Columbia Ecovillage Blog

Garden Begins Again, Spring, 2010

2010-03-18T22:18:00.001-07:00

Considering a Village

2010-03-18T22:17:00.001-07:00

Kids in the Sun

2010-03-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Drama in the East Field

2010-03-18T22:08:00.000-07:00

It is possible to create an adventure out of simple things...

Diving Board Action

2010-03-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

Merchandizing a Stove

2010-03-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

Sharing our Stuff

2010-02-09T17:41:00.001-08:00

I have to say that one of the most unexpected pleasures of living here is seeing my "former" belongings turn up in odd places. Just last week, I was at the membership meeting at Barbara's and noticed her new shoe shelf that looked familiar. Well, just a few days before, it sat in our office and held our TV. And the bright orange and yellow rag rug that is now in our kitchen, once lived in Lisa's house that she moved out of. We have a free area in the laundry room where items wait to be reclaimed. I won't go so far to say that we are leaving behind ownership of things, but it sure does shake up those patterns. I welcome a bit of shaking.

Barbara and Lexi spinning the combs for honey

2009-09-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Lisa cutting the tops of honey combs to prepare for extracting the honey

2009-09-14T11:09:00.000-07:00

Garth and Jenny working on chicken coup

2009-09-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Beginings of new chicken coup with help from Eli

2009-09-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

rainy day landscape party

2009-09-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tomatoes and berries on the community table

2009-08-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Bartlett Pears ripening

2009-08-24T16:07:00.000-07:00

Sweet table grapes are ripe.

2009-08-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

The fig groves are coming on

2009-08-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Just a few of our shorter community members getting a ride....

2009-07-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Blackcap raspberries

2009-07-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sample of unearthed plastic

2009-07-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

Jay Buse and his tractor helping us remove landscape plastic

2009-07-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

future woodworker in training

2009-07-23T17:02:00.000-07:00

Where a six year old learns how to build a chicken coop

too much of a good thing

2009-07-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

A banter year for both the cherry and apricot resulted in broken branches. Our new mantra - Thin the fruit!

the chicken team in action

2009-07-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

Monastary Mustard with dinner

2009-07-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

4th of July celebrations at the Ecovillage

2009-07-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

Can you find the Fairy Houses?

2009-07-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

An intergenerational moment

2009-07-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Garden in June

2009-06-22T10:31:00.001-07:00

Can you find the bee boxes?

Sign for front entrance from Custom Wood Signs

2009-06-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Blooming in the Village- Photos from Jef

2009-06-17T10:22:00.001-07:00

Community Dinner

2009-06-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Kids Live here!

2009-06-08T20:55:00.001-07:00

Pizza Night on the Deck

2009-06-08T20:46:00.001-07:00

Lots of fun and food for all ages....

Time to hang out together and enjoy each others company....

"Thymely" Poem from Larry...

2009-06-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Plant three rows of peas:
Peas of Mind
Peas of Heart
Peas of Soul.

Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness

Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be grateful
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind to one another
Lettuce be happy

No garden should be without turnips:
Turnip for service when needed
Turnip to listen to and respond to one another
Turnip the music and enjoy life.

Water freely with patience and cultivate with love.
There is much fruit in your garden because you reap what you sow.

Take care of the thyme:
Thymne for appreciation
Thyme for relaxation
Thyme for one another.

- by Anonymous

We Received a Vermiculture Grant from the City!

2009-05-29T22:09:00.000-07:00

Portland Recycles! Small Grants Program funds 21 community organizations

Asian Pacific American Senior Coalition (APASC): Promoting Sustainability in the Asian Pacific American Community. Projects focus on increasing knowledge of recycling practices and the reduction of waste in the Chinese and Vietnamese communities. Purchase durable tableware from second hand stores for use at the Fook Lok Hollywood Loaves and Fishes program. Offer door-to-door educational training and demonstration program within homes of Asian American community members in SE Portland.

Center for Environmental Equity (CEE): Clean-to-Green. Public education projects offer interactive workshops for targeted households regarding proper recycling and disposal of hazardous household wastes and utilizing low-cost, low-toxic alternatives.

