Welcome to the third week of our journey! It is hard to believe how many amazing people we have already met and incredible communities we have visited. From the outset of our journey it has been important to us to be open to all perspectives of what makes a community resilient, and indeed what a "community" even means.
Whoville, Eugene
When we arrived in Eugene, OR, friends of ours told us we should visit some of the Whovilles around the city. A Whoville is an encampment of people protesting the illegality of camping in unused public space, like an empty city lot. After the Occupy movement in Eugene, camping out was made illegal and now there are many houseless people in transitional parts of their lives who have no where to stay. These encampments are perhaps not what most would consider a resilient community, but our experience talking to people who live there challenged that notion. | The first resident we talked to was named Ray. We discussed climate change and social issues and realized that he is intimately aware of these problems- he can see them driving past him every day. When people yell at their camp out of their cars, he thinks they should be more understanding and more in connection with the land. As he says, in a few generations environmental degradation and extreme weather events could have a lot more of us on the streets. |
Ray gave us biking directions to the second area, where we asked for Randy, the main cook. He was full of love for his community as well as those not immediately connected to him. Randy believes this protest is not just about a local problem but also a global one. It is an incredibly important movement, that he hopes will go down in history starting in their own town of Eugene.
What we learned by visiting Whoville:
- It truly is a community. They watch out for a each other and take care of each other, and the love and acceptance are palpable.
- Many different kinds of people live there, from Randy’s 87 year old mother, who was kicked out of her nursing home, to University of Oregon students who cannot afford tuition and rent.
- Creating a community without infrastructure is really, really difficult. The cook we spoke with has to carry huge jugs of water long distances every day.
- Consequently, it is not always realistic for people to find a job in mainstream society, when supporting their community takes as much effort as a full time job
- While the love and support is very real, the negative aspects are too. The houseless in Whoville are often blamed for issues out of their control, and some people are very unkind.
- When we meet new people and wish to learn from them, it is important to remember humility and listening skills.
- Compassion is priceless. We were very touched by Randy’s outlook, which in turn helped us challenge our own biases about the houseless, as well as what it takes to make a community resilient.
Portland
With these new lessons under our belts, we moved on to Portland, a city we had heard a lot about. It lived up to its reputation; there were signs of sustainability and social awareness at every turn.
The Saturday Farmers Market, at Portland State University, was HUGE! There was a delightful selection of fresh, delicious fruits and veggies, and the artisan products were also really impressive. We went hope prepped for a delicious meal of fresh pasta, veggies, and bruschetta.
The Saturday Farmers Market, at Portland State University, was HUGE! There was a delightful selection of fresh, delicious fruits and veggies, and the artisan products were also really impressive. We went hope prepped for a delicious meal of fresh pasta, veggies, and bruschetta.
Tryon Life Community Farm
On Sunday afternoon, despite the very serious rain, we ventured to a magical place on the outskirts of Portland called the Tryon Life Community Farm. "TLC Farm brings people together to root into relationships with each other and the land, by sharing tools for community-based sustainability and social change, and tending resilient ecosystems." (TLC homepage) Nobody was really around, so we didn't get to talk with anyone about life on the farm or do an interview, but we did get to explore the grounds. They were beautiful! We saw a greenhouse, chickens, a composting toilet, a cob sauna, goats, a dome of branches, and a sacred maple tree ring. |
Foster Village
That night we visited Foster Village, which is an urban community off of Foster Street. Three houses have torn down the fences between them to make room for gardens, chickens, and community space. Eleven people live in the three houses and operate in a cooperative fashion. We were able to meet and talk with Sara and Jonathan, who also sang us a beautiful song about their community: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFbXtqhBb1o |
One of the most valuable tidbits we got from our interview with Sara was the idea that hearts and minds are equally valuable for productive communication in a community. From her perspective, it is not just the physical pieces (rain water catchment, organic food production, composting toilets) of a place that makes it resilient, but it's culture. If people cannot stand by each other because of emotional distance, they will not truly be resilient in times of stress.
Our new friends at Fosterville gave us connections at another incredible place, the Planet Repair Institute. Check out their website here: http://planetrepair.wordpress.com/
Our new friends at Fosterville gave us connections at another incredible place, the Planet Repair Institute. Check out their website here: http://planetrepair.wordpress.com/
Planet Repair Institute
We wandered around for a while trying to find a cob cat palace that would indicate we made it to the Planet Repair Institute and when we finally came upon it the front yard was quite a beautiful sight. We started taking photos and realized that although we were told we could walk around the premises by a resident on the phone, we would much prefer a tour by someone who lived there. We were finally seen standing on the front porch waving by a wonderful 23 year old peer named Jane who invited us right in. | Beyond showing us the grounds and all the fascinating “physical things”, (a grey water system that has grown their banana tree by 4 ft in a year, a cob chicken palace, a beautiful gate linking their yard to a neighbor’s and a pathway leading to another’s) Jane invited us in to taste and admire her ferments and preserves and pickling adventures. | She has cabinets and shelves chock-full of jars of edible things she has made, including jams, salsas, pickled everything, kombucha, sauerkraut, beer, yogurt, and more. Plus, as we were chatting about our adventure and the house we were enjoying, she pressed out some homemade tempeh in a banana leaf from the garden. She informed us of her goal to go the entire winter without buying produce at the store so she had planted like crazy in the garden. |
The whole experience at Planet Repair was a lot of fun, but we were especially impressed with the conversation that evolved. Jane explained that she had left her fully-paid-for education in order to live the exact life she wanted. She inspired us to not spend time saying “we HAVE to do this” or “we SHOULD do that”, but instead to do what fulfills us. She mentioned that people always talk about how limited their free time is, but in reality there is freedom in every moment. It takes a certain type of eye to see that and a certain type of heart to believe it, but she told us that she was proud of us for understanding that we can make our own life into anything and don’t have to jump into the traditional grad school or career tracks that we have been trained to believe are our only options.
Mark Lakeman
He is a visionary architect and community builder and it was a joy to spend the morning with him, discussing politics, architecture, and how to balance global awareness with local action. We also discussed living in community, and the need for people living cooperatively to overlap in their beliefs and values for a harmonious home. Mark believes in the power of connecting people to each other and to their place which is why he is so passionate about his work with Communitecture and his other projects. | Another resident of the Planet Repair Institute, Mark Lakeman, agreed to meet with us the next morning. Mark is an incredible individual who has founded or help found multiple organizations in Portland like City Repair. City Repair builds community by creating spaces where people can spend time together and share experiences like painting intersections and building "tea trees". |
The Joyful Things
In the "down time" of our trip we are having lots of silly, fun-filled moments. On our drives, we feed each other, help with navigation (sometimes more successfully than other times), have great conversation and music jams, appreciate the incredible beauty around us, and occasionally Cassie drops her phone in hummus. | It has been a total joy to see old friends and family, and to make new connections with incredible people, especially when it comes to friends with dogs. We are suckers for dogs. We have also visited many food co-ops and natural food stores, biked around a lot, and have quickly realized we might need more rain gear. It poured buckets in Portland while we were there. A very important lesson we have realized recently is that we need to take care of ourselves in order to have a successful trip because it is more exhausting than we anticipated to have such wonderful conversations all the time :) Thanks for reading! We will write you soon with our adventures in Washington! |