Windmill Co-op, 2040
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Imagine having a unique vantage point for a close up look at Windmill Co-op, Eugene and Cascadia in the year 2040. Elder Naj will show you where he lives, explain how Cascadia come into being and what its like fifteen years into Recovery. You will hear about the actions people took at home, in the neighborhood and community, 30 and 40 years before, that were critical for surviving the Transition and taking on the challenges for creating a new, healthy and green economy and culture.
Newbies
note-
italics is Elder Naj talking
bold is Elder Naj thinking and narrating
regular font is others speaking
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The story begins,
Elder Naj enters the kitchen for breakfast and there is immediate banter with his housemates. Its normal.
“Good morning everyone.”
“Good Morning Naj. Join us for breakfast. We're having pancakes and pan roasted filberts. Your favorites. We understand you made special pancakes back in the old days when you lived in the Arkansas Ozarks. Care to tell us about those pancakes?”
"Rumors. Who told you that? My reputation seems to be a target all the time. What has a helpless old man done to deserve ridicule? So what if I had special pancakes anyway? So what if I went on all day hikes up the valley, down the valley and along the cliffs with views of murmuring Beech Creek 800 feet below. The music of the spheres."
Playful banter. Something so simple and basic but so comforting. Living with people who care about each other and depend on each other. Hmmm, how much do they depend on me, at 92? Well, after all, this has been my house for over 35 years. But then, that was a different kind of ownership in a different world and its all over now. Who'd a thunk it?
Before the Transition, I lived for years out of a back pack traveling the world. Sometimes going for months not seeing anyone I knew for longer than a conversation. Sometimes going for weeks without speaking English. I would not trade that for anything. But now, there is something warm about familiarity and being close to home. Only a few unusual people travel very far, these days. Home and family are much to to be appreciated. Especially after what we have all been through.
“Thanks for the offer, Fred. Count me in.”
“Are you joining us for Discussion this evening? We have a few co-op items to cover. Windmill has accepted a new group for potential membership. You'll love this, they managed to make it all the way to Cascadia from Arkansas. They showed up at the Fence four months ago. What a reaction! We're next in the host rotation and from the info we have, they look very interesting. And we also have a request from a young woman who would like to make a trial visit here for a few weeks, with the idea for eventual membership to Windmill. Finally, we need to talk about our obligations out East. Its time for several Windmill members to put in some time at the "Fence."
2
I sat down at the kitchen table and looked around in satisfaction. Sun streaming in from the glass in through the glass ceiling in the sun room. It was cool outside but by mid morning, already becoming a solar positive day, even though this was early March. Plants all around inside. Aime's art projects taped to the walls. Outside the glass walls was one of our gardens. Early spring greens and lettuce gaining some size, especially in the cold frames. Eugene's weather and climate have warmed a good deal since the turn of the century and that was easy to recognize with a lengthening growing season.
Past the near garden, across what had been a typical grassy back yard decades before, past the Bungalow and 3000 gallon tank was the garden of Cherry Cluster and the north side of their house. There was no fence between the properties. I had lived here for nearly 35 years. If I didn't have the old fotos to show what this place used to look like, visitors would have a hard time believing this was the same two houses and the same block of 15 or so houses. Fences gone. Virtually every nook and cranny serving some kind of useful purpose.
Similar changes have happened in other lucky parts of Cascadia. In fact, leading up to the Transition and afterwards, you either made profound changes to where you lived or you just didn't make it. We called it Green Preparedness. Even those fully into big economic and culture change twenty five years ago were shocked about the Transition. Pre Transition, some of us talked about how the neighborhood would look if conditions came unglued and un imaginable changes to our way of life followed. Well thats what happened.
So we are Vertical Cluster. There were six in the house itself and I was still living in the Bungalow just south of the main house. Still navigating the same steep ladder to the loft. The Bungalow has served me well for almost 30 years. Our immediate household includes Sue and Jim in the southeast bedroom; Fraeda and Fred along with their adopted 6 year old daughter Aimie in the west room. The small northeast corner room was empty, but soon, possibly occupied with our new trial member.
We are a solid household, Sue, Jim, Fraeda and Fred and I sharing the place for over ten years. And Aimie joining us six years ago. No one really knew her story. She was found as a toddler at one of the border camps with a note that said, please take care of our baby. Fraeda and Fred, at the time were taking their turns at the border, adopted her. She is one of the family.