***Columbia Ecovillage: Large Scale Vermiculture for the Columbia Ecovillage. Urban co-housing community will utilize large scale composting system to handle 60 residents' food scraps. Offers educational opportunity to tour groups.***

Historic Kenton Firehouse Committee: Composting with North Portland community groups. Neighborhood Coalition partnering with North Portland Tool Library to implement composting at Historic Kenton Firehouse rental and office spaces. Includes educational workshops and signage for site.

Holy Redeemer Catholic School: Holy Redeemer Recycles! Students and staff play active roles in creating and maintaining green programs. Funds will be used to upgrade the lunch program at school by purchasing durable utensils and bowls that will replace plastic and paper currently being used.

Impact NW (formerly Portland Impact): Save a Plate, Save the Earth. Congregate Housing Services Program (CHSP) provides eight meals a week to an average 90 seniors and adults with disabilities residing in public housing. Funds will be used to replace foam delivery trays that are disposed in the garbage with reusable, insulated meal delivery containers.

Jackson Middle School: Jackson Middle School Logo Bottles. School-wide campaign to decrease plastic water bottles being discarded by the Jackson community. Funds will be used to purchase logo bottles that will be advertised and sold daily at the school and at special events.

King School PTA: Reusable Flatware. This is an initial project for greening the King School community by replacing the use of disposable eating utensils at the school. Currently use non-recyclable flatware that creates a large amount of waste.

Montavilla Farmers Market: Durable Dish "Vendor of the Week" Pilot Program. Pilot project to declare August "durable dish" month at the Montavilla Farmers' Market. Durable dishes will replace disposable service ware for one rotating ready-to-eat vendor each week during the month of August (5 total). This pilot will result in data and documented experience using durable dishes in a public, outdoor setting that can be shared with other groups for events.

Northeast Portland Tool Library: Neighborhood Tool Sharing for Economy and Ecology. Helps residents borrow and share home-repair tools instead of purchasing them. Offers workshops that teach people how to repair and remodel their existing homes. Funds will be used to increase tools for lending. Partners with other groups for a series of workshops promoting recycling, waste reduction or other sustainability themes.

Oregon Green School @ Laurelhurst: Vermicomposting of Edible Garden Waste at Laurelhurst K-8 School. Funds will be used to extend current school-wide edible garden by supplying compost bins and books to support efforts to expand green program and educate students about the environmental benefits of composting.

Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.: Building Girls Go Green at Emerson Garden. Project will provide middle school girls with the opportunity to work as a team on building a community garden shed and raised garden beds to benefit the residents of the King neighborhood in NE Portland. The girls will learn about recycling, waste reduction and bio-remediation of contaminated land at Emerson Garden.

Our United Villages: Community Outreach. Purchase durable dishes for various community events held or hosted at the Our United Villages space where people come together, discover their common interests and develop their ideas that benefit the community as a whole.

Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative, Inc (PCRI): PCRI E-Newsletter Project. PCRI residents are low-to-moderate income families of diverse backgrounds. Quarterly newsletter sent to families living in PCRI housing will now be produced electronically. Result in 90% savings over hard copy version, reducing need for paper and ink.

Rigler K-8 School: Rigler School Waste Reduction. Rigler K-8 School has strong gardening and recycling program that has been supported by the local community. Rigler's SUN program includes gardening and composting and funds will help expand the program to offer more food from the garden and increase amount of waste composted. Funds will also replace plastic and Styrofoam with durable trays and flatware.

St George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church: Durable Dish Project. Grant funds will target entire parish population and frequent visitors by providing durable dishes for church related events. Signage will appear in three languages (English, Arabic and Russian) and target the large immigrant community who attends this church.

Swapnplay: Swapnplay Home Library. Swapnplay is a cooperative organization that exists to build community while reducing dependence on new goods through the sharing of resources. Funds will support the Household Goods Library that includes durables for events and food preservation equipment.

Sylvania Environmental Center (Portland Community College): Vermiculture Project. Grant will fund construction of composting worm bin to contribute to the Vermiculture Project on PCC Sylvania campus and the Science and Engineering Department. Increase program to handle capacity of food generated through cafeteria in sturdy structures designed and built by students of the Environmental Center.

The Ainsworth Street Collective: Ainsworth Street Collective Shared Resources & Waste Reduction. The primary aim of the Ainsworth Street Collective is to create a neighborhood dedicated to sustainable living, working together to develop a self-reliant community. Host and attend monthly gatherings as potluck/social events and gardening group. Purchasing durable dishes for monthly gatherings and food preservation equipment.

