"What IS that?"

Whether mouthed by curious school kids, slowly passing car drivers, or slightly confused police officers, this one phrase seemed to eventually spill from the lips of all passersby for a solid ten-day period in mid May. "Cob" was the word on the street in inner southeast Portland, as eight simultaneous natural building projects emerged in a tremendous springtime blossoming of community-wide action. Along the sidewalks of the city, concrete walls and asphalt ground have given way to community gathering spots and secret contemplative spaces built of cob (a hand-formed mixture of earth, sand, straw, and water), strawbales, and other environmentally friendly technologies.

The Natural Building Convergence brought experienced natural builders from around the continent into Portland's neighborhoods, where they worked for ten days with nearly a thousand adults and children. Stomping cob and raising bales, people from all over Portland came together to get free hands-on experience with building methods that they had never seen used before in their urban environment. For those participants who had prior experience with natural building, the event was still an eye-opening phenomenon, a true demonstration of what is possible in our cities when citizen participation, technical knowledge, and creative initiative coalesce. In addition to the days of workshops, each evening of the Convergence was full of inspiring public presentations on natural building, green building, permaculture, alternative transportation, and public art.

This first of its kind Natural Building Convergence was in many ways similar to events that have taken place in rural settings around the country in recent years. However, the Convergence had the added challenge and opportunity of working in an urban setting - and depended just as much on the participation of city government, building professionals, and community members (with no natural building experience) as it did on all the wonderful natural builders who attended from across the country. This Convergence was organized by a diverse planning group of individuals, and sponsored by two Portland grassroots organizations - the City Repair Project and Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Program. Grant assistance (from the City of Portland's groundbreaking Office of Sustainable Development and the Larson Legacy Foundation) made it possible to offer all of the workshops and presentations free of charge to Portland residents who helped with the construction. We hope very much to work on future events of this kind in Portland.

Please look through the information on this website, and feel free to contact us if you have any questions:

503-230-1293
nbc@southeastuplift.org