“Pancakes? Sit yourself down here and tell us what's on your plate for today, Elder Naj.”
“Very funny! Just as you say, Fred, take me to your pancakes. And don't call me Elder.”
We had gone through this same conversation before. And I detested the title Elder. I had done my best to ignore the calendar for decades and did not care to be reminded.
“I'm leaving most of the day open for Learning with a group of Newbies. Seems like I'm always teaching the Newbies but, don't tell anyone this, it is one of my favorite things to do. When the kids are this age, they are so full of curiosity, taking on the responsibilities of being adults.. Its vital for them to know about our history. You know from an early point as we picked up the pieces after the Transition, we all agreed never again. And part of the way to avoid that past was to understand how it happened, how we survived and not do it again.”
“Yes, I remember your being our teacher 15 years ago.” Fraeda added. “Until that time I had heard stories from my parents, older friends, done some reading but without flattering our favorite elder, your explaining made it all fit together. After all, you and some of your friends were in the middle of it all. The trends, the denial, the Transition and even advocating for deep changes to culture and economy years before most people even imagined it was all about to go crazy."
3
"Those of us who saw the big changes coming, went through it and reflect on what has happened since, could hardly believe it either. What's also interesting is that we were actually living in an accumulating crisis for decades, the entire lives of Baby Boomers - damage to the natural environment, the consumer culture, economic turbulence, a sham of so called democracy, politics for sale, cities built for cars, trillions of dollars lost to military budgets. Its all we knew. Few people had higher expectations or imagined that the consumer way of life was not the only choice available. Its like people didn't value themselves, people had little thought that they deserved better."
“So its the beginning of Third Semester, Tenth Learning. We will be meeting this afternoon at two. And yes, I will be available for the discussion this evening. Whats with the jars?"
"Well, we failed to check the jars for moths. Looks like we lost a couple pounds of dried apples. Its a shame, all the work to dry and we forget to check for moths. We do pretty well with our fruit drying but a bit of forgetting and this is what happens. A couple are a bit too far gone but the chickens will enjoy them."
Important to pay attention. Ciao, I am off to visit with the Newbies.
I wonder what this group will be like. Here we go.
Newbies “Everyone here? All Newbies present?”
“Can we wait a few more minutes? Ed from 4th Street said he'd be a few minutes late. He had to check on a pump down by the River. Seems its not lifting as much water as it should. The river is a bit low for this time of the year. We'll be needing that irrigation by early May. He, shouldn't be long.”
I'll just collect my thoughts before we start. Hmmm. Irrigation in a month or so. Its only early March. Used to be irrigation wasn't needed until early June. So it goes with a changing climate. Its warmer sooner and drier, too. So, Newbies coming over. How long have we been doing this? These youngsters are all post Transition. This will be maybe my 15th year as Guide for Tenth Learning. What happened to retirement? Back in the old days, they gave you a watch and turned you out to pasture with a decent pension. Some went to the Villages in Florida. None of that now. Everyone has to earn their keep.
4
Imagine, working , retiring with a nice bit of security and doing what you wanted. People often traveled all over the place when they quit working. Flying was cheap. Even was a time people drove these huge gasoline powered houses on wheels with all the furnishings. Not a care in the world.
None of that now. Everyone has to earn their keep.
“Here I am. Hi. Thanks for waiting. I'm Ed from 4th Street.”
“Sure Ed, glad you could make it. How's the pump?”
“The pump? Oh, it needed a bit of lube and to tighten a gasket. We had to move the intake a bit further out to deeper water. Looks fine for now.”
“OK? We're all here. Welcome. I'm Elder Naj and I will be your Primary Guide for this part of your Third Learning. You have all been apprentices for at least two years. Tenth Learning continues your preparation for Coming of Age when you will become a full Partner in the Community."
"First, lets have an overview about this part of your Learning.
“Before any of you young folks came along, some of us older ones were present for one of the most dramatic episodes in human history. You have heard many of the personal stories from parents, grandparents and older friends. The Elders Council considers knowing our history to be very important. We want you to understand and appreciate the past, present and future."
“What were the trends and conditions that lead to closing the border, the Transition and Recovery? How have we adapted? What about the monumental dislocation and suffering that persisted for years both here in Cascadia and all over the world. Each one of you know people who still suffer from the pain. All of you have aunts, uncles, even parents who did not survive.”