The Collective of Geniuses (CoG): The CoG Reclamation Factory. Goal is to support emerging and disenfranchised artists through environmentally and socially sustainable means. Multifaceted project that incorporates purchasing equipment and reusing materials to create notebooks, sketch pads, greeting cards and other paper items.

Whole Child Montessori Center: Waste Watchers. Hands-on way for young children (3-6 years old) to explore what gets wasted and how waste can be seen as potential new products. Purchase worm bin, composter and books to create Waste Watchers program.

My Boring Night at Home- from Stacy

2009-05-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Just another boring night at home. Jef and I sat down for dinner under the cropped sequoia, ready to bicycle to the Last Thursday Art Walk when we were finished eating. Ken walked by and we invited him to join us for dinner. He accepted, and raced off to pick raw asparagus in front of the farmhouse. I love “A” meals – asparagus and artichokes! It was fun recounting some of our youthful antics to Ken, who is receptively interested in life. What a gift!

The three of us watched Dennis and Rowan walking in lock step through the parking lot, a father and son duo, with Anne lagging behind. Moments later Rowan and Garth were carrying a long red couch back our way, and trying to maneuver it through the laundry room door. They ultimately had to step through the herb bed I’ve been working on, with Dennis directing and me shouting, “Watch out! Not there! Oh no!” (just to taunt them.)

Rowan started balancing on a parking curb with Dennis spotting. Suzanne balanced on the next curb. Marlene joined in. Garth grabbed Suzanne around her waist and twirled her around. The two of them giggled. Garth and Suzanne formed a chair with their arms and carried Queen Marlene off to bed.

Then Linda and Larry got home, carting plants from their old home to their new, their patio and frontage a blooming mass of foliage. Linda and I caught up about our stairwell garden plot and our bounty of tomato plants. Larry told me where more lettuce could be planted. He assured me my end-of-the-workday-exhaustion “was just part of getting old.” Linda said, “It was the-end-of-the-school-year-zoo.” Jef and I cleared the dishes and decided not to bicycle to Alberta Street.

I took out the compost, running into Dennis again. We went to check on the baby chicks in the storage building and I couldn’t believe how much they had grown since Monday! Today one of the chicks flew up onto the top edge of their nesting box. Larry and Joe got worried they’d get lost in the storage building, so Larry scavenged around the chicken coop in search of wire mesh and jerry-rigged a covering for the eight foot long box. Dennis and I agreed it was valiant of Larry to protect the chicks, but Dennis wasn’t sure it was necessary, because chickens are “flock” animals and like to stay together. I thought it might be good for their wing and body strength to fly around. I envisioned our chickens bending their knees up and down, lifting weights.

I ran into Peg on my way back to my condo She said I looked sparkly with my glittery shirt and hair wreath. Peg’s such a sparkly gal herself! Jef was editing photos on his computer,

so I put together a get well card and care package for Jon’s friend Inga, who had hip replacement surgery on Tuesday. I left the package on Jon’s patio and thought how warm and inviting his patio looks, just like Jon himself. As I inventoried the clutter on Jef’s and my patio, I vowed to improve our feng shui this weekend. Just another boring night at home. Who needs television when you live in an ecovillage.

Dayenu- from Stacy

2009-05-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

During the traditional Passover Seder Jews around the world say "Dayenu" which means "It would have been sufficient." As I reflect upon our Parking Lot Sale the term "Dayenu" resonates.

If we had just made $1717 from the sale. Dayenu

That we donated over $2000 worth of stuff to The Children's Club. Dayenu

That Amigos de Los Romeritos made $520. Dayenu

That the "Tamale Ladies" sold out. Dayenu

That more folks know about Columbia Ecovillage. Dayenu

That we sold everything so cheaply that folks felt GREAT about the purchases they made. Dayenu

Sweet Home Band played marvelous music for us and had a great time doing so on such a beautiful day. Dayenu

THAT THE COMMON SPACES, WHICH HAD BEEN HEAPED WITH STUFF, ARE NOW READY FOR OUR COLLECTIVE DREAMS. Dayenu!

and most importantly.....

We worked together to make this happen, both Friday and Saturday, with positive, loving energy. DAYENU

It takes a Village to put on a parking lot sale as big as ours was, and we were a hard working, caring village. In trying to live more sustainably, I think we live more abundantly; with more laughter, joy and friendships.

