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Site Description: South East Uplift is one of City Repair’s oldest friends. The community kiosk (sheltered by an eco-roof) and the “Dragon bench”, both made with cob, were built at the SEUL’s headquarters during VBC4. This May, SEUL will again be a VBC site that will focus on cob maintenance, re-plastering and the construction of a shelter for the “Dragon bench”.

Location: 3534 SE Main St.

Host: Joyce Walls

Contact: Joyce

More Info:click here

Site Description: Tryon Life Community Farm is blessed to be a site for the Village Building Convergence for the fourth year running. As past VBC participants can attest, TLC Farm’s seven acres, inter-generational intentional community,and diverse plant and animal life provides for a unique VBC experience.

Past VBC projects built a beautiful cob sauna, outdoor kitchen and outhouse that holds our composting toilet (past participants are encouraged to come make a contribution to our compost!). This year’s project takes a big picture look at the Village Green, which is the area that encompasses the T-Whale, cob sauna, outdoor kitchen, outhouse and fire circle.

Through a permaculture design process, TLC Farm has created a plan to make the Village Green a more integrated, accessible and beautiful area. Specific projects will include realigning the trails, creating new perrenial beds, building swales, and doing finishing plaster work and mosaic on the rocket stove heated cob bench and sauna.

Throughout the VBC, we will be discussing the principles of permaculture and explaining what factors led to this specific design. Participants will have the opportunity to implement a permaculture design and get experience in finishing cob structures. Coming to the VBC at TLC Farm is always very educational, slightly eccentric and really fun!

Transportation: TLC Farm is not as far away as you think! It is only a 40 minute bike ride from downtown or SE Portland, and we will be running daily shuttles leaving from the City Repair office at 9:30am.

Location: 11640 SW Boones Ferry Rd.

Host: Matt Gorden

Contact: Matt

More Info:click here

Site Description: Awakenings Wellness Center is a second year VBC site that will focus on the maintenance of their cob bench and the planting of a native plants garden. The native plants garden will include medicinal herbs, a day or two of stone laying and overall, the improvement of their community gathering place.

Location: 1034 SE 12 Ave.

Site Host: Jim Davis

Contact: Jim

More Info:click here

Site Description: For the VBC7, Yoga Union will replace its south facing wall with a mural, plant a native tree system and construct a community information board from recycled materials. YU will also construct a sheltered cob bench to provide comfort for those in the community who commute on the TRI-Met bus service and every day passers-by.

Location: 2043 SE 50th Ave.

Host: Todd

Contact: Todd

More Info: click here

Site Description: The Faunafelia is nestled right in the center of St. John. Inspired by other permaculture educational centers in and around metro, Faunafelia is working to become Portland’s first urban animal husbandry demonstration site. Animals of focus will include chickens, ducks, goats, rabbits and more! Faunafelia will also have a component on rainwater harvesting.

Location: 6814 N St. Louis & 9034 N Edison

Host: Ivy Stovall

Contact: Ivy

Site Description: Students at the Pacific Crest School (8th-12th) will build a cob bench and school/neighborhood community message board. The new space is an outreach effort to improve interconnection of the school and surrounding community. The roof for the bench will also harvest rainwater for the school’s flower garden.

Builder: Bernhard Masterson

Location: NE 29th Ave & Davis

Host: Jordia Blumenstein

Contact: Jordia

More Info: click here

Site Description: Multicultural, collaborative design extraordinaire! This exciting example of grass roots community development was spearheaded by young activists as an effort spark a community initiative to improve the Clara Vista housing project’s cement plaza. Residents have begun planning the construction of a grilling station, planters, planting vegetables and flowers, paint a mural, and install a basketball hoop to increase use of their recreation and gathering space

Location: 5300 NE Cully Blvd. (Apartments face Emerson St.)