“None who went through all that would like to see it again. We learn from the past. It helps for making a happier future. We have so much to be grateful for and what we have achieved deserves to be understood, cherished and protected.”
5
“So, lets go around the circle and become acquainted. I know some of you already know each other. We are from different parts of town and will be spending a good deal of time together over the next few months. Ed, can we ask you to start off? Lets hear a bit about you. What part of town are you from, what is your apprentice program, co-op and what do you do in the community?
"Also, please identify what community office your apprenticeship operates under. We will be visiting Community Hall and at that time, we want to make sure we all understand how the the various community offices and programs are organized. The City of Eugene had an extensive set of departments, programs and staff to look after the needs of the city. We have made use of much of that governmental organization before the Transition to our current civic structure."
"We want you all to understand how we benefited from certain aspects of that organization BT, what we have adapted to our current needs and what the city did then that we have no use for now. And, we very much want to explain new community services that did not exist at all BT. You are all part of a dynamic history. We learn as we move into the future."
“Sure. Its great to be here. I'm Ed, 16, from 4th Street Bear Co-op. Its a co-op with about 40 members and 8 clusters. We have several sizable garden plots in the Maurie Jacobs area. thats in coordination with Urban Agriculture. Members from our group are also involved with several other projects such as making garden tools and weaving - Manufacturing; tofu - Food; concrete removal - Redevlopment. Our co-op actually predates the Transition. Personally, I am an apprentice in the community engineering sector, in particular irrigation. I have always had an interest in mechanics. I want to spend some time up at Thompson's Mill near Shed at some point. Water power is fascinating and I would like to learn more about the mill there. It dates back to pioneer days. I'd like to see the original because its the model for several newer mills in the Valley”
“Thanks Ed.”
“Next. And will you tell us a bit about yourself?”
“Sure. I am Robin, 17, from Down Town and Blue Sky Co-op. We live in what was the LCC building across from the Library. You know it was built as residential, office, classrooms and all the solar stuff. We produce more electricity than we use. I have been in a program that teaches information management at the library. thats part of Education. We still have some of the old computers, which are giving out one by one so we need to preserve all kinds of digital info into hard copy before its lost. We have been patching up computers for years but that works for only so long.”
“Our downtown co-op is also part of the Babylon Project. We help locate, install and maintain gardens downtown, sometimes roof tops as high as ten stories, south facing balconies, interiors of buildings with banks of south facing walls - we call them vertical fields, former multi story parking lots where there is good solar exposure and just about any where else we can grow veggies, fruit trees and vines downtown. Thats with Urban Agriculture. ”
6
“Hmmm. Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Its beautiful, I expect we will have a look and yes, I know the library well. Even before it was built. It was an impressive act of civic cohesion and investment that brought the library into being forty years ago. In its hay day, it was full of computers and electronics. I think many of us have admired the downtown greenery and would be great to see more behind the scenes. Good, thanks Robin.”
“Hi. I'm Rita, 17. The Mall has been home for most of my life. I hope to have a chance to describe all the wonderful projects going on there.”
“For sure, Rita. We can visit the Mall. Much of this Learning is about sharing our stories - who we are, our Clusters, our Co-ops, our ideas, what we are doing. Field trips and outings are a major part of the curriculum. When we know more about where we live, we tend to have more respect and appreciation. Those are very powerful positive conditions. Its hard to respect and appreciate something when we don't know anything about it. Please continue.”
“I can't wait. So I live at the Mall. That project has been coordinated with the office of Redevelopment. You know its like big neighborhood all to itself. Actually, its a multi co-op place. My apprenticeship is, not surprisingly, Redevlopment. It takes in redesign of the inside which is still ongoing. There's a part for looking after the windmills on the roof, another part is the rehabilitation of the soil that has been uncovered by removal of the acres of pavement all around. thats with Energy and Urban Agriculture. I am also an assistant in the culture program at the Mall School working with children. Thats with Community Development.”
“Very good, Rita. Just a quick note. Its hard to imagine the mall was once a collection of dozens of stores surrounded by acres of pavement for automobiles. Few people actually walked or rode a bike to the mall or any where else at that time. During our Learning, we will have a good look at the history that lead to the Transition and that history has a lot to do with transportation, automobiles, in particular. But let's continue.”