Special thanks to Sabrina and Peg who always seemed to be hauling stuff somewhere else for the past two months. Thanks also to all of the Villagers who pitched in. I'm going to try and list them, but I'll probably leave someone out by mistake and for that I apologize ahead of time. Evelyn, Mac, Marilee, Patrick, Peg, Barbara S., Barbara F, Don, John, Liliane, Jeff, Jef, Sabrina, Judith, Marcia, Sara, Dennis, Merm, Heather, Dave, Garth, Suzanne, Marlene, Suze M., Susan B., Deborah, Jesse, Lexi, Joan, Kathleen, Ken, Larry, Maggie, and many of our friends as well.

And we learned some interesting stuff:

We can put the bike racks on their sides, put doors on them, and have a big picnic if it's raining. (Thanks for that insight Marilee. Your enthusiasm ignites us all.)

The idea started floating around that perhaps we should have the "Tamale Ladies" cater some of our community meals when Villagers are too busy to cook. Perhaps Sivalaya Thai Restaurant could cater also. We brainstormed a lot working together!

Peace and blessings on all of us and our emerging village. We Rock! And that is DAYENU!

To Be Of Use- Saturday Planting Party

2009-05-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

To be of use

The people I love the best

jump into work headfirst

without dallying in the shallows

and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

They seem to become natives of that element,

the black sleek heads of seals

bouncing like half submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,

who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,

who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward

who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge

in the task, who go into the fields to harvest

and work in a row and pass the bags along,

who stand in the line and haul in their places,

who are not parlor generals and field deserters

but move in a common rhythm

when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.

Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.

But the thing worth doing well done

has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine or oil,

Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums

but you know they were made to be used.

The pitcher cries for water to carry

and a person for work that is real.

-Marge Piercy

Saturday Sunset Photos from Jef...

2009-05-18T09:33:00.001-07:00

The chicks are welcomed to their new home.

2009-05-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost!

2009-05-13T09:54:00.001-07:00

New chicks arrived in the mail, to bring our flock to 35!

Dennis and Anne have brought their chickens from home to join the ecovillage.

Lisa and I Meet the Bees!

2009-05-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

This past lovely Saturday, Lisa invited me to join her to check on her new beehive that she had installed a couple of weeks before, and to check on Joe's older hive, that needed a spring inspection. I had taken a beginning beekeeping class recently, but had no "hands on" experience, so I was eager to go take a look. I borrowed Joe's gloves, helmet and face net, and put on my bike rain suit and wading boots to minimize sting potential.

We opened her hive, and the bees seemed happy and busy. I was surprised to find that it was a no fear, all fascination experience for me. What an opportunity! I had thought for years about learning about beekeeping, but the idea of figuring it all out myself was daunting. To be able to learn with other knowledgeable folks is a great gift of community.

Storage Building Swale after downpour with Dennis in backgound

2009-05-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

From John- Garden Event

2009-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

Our Tree Peony is in bloom. A number of the double, soft pink blossoms have opened in recent days. It is the small shrub just to the south west of the front of the farmhouse.

Peonies are one of humans oldest cultivated plants in the non-food category. Ancient Japanese & Chinese texts from 500 AD refer to peonies long established use in gardens and medicine. Named for Paeon, a mythical physician.
"Tree" peonies are poorly named, because they are more like shrubs than trees. Rather slow growing, ours is at least 25 years old, probably much more. It has responded well to a bit of care. The Chinese Garden here in Portland has a Tree Peony Show and Sale on Mother's Day.
The much more common relative, the herbaceous peony, dies to the ground every winter, to regrow anew every spring, while the tree peony develops woody stems that survive from year to year.
Enjoy it now, for it is a fleeting beauty. The individual blossoms don't last more than 4-5 days especially in the full sun.

In the lower left, you can see the blooms of the peony soaking up the sun. Thank you to John for this garden note.

Landscape Workparty

2009-04-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

From Judith...News From The Greenhouse

2009-04-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

"All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today." Indian proverb

Check out the greenhouse today as it fills with the baby plants that
will grow into our garden's gorgeous flowers this summer. The
butterflies will dance above the globe amaranth and zinnias.
Beneficial insects will be attracted to the cosmos and scabiosa. And
we'll get to decorate our Cancer, Leo and Virgo birthday cakes with
edible blue bachelor butttons.
The tomatoes, tomatilloes and basil that Linda started from seed are
coming on strong and the cucumber and green sunflower seeds that John
sowed are gonna pop any day now. Looking forward to seeing those lime
green sunflowers come July. Feel free to sow a seed or two too. It's
pleasant and warm in there.