Site Host: Yasmina Neustadtl

Contact: Yasmina

More Info: click here

Site Description: The Nehalem and 16th Ave. project is a demonstration site for permaculture, rainwater harvesting, storm water retention and anti-gentrification. During the VBC7, there will be planting, small scale bio-swale installation, educational signage and a community information/convergence space will be constructed.

Location: SE Nehalem & 16th

Host: Richard Birke

Contact: Rich or Simon

Site Description: The Ninja Hows is converting all of its yard space into a food forest that will supply the underground (but highly popular) Ninja Café with produce, herbs and spices. Lot’s of planting, transplanting, and great food.

Location: SE 46th Ave & Washington

Host: Tsarra Berger

Contact: Tsarra

Site Description: The Puppet Theatre is replacing its fallen in garage with a community puppet theater. The interior of the theater will be made of cob, and then detailed with faces, characters and textures. All are invited- kid friendly!

Builder: Sukita Crimmel

Location: 601 SE 37th @ Washington

Host: Jane

Contact: Phil

Site Description: Students from PSU participated in the VBC6 by building a multi-level cob bench under the same roof as the university’s library! This year, students will help preserve the cob with linseed oil and a wax layer as well as other cob maintenance activities.

Location: PSU library

Host: Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate

Contact: Pedro

Site Description: Residents from the Beaumont neighborhood have teamed up to reclaim their intersection to celebrate the neighborhood’s culture by closing the street, painting it, planting and displaying banner art. In addition, plans have been drafted to cut several bioswales into the streets for storm water management.

Location: NE 37th Ave. & Shaver

Host: Ankist

Contact: Ankist

More Info: HeyNeighbor

Site Description: THE legendary, first intersection repair ever known to human-kind! Repaint of the intersection, and repair of the angel bench.

Location: SE 9th & Sharrett

Host: Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate

Contact: Pedro

–BEFORE –AFTER

Site Description: We are turning approximately 1/4 acre of lawn into a Food Forest ecosystem and we are constructing three bioswales with native plants to control erosion on the slope above the creek. We will be planting over 50 fruit, nut, and northwest native trees, along with an understory of berries, herbs, flowers, veggies, and northwest native plants. Varieties were specifically selected to provide a harvest of fresh fruit from May through November. The trees were specifically selected from unpatented varieties, which are increasingly difficult to find. In addition, we are planting rootstocks so that cuttings from the fruit trees can be grafted to provide fruit trees for low income people through the Joanie Appleseed Project. Alder trees will fix nitrogen to fertilize the Food Forest; every few years the alders will be coppiced (pruned almost to the ground and then re-grown from the new sprouts that form) for crafts and fuel. A section of the Food Forest will demonstrate techniques for growing fruit in small spaces. Come play and learn with us!

Location: 12120 SE Foster Pl.

Host: Willow

Contact: Willow

Site Description: The most beautiful sunflower painting this side of the moon!

Location: SE 33rd & Yamhill

Host: Jan Semenza

Contact: Marnie

Site Description: The residents living around the NE 56th and Stanton intersection have decided to incorporate into their annual block party a commemoration of their much loved neighborhood tree that had to be cut down due to disease. The tree was as old as the neighborhood, and known by everyone around as a meeting place, kids hangout and a shady refuge. Residents have decided to commemorate the tree with a giant intersection painting. The street painting is also a measure being taken for traffic calming.

Location: NE 56th Ave. and Stanton

Host: Ed Gorman

Contact: Ed

Site Description: The concept is to create a micro-watershed of the mountains Wilshire Peak climbing structure and Pavillion Peaks (the roof) that leads to the existing drain. Out of the drain comes a leaping salmon reminding everyone that all urban water leads to the rivers and it’s gotta be clean for the salmon. Imagine the climbing structure to be cob with mosaic tile. Maybe the salmon could be mosaic tile as well. Mural to be painted inside pavillion.