“Hi. My name is Brendon. I am 18 and live close in west of downtown at Maitreya Co-op. We have a lot going on, like food production, some of it solar, lots of natural building, a day care center. We are a group of ten clusters. Fences came down decades ago. Maitreya was an eco village years before the Transition. We also gained City Block Planning status in 2019, which was a big help for surviving the Transition.
At this point, most of us have work during the day downtown. My apprenticeship is in Community Cohesion. We help resolve disagreements between people. Its a bit like the court system pre Transition but its more than that. We want to resolve disagreements but we want an outcome that leaves everyone involved feeling good. A lot of the time, we go on site so we can mediate where the disagreements happen."
"Another part CC is facilitating cohesion and uplift so we go to schools, places of work and promote the ideas of good citizenship and social uplift. Its something like encouraging and reminding. You probably have seen some of our posters around town."
"Thanks Brendon. Community Cohesion is a very important community service. That's where the Elder Council is located along with the Technology Review Board, Transition Services, Recreation, Community Safety and more. When we visit Community Hall, we will find out more how all these needs and services are organized."
7
"OK. thanks Brendon, let's move on.."
“I'll go.” said an eager young woman. She looked to be very fit and had some kind of spirited self confidence..
“My name is Misty. I'm 17. I have been living with the South Side Salvage Collective. I asked if I could participate in this Learning group. I wanted to see more of the River Road part of town. Its a fair bike ride but nice. In the Southside, we are still removing houses from the hillsides. Most have usable wood, hardware and glass even though some have not been occupied for 10 years. That means we work with Redevelopment, more specifically, with Salvage.
"Its hard to imagine the size of those houses with only a single family living in them. We trade what we salvage to builders. Our collective can take credit for providing the materials for a good many of the upfill and Block Planning projects around town for the past 15 years. That means, we need to know about Code and Inspection. But actually, I am interested in finding out more about Community Cohesion. I am also very interested in recent history, the past hundred or so years, social, economic, culture. I am also very much fascinated by Travel and Geography - land forms, climate."
So this must be our visitor for the this evening's meeting. History, Geography, Economics, Culture, Travel, Climate? Did I already reincarnate?
“Interesting, Misty. Its not so usual people relocate. Extended families based on longer term mutual assistance are becoming entrenched in our way of life. Finding both a new Cluster can be a challenge. So you are interested in recent history? Let's talk about this later. ”
“Thank you Elder Naj. Yes. I just feel like this is important. Its a risk, I know. Something is telling me to make this move. I'd like to talk later. Thanks!”
“I'll go. My name is Rabble, 16 and I come from West Eugene at Phoenix Co-op. Our co-op is mostly agricultural. We were a church well before the turn of the century. As all the changes started to accelerate after 2015 and even more so around 2020, some of our members moved to the church and started cultivating the five acres we have. More and more people moved to the church, mostly members but others, too. Its not so religious anymore."
"I'd love to invite you all over and tell the story of how the church became a commune. And of course, we are close to Urban Agriculture and Redevelopment. Being further out, we also are in touch with Safety and Security."
“Yes, I remember hearing about Phoenix. One of the first communities of faith to actually turn their place of worship into a sort of co housing project. It made sense, especially if the site had so much available land. It took a while but faith communities finally moved into action by 2020 when political and economic disruption became hard to miss . They finally started putting to good use the social, infrastructure and spiritual assets they had all a long. Yes, Rabble, we want to visit and hear the story.”
8
“Me next? I'm Gracie and I live close in at Sequoia Co-op. . My apprenticeship has been in Community Hall. Redevelopment . Ever since I can remember, I've had an interest in what best uses could be in community service. I love the stories I hear from people who have worked at City Hall BT. Wow!
"I love what has been going on there for almost 20 years. Take what existed during BT, add Tansition and make best use of it. My favorites are about Block Planning, the Mall and urban agriculture like turning golf courses into neighborhood gardens. How we repair and repurpose the urban landscape is a big deal."
“So I have had a bit of experience in Block Planning, golf course conversion and redeveloping all those parking lots into much better use. I know Misty and Rita from before. We have done some collaborating. Our group played a big part in taking out the parking lot at the Mall. I was only eight at the time but remember visiting the site as a class outing and being amazed at how acres of lifeless pavement became acres of lush food production only three years later. ”
Misty spoke up. "Yes. The three of us have spent a good deal of time checking out different projects around town. We have seen the books and foto displays at the library and are amazed to see what Eugene looked like. Its hard to imagine back in the 1960's and 70's. The planners were just crazy for building highways. If all the big highways planned had actually happened, Eugene would have turned out a lot differently."