Just got Keys and front fence work

2009-04-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

join us for ice cream tomorrow night!

2009-04-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's time for another ice cream social this week, Tuesday April 14, at Rose's Ice Cream, 5011 NE 42nd Avenue, at 6pm. Walk on over from the ecovillage or hop on the #75 bus to share in some locally produced, homemade ice cream right in our very own neighborhood!

This is also a great time for anyone interested in learning more about living at Columbia Ecovillage or pursuing our membership pathway to join us and find out about our thriving village and the few remaining units we have available for purchase.

See you there!

Larry gets his keys (does Linda know?)

2009-04-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Just got keys and moving in

2009-04-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Giant Ecovillage Parking Lot Sale!

2009-04-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Gratitude Poem from Stacy

2009-03-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Gratitude

Gratitude breathes through me.
This is a love poem
to my village.
A love poem
about small, significant kindnesses
and the power inherent in a community
woven with kindness.
The power of a community
where people strive to listen
with open hearts.
This is a love poem for my village
I’ve been in gestation
with this village for 17 months
and now it is born;
just a wee little infant,
a seed Pam and Joe planted
in the fertile soil of our souls,
and we have nurtured it.
We believe in our village
and thus in each other.

This is a litany of gratitudes
For there is so much and so many
to be grateful for and to.
Thank you Susan, Merm and John
for packing up leftovers for Jef and I.
Thanks Peg, you spitfire, for cooking with me on Monday.
Thank you Sabrina, Larry and the Coordination Team
for checking-in that the change you wanted to make
to my opening activity was okay-
it was an improvement on my idea.
Which leads me to Tobias with the strong back
so willing to dig in,
thank you for teaching me the wisdom of
”yes, and…”
I’m practicing, keep reminding us.
To the hours ahead gardening with Barbara, Larry, Linda and Kathleen.
Thank you Kathleen for feeding our cat!
To Joe’s easy laughter and enthusiasm.
To Judith, Scott, Lori and the rest of the Food Team
who have coordinated our awesome feeding frenzies.
To Heather, my first ecovillage buddy,
who gracefully juggles so much, so well.
We’re going to be neighbors!!!!!!!!!
And Dave who embellishes my life with cryptic emails.
To Ken, who show us the wisdom of Patch Adams.
Doug, your southern drawl friendliness warms my ex-southern heart.
John your timing and wit inspire me to feed you chocolates.
Dennis and Anne, painting away.
Barbara cooking meals.
Evelyn, may your joyful zest rub off on me.
Mac and Marilee who give so much, to so many,
all over the world and especially in our village.
Scott, Susan, Keegan and Brooklin,
a family who always makes me smile.
To the Weasels, ferreting their way through Europe,
I look forward to getting to know the family addition.
Don who quietly helps behind the scene.
My Jef, who makes everything in my life work well.
Barbara, who has posted this poem on our blog.
To all of us, currently here or on our way.
Especially the neighbors I have omitted to save space.
To our community,
each facing the traumas and dramas of leaving one life behind,
to create a new one together.
Thank you,
thank you,
thank you!

Movin in with a little help

2009-03-28T07:48:00.000-07:00

National Press for Columbia Ecovillage!

2009-03-25T14:23:00.001-07:00

See an article featuring the ecovillage in the latest Sustainable Industries Magazine...

www.sustainableindustries.com/breakingnews/41690467.html

Reflection from villager Jef Murphy

2009-03-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Stacy and I moved into Columbia Ecovillage about 1 month ago, and the first three weeks have been kinda quiet. Only 3 of our households were able to move in, and it's been pretty quiet most of the time. I have been taking the opportunity to walk around the site daily and enjoy the place, and a thought came to me; I was looking at the young buds beginning to pop out on the trees, the tender young bulbs pushing up from the ground, the bright green returning to the grass sprouting up all over, and was struck with the feeling that this is what our Village is going through right now. Our community is sprouting from the winter of construction and is coming to life. We have tended our roots over this winter and are coming out strong and healthy, new life in this old garden, ready to take on the world and show the bright colors of our flowers, the rich bounty we will all share living in this beautiful place.