Location: Wilshire Park, NE 33rd Ave & Skidmore

Hosts:

Contact: Pam or Lisa or Ankist

More Info: HeyNeighbor.com

Site Description Help convert a standard Brooklyn neighborhood yard into a permaculture sanctuary! There will be finishing work on the woven straw-clay sauna and the construction of a rocket stove cob bench designed by Ernie Wisner. In addition, a water treating wetland area will be planted, which will treat the waste water from Toby’s house.

Location 3501 SE 14th Ave

Contact Toby

Site Description The Hawthorne Hostel has always been involved with community outreach as part of its non-profit educational mission to help all, especially the young, get a greater understanding of the world and its people through hostelling. During the VBC7, the hostel will be doing finishing work on their cob bench with mosaic tile and build a community bulletin board.

Location SE Hawthorne & 30th Ave

Contact Kate

Site Description With the support of the Grey Water Guerrillas, the Learning Gardens Laboratory will be teaching water harvesting and capturing. There will also be fruit tree planting to create LGL’s food forest as well as the creation of an edible and native under story. Come ready to plant, sheet mulch and create LGL’s permaculture belt!

Location 6801 SE 60th Ave

Contact Chad

Site Description: Sabin Green is a new cohousing community in Northeast Portland. Designed by Mark “mOceaN Lakeman, this urban infill development combines unique aesthetic appeal with the clear intention of community. The Sabin Green vision statement reads, “We are a sustainable and resourceful urban community, supporting each other and contributing to the larger community.”

The teahouse project, also designed by Mark Lakeman, will be led by celebrated natural builder Lydia Doleman. This project will complete the meeting/gathering place for the community, which also features a salvaged brick plaza.

The teahouse and bench have an urbanite foundation salvaged on site, and are framed with salvaged lumber, windows, and plywood. This much will be completed prior to VBC7. During VBC we will do straw clay infill of the teahouse, cob bench, a mosaic around the existing concrete tree base, plant the eco roof, painting, sculptural detailing, and the first coat of interior plaster.

Work on this ambitious project will continue each day of VBC7. Fabulous vegetarian and vegan lunches will be prepared by the fine cooks at Sabin Green.

Location: 4516-4520 NE 19th Ave. (at Prescott)

Host: Sabin Green Community

Contact: David

Site Description The Life Support Community Center has existed as West Lynn’s 12 step recovery program for 5 years. After raising over a million dollars to continue their amazing work in the community, LSCC will participate in VBC7 by painting a gigantic mural and establish and plant gardens to beautify the area.

Location 4985 Willamette Falls Drive, West Linn

Host Roberta Gray

Contact Roberta

Site Description Come build with us! From Saturday, May 19 to Saturday, May 26th we’ll be out in front of SES every day from 9am to 5pm building a sculptural roof over the existing cob kiosk and benches. The project leaders will be Joe Davis, a noted natural builder from Indiana, and Mark Lakeman from the City Repair Project. Adults and kids with some carpentry experience preferred as this will be skilled work.

Location SE 33rd & Salmon

Host Sarah Taylor

Contact Sarah

These sites are worth mentioning, as they have embarked on more vigorous approaches to community design involving various city bureaus. Please feel free to contact them to see how you can help. Keep posted!

Site Description: Massive watershed mitigation project led by the community themselves!

Location: 90th and E Burnside

Host: David Barmon

Contact: David

Site Description: Design Charettes during VBC to restore watershed in business district.

Location: SE Sandy Blvd. b/w Pine & Ash

Site Host: Adam Zucker

Contact: Adam

Site Description:

Location: 4043 NE Fremont St

Host: Jeff

Contact: Jeff

More Info: HeyNeighbor

More Info: click here

Site Description: Eco-wharehouse health cooperative

Location: TBA

Site Host: Lock

Contact: Lock Contact: Uxepi

More Info:click here

Site Description: Bench and kiosk

Location: NE 19th & Alberta

Site Host: Vernon Neighborhood Association

Contact: Oma

Site Description: Public toilets downtown!

Location: Downtown/Old-Town Portland

Organizer: Sally Noble

Contact: Sally