"That's right, Misty. One day, we were amazed how even longer ago, in the 1920's, Eugene had a dozen trains coming and going from Portland every day. What happened?"
"Good question. What happened?. We are a bit off track but these are great discussions. We will pick up these topics over the next few months. Its really important to understand the different reasons that deliver us to where we are today. That is my task for this group of Newbies. What happened in the past made some kind of sense, given the near obsession with buying, selling and consuming. Still, even sixty or seventy years ago some scientists were saying all the pollution from human activity could have big affects on the way the entire Earth functions. Some people could see a civilization based on never ending consuming was big damage to the planet, people and the future. It sure has turned out that way. Ok. Let's move on."
"That's great Gracie. Next?"
“I'll go. Call me Bridgette. I'm 17. I also live close in at Be Alive Co-op. We occupy an eight story residential tower just south of downtown. There are great views but the walk up is a chore with a load, but the longer the walk up, the better the view. The elevators don't work anymore. We have actually applied to Code and Innovation with an idea to build a human powered elevator. We are working on that idea."
"So, all those terraces are devoted to agriculture. We also have reconfigured space to allow vertical food production. The architecture really lends itself to high rise agriculture. There are large terraces at several levels and each of the apartments have balconies. I am involved with school gardens. We teach kids about growing food and nutrition."
Rabble commented, "Ha! I hear the long walk up the stairs mean only young people are up there at the top and the parties are great The older people, excuse me Elder Naj, cant quite make the climb to keep track of what they are doing!"
Thanks for the comment, Rabble. If you really want to know, many older folks could easily climb those steps. Its more a matter of younger people being able to express themselves. Within limits of course. But young people receive a lot of trust, and most have a lot of good judgement. You all know about part of your coming of age. Your Newby group here and two others will be allowed a week of what ever you want to do at a nice location near town. Drugs, sex, noise. Pretty much anything goes. We will leave it you you. This new tradition is very educational. Ok, back to our intros."
9
"Yes, we all know about that coming of age ritual. Thanks, Elder Naj."
Bridgette continued. "We have raised garden beds and large cisterns on the roof top and many potted dwarf fruit trees and vines. The place is an entire small neighborhood. We work on the Babylon Project with Robin and some other co-ops. BT, there was already the beginnings of edible landscaping what became Be Alive Co-op. The building used to be an upscale apartment complex so we had a head start. Lucky for those living here. During the worst of the Transition, our place was still secure, with boarded up windows on the ground floor. We also had a high level of cohesion from having to be so confined."
"A remarkable amount of food is grown downtown, especially on the roof tops, terraces, balconies and the old parking garages. With all the people downtown, we collect all the compost and poop to feed bio gas production. We have four bio gas systems at Be Alive.
“Where was I? My study,, yes, my area of study and interest is teaching kids about gardens, biology, nutrition and health in general. My own education began in the early days of the Transition."
"Another passionate interest and my second apprenticeship, is to help people who are having a difficult time adjusting to life post Transition. The stories I have heard about life before, during and after the Transition are just fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking. Its important for people to tell their stories. Its tremendously healing. Many people have what is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With patients' permission, we record their stories for the historical record. A visit to the Life Changes Center will show you what I mean. I love my apprenticeship. Teaching kids and life changes are what I love to do.”
“Thanks Brigette. You have close contact with our history. And I know the place you live in. I watched it being built across the street from the Methodist Church. Your enthusiasm is a perfect example of one of our core ideals, bringing out the best in who we are. That's all about human potential and service to the community."
"Oh, Elder Naj. You are so flattering. We're just doing what we're supposed to."
"Yes you are and your part is essential. And let's call it compliments, not flattery. Sincere gratitude is a strong positive way to communicate. Its a core part of our ideals for people to be the best they can. And giving people encouragement is a big help"
I can look at these Newbies. This is one of the most gratifying parts of being an Elder. To see how these young people value themselves and our community values them. Our future depends on them.
“Your turn. Yes, Ralph.”
“Well, uh, hello everyone. I'm Ralph, live at Far In Co-op. I've been at work all day and probably look like it. I have been apprenticing in the Office of Mechanical Salvage or simply Salvage. This is related but not the same as Misty and her building recycling. We are about reusing whatever mechanical devices and items of metal we can find left over from the Transition. We are still finding ways to take things apart and rebuild something new and useful.