Welcome to all of you moving in, or waiting to move, your home awaits, fertile and eager to grow.

New Bike Shelter Completed!

2009-03-17T10:32:00.001-07:00

Here's our new bike shelter, in use. As we all move in, we anticipate a wondrous array of bikes and riders coming together in a riotous celebration of lower carbon footprints!

Curious about Columbia Ecovillage?

2009-03-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

Or just in need of some green ice cream to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Then come join us tonight, March 17, at Rose's Ice Cream from 6-8 pm to learn more about living in a green cohousing community on an urban organic farm.

Rose's is located just up the street from the Ecovillage, at 5011 NE 42nd Avenue, easily accessed by the #75 Trimet bus. Homemade ice cream, a slide show, and a bunch of happy faces await.

Getting ready for spring!

2009-03-15T08:05:00.000-07:00

The ecovillage is taking shape! Furniture and families are making their way into the units, and a hardy coalition of all ages is working to spruce up the spring landscaping.

Welcome to Columbia Ecovillage!

moving in!!

2009-03-11T22:06:00.000-07:00

Happy faces on move-in day!

Columbia Ecovillage opens its doors!

2009-03-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

Keys are turning in the doors to Columbia Ecovillage's 37 residences, as community members slowly sign their sales agreements and move in. The excitement and cheer is palpable, after just a little more than a year of building both our community ties and our new homes, which sparkle with sustainable finishes and updated systems. Community dinners are being held twice a week this month in our common farmhouse, which is fast becoming a social hub for members.
Despite the challenges of launching a project just as the economy decided to take its nosedive, and forging the unconventional path of creating an ecovillage within the city limits, Columbia Ecovillage is thriving, a sign that this is a model for the times.
We still have a few studio, two bedroom, and three bedroom units left; for more information on units, prices, and amenities including our organic farm, check out the developer's website. And to learn more about our community's vision and values and how we've formed so far, see the community website.

Building #6??

2009-03-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

Linda and Larry's greenhouse arriving via special delivery.

Farm House Presentation Overview

2009-02-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

March 8, 2009, 12 noon.
Come hear the developers present an overview of the project, followed by a tour of the ecovillage and available units. Come prepared to take your shoes off in the units.
4647 NE Killingsworth St. Park in the parking lot, then walk north to the farm house, located 350 feet north of Killingsworth.

Look out- it's the LANDSCAPE TEAM!

2009-02-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

Now that we're eating regular meals together in the farmhouse a couple of nights a week, after-dinner team meetings are getting rambunctious (well, the landscape team has always been rambunctious!)

Here's the landscape team plotting their next project for us:

new mailboxes!

2009-02-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

Now we can get our mail at Columbia Ecovillage! For privacy, the numbers are all scrambled up, so we're having fun guessing whose mailbox is next to your own...

The storage house

2009-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

This is some trick of Joe's wide-angle lens, making our storage house look like it needs to go on a diet.

Join us at Roses Ice Cream Tuesday Night

2009-02-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

Are you curious about Columbia Ecovillage? Ever wondered what it would mean to live in a cohousing community? Are you ready for a change in your life? Get all your questions answered and meet members and other interested folks at this social, February 24, 6-8 pm at 5011 NE 42nd. We still have a few units available.

Make sure to swing by our community website to learn more about our vision and values and membership pathway. To see the beautiful renovation which is nearing completion and the ecovillage land, and for information on remaining available homes, visit the developer's website.

Then come on down on Tuesday to meet our members in person. We'll have a slide show of the site and can answer any questions during the info social. This is a kid-friendly event :)

The Garden Work Party- Part of the Dream....

2009-02-18T13:36:00.000-08:00

One of the quotes from our spring "dreaming" workshop included the following: "Working together like a colony of ants" or some-such. I definitely felt the "antiness" on Saturday, when a large group of villagers came together to move earth and stone, plant, ply with brownies and ginger lemonade, and all in all have a good time in the process. Some of us dug heavy clay (where are the ceramics mavens when you need them!?),some planted trees, some toted wheelbarrows of soil, compost, and mulch, and some did a wonderful job of planning and directing us worker ants. Particularly as I was hauling clay in one direction, then compost back in the other direction, I experienced the collective work of creating our anthill home.

