additional outings to Affinity Guesthouse and Averill Creek Vineyard gave attendees a taste of Cowichan Valley food, wine and scenery. The conference wrapped up with dinner at a local biodynamic organic CSA, Alderlea Farm, with CBC speaker Kealan Gell playing Bob Dylan's Hurricane on a cello, to a backdrop of  the moon rise over rolling fields. 

Check out articles about this year's conference on Piedmont's Energy Blog, in the Cowichan News Leader, and from Biodiesel Magazine writer and CBC attendee Bryan Sims. Stay tuned for videos and presentations from this year's conference, and email jessy@cowichanenergy.org if you want to be on the CBC email list.

Thanks for making this year another great one,
2011 CBC Organizers

Most photos are courtesy of Graydon Blair. To see his complete photo collection go to Utah Biodiesel Supply.