All worked cheerfully and well, and I offer a particular shout out to the gals, many in our "later decades", who kicked ass in the heavy lifting department.(Should I be more delicate, language-wise?) I am proud to be part of such a sisterhood...

I'm sorry that I don't have an accompanying picture, but someone else will, soon, I hope. I hear that rocks were placed this week as well, and I look forward to seeing the continually developing landscape of our home. Soon, many of us will be moving home at last. I am grateful for the joy of our friendship and common purpose.

Gratitude also to the Brownie Fairies and other folks who feed us in heart and body.

New owners Garth, Suzanne with Marlenne

2009-02-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

Jef and Stacy in front of unit after getting keys

2009-02-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

Deborah, Kathleen and Pam on Kathleen's balcony after move in

2009-02-17T11:38:00.000-08:00

Our First Community Dinner, February 10, 2009

2009-02-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

We have had many potlucks meals together before, but somehow this evening was different. It could have been the fact that Lori was cooking and all we had to do was show up and eat. Or that members had actually started to move into their units, making this project seem tantalisingly real. I had arrived early, at 4 pm to help Lori and her team. I made chili chutney for the first time.
People arrived at 5:30 and we said a blessing over the meal. Lori described all the dishes, an Indian meal, free of gluten, milk, soy, wheat, nuts, or apples. It was magnificant.

start the week off with Columbia Ecovillage!

2009-02-15T20:40:00.000-08:00

Whether it's the end of a long weekend for you or the start of your work week, come celebrate President's Day (now that we have a president worth celebrating!) Monday February 16, at Columbia Ecovillage's weekly information social event, this week at the Chapel Pub at 430 N. Killingsworth St, from 6-8 pm.
We'll have our usual lively mix of ecovillage members and new faces interested in hearing more about the project and the few remaining units left on our 3.75 acre organic farm and cohousing site in NE Portland. If you're curious about cohousing and wondering about how you might join our community, come check it out! You might get a peek at some of the photos from our quarterly landscape work party, held amidst the snow, sleet, and finally sun of Saturday morning and afternoon.

Storage Building with new siding

2009-02-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Joan and Ev enjoying the sun

2009-02-05T02:04:00.000-08:00

Community Planting the new swale (Ken in foreground)

2009-02-05T01:58:00.000-08:00

New swale for storage building

2009-02-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

Newly painted parking lot

2009-02-04T05:29:00.000-08:00

Bike Shelter shell

2009-02-04T05:27:00.000-08:00

What to do with your life - By Ken Weizer

2009-02-01T14:56:00.000-08:00

After you’ve had your mid-life crisis, your first divorce, and you or a loved one has had a life-threatening illness – what do you do with your life?

Well, now may be the time to think outside of the box. Literally. To think outside of the box of your house, your relationships, and your life.

What if there was a place to live, where you were a part of a vibrant living organism called a community?

What if this community as filled with wonderful, unique, intelligent, successful, and interesting people. And what if, instead of passing by all these people in life, you actually got to live life with them? To share with them, break bread with them, create cutting edge projects with them?

What would it be like to be heard and seen for who you are, and yes, challenged and encouraged to grow and be what you always wanted to be?

Well, welcome to Columbia Ecovillage – a co-housing community that is hopeful enough to believe that a group of divergent personalities can live a better life together, and mature enough to know that each individual

has something essential and valuable to add to the group.

Interested in finding out more? Come to one of our information socials.

See WWW.COLUMBIAECOVILLAGE.NET or Contact Joe Leith,

JOE@COLUMBIAECOVILLAGE.NET

Sidewalk pouring between Buildings #4 and #5

2009-02-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Sidewalk work

2009-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

New pedestrian pathway

2009-01-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

Rain Screen added to Storage Building

2009-01-29T18:31:00.000-08:00

Storage Building Rain Screen and snow

2009-01-27T22:50:00.001-08:00

join us for pizza tomorrow night!

2009-01-26T21:36:00.000-08:00

Come learn more about Columbia Ecovillage and the membership pathway at our weekly information socials. This week we're meeting for pizza and drinks at 6pm on Tuesday 1/27, at It's a Beautiful Pizza, 3342 SE Belmont, near Zupan's in the Sunnyside neighborhood.

Here's a map if you need one, or check the Trimet schedule for the #15 (Belmont), #14 (Hawthorne) or #75 (SE 39th to Milwaukie) buses that'll bring you within pizza range.

Then come on down on Tuesday for some pizza and to meet our members in person. We'll have a slide show of the site and can answer any questions during the info social. This is a kid-friendly event :)

Final site work

2009-01-24T17:59:00.000-08:00

Bike Shelter

2009-01-22T18:06:00.001-08:00

Storage Building floor being fnished

2009-01-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Bike Shelter footings being poured

2009-01-20T20:53:00.000-08:00

Storage Building January 20

2009-01-20T20:49:00.000-08:00

2009, Storage Building January 13

2009-01-20T20:47:00.000-08:00

How we decided to join Columbia Ecovillage

2009-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Our journey started 20 years ago, when my husband Dennis and I first heard about cohousing. At that time, we were living in Los Angeles, our son was only a year old, and it seemed like a dream come true. With a few names gleaned from a cohousing newsletter, we embarked on a month long trip up the west coast in an old leaky camper. We had a few names from Washington gleaned from a cohousing newsletter and a lot of hope. Unfortunately, none of these nascent communities were actually built yet. Winslow, on Bainbridge Island near Seattle was the closest. We attended a meeting and tramped around their newly purchased plot of land. We went to a planning meeting in Pt Townsend, WA and drove around Whidbey Island with a family who hoped to form one. They were all lovely people, but we didn’t want to live in any of those places. But we liked Portland, so a year later moved there and bought a house.

Over the next 19 years whenever a cohousing group would crop up in Portland, we would come to a meeting or have a tour. But we always said no. We lived in a wonderful neighborhood in a beautiful old house on 2/3 acre. We had remodeled every room and Dennis had grafted and planted 50 fruit trees in the orchard. It was impossible to imagine moving. Instead, we rented rooms to a series of housemates, mostly single parents with children.

But last summer, Dennis came home from a Home Orchard Society board meeting even more excited than he is normally. Joe Leitch, a fellow board member, had told him about Columbia Ecovillage. “I want us to join this community” Dennis said. “Let’s do it.”

“Okaaaaay,” I said. I had wanted us to move for years, but Dennis would never consider leaving his trees. Our son was in college and Stan, our most recent housemate, had just moved out. We didn’t need such a large house anymore. That night neither Dennis nor I could sleep. It felt like Christmas Eve did when I was a child, except better. I wasn’t going to get a pile of new toys, I was going to leap off a cliff into a new life.

The next evening we went to an informational social at Old Wives Tale restaurant. The only thing I remember was sitting with Barbara, a member, telling her about my fears of leaving our house. The rest was a blur. The next tour wasn’t until the weekend, but Dennis and had to see the site for real. The next day, close to dusk, we drove down Killingsworth Street trying to imagine this as our new neighborhood. When we got to the area near the community, my heart took a dive. How could I live on an ugly street like this? We turned into the 1970s apartment complex and parked. The old walnut trees were there in the middle of the parking lot just as Joe had described. But the buildings were ugly with small cheap windows and faded grey siding.
We looked at each other and shook our heads. “We can’t do this,” said Dennis.

But on the way home I had a nagging thought. “We don’t have the full vision,” I said. “We haven’t even had a tour.”

He shook his head. “No, it won’t make any difference. We can’t live here.”

Over the next two weeks, we talked about forming our own community instead. We had enough land to put up one or two small houses. Life went on and I flew east for my annual visit to Cape Cod, where I grew up. One night Dennis called me.

“I was in the yard working and feeling so lonely and Joe called me. I told him how I was scared. He said he wished I had called him before so he could help us through that, even if we decided to not join. I went right over to Killingsworth and Joe gave me a tour and I went to a business meeting. I’ve got the vision! I want to join Columbia Ecovillage,”

My heart started to beat fast. Maybe we didn’t have to form a community all by ourselves. Maybe we could join with this wonderful group in their experiment. Maybe we could leave our house after all. Maybe Dennis didn’t have to garden alone for the rest of his life. After thinking we would rent our house, in case the community didn’t work out, we have just put it on the market. So far, Columbia Ecovillage has been better than I ever imagined and we haven’t even moved in yet.
Anne Mavor

Farm house kitchen garden

2009-01-16T17:26:00.000-08:00