“Salvage is also responsible for the community smelter. We smelt down all kinds of metals and create feed stock for a wide variety of tools and implements. Many of the old machine and metal shops around town from Before Transition have been brought into Salvage. A number of Co-ops fabricate metal tools of various kinds as part of their income. Its remarkable what we can make with metal. We can build tools locally that once came from far away. As the old ones wear out, they are recycled into replacements. So we touch on Salvage and Reuse, Manufacturing and also have contact on occasion with Technology Innovation, which is part of Cohesion.”
10
And, I commented to myself, Salvage is the source of 95% of the cases brought before the Technology Innovation Board. I need to comment on this.
“Here's an item of ongoing debate. We can touch on this later in our Learning but enough to say at the moment, labor saving innovation, mechanical advantage, increasing human productivity - played an absolutely primary role in the Before Transition [BT] Culture. Indeed, innovation is a central theme throughout human history.
“We are a gadget oriented species and that fascination to innovate, our history clearly shows, takes on an overpowering momentum of its own, especially when money is to be made. The pace of innovation and labor saving gadgets was gentle for most of human history. But over the past several hundred years, the pace of innovation steepened rapidly."
"The collapse of the society I grew up in was largely a result of innovation that lacked responsibility and societal vision, that would have provided direction and meaning to culture and economy in the first place. In short, innovation, driven by the principles that dictated the BT economic system took on a life of its own and people and planet paid a steep price."
"We now have a civic mechanism to review new technologies, gadgets and practices that might lead to disruptive consequences. Its actually an office within Community Cohesion called the Technology Innovation Review Department, or TIRD. The Department is in contact with other TIRDs all over Cascadia. They are all in contact with each other and meet several times a year to keep up with each other.”
Quite a few few discreet and not so discreet chuckles and giggles.
“Ok, so its a great acronym. It is pretty funny. I mention all this because Salvage is charged with both reworking old machinery but also innovation. They work closely with a research group at the community college and link with other Salvage counterparts all over Cascadia. There have been occasions when some ideas and even hardware were denied for use. We are all for technology, with care, as long as it fits our ideals. For example, the elevator Rita mentioned. What could that lead to?”
“Thanks Ralph. Ok, and we now have,,,,”
"A moment Elder Naj?"
"Yes, Brendon."
"As mentioned, I work in Community Cohesion and we hear comments about some of our responsibilities. And what you just said about innovation. Its such an important part of the human experience. How would you respond? What do you think, do we have the right to regulate human creativity?"
Hmmm,,, we used to say question authority.
"That's a thoughtful question Brendon. Speaking for myself. The short answer is yes. It has something to do with being civilized. There has to be some kind of common understanding of what is ok and what is not. Ideally, everyone agrees what is ok and what is not but that's not what happens in the real world. So we do need some boundaries. The question is, how are those boundaries created and defined? Who decides? Here in Eugene and Cascadia we look to the Elders, we look to what seems to be compatible with the Natural World and uplifts the human spirit. We want to avoid what happened before."
11
Many of us saw what happened earlier this century and we know why all that came down the way it did. It was essentially, innovation for the sake of economic growth and profits And much of it preyed on simple human vanity. Much of the innovation in the past had enormous consequences. In retrospect, one can look back and say, how could they let than happen?
What we have now that did not exist before the Transition is an articulated and widely accepted set of social and economic ideals and goals. The most important ones are, we must fit within what the environment can safely accommodate. We also believe in personal and social uplift of the spirit as individuals, clusters, co-ops and community. We are guided by history. We don't want to repeat what happened before. Believe me, I grew up in that world."
"Elder Naj." It was Misty. "How did you develop, what seems like, some kind of immunity to all that. I have read about all the commercials, all the mania for buying and consuming stuff as the reason to be alive. How is it you did'nt go for all that?"
"Good question, Misty. I knew a lot of other people who had that immunity. That's why I moved to the Northwest because there were more of them living in this part of the former USA. That immunity became much more common during the 'teens, as the whole misguided set up became more and more obvious. Let's save that story for another time. I would be glad to respond with more detail. Let's pick up the previous thought about innovation. It addresses some of your question."
"Specifically, we saw what global market capitalism did to people and planet. An essential part of global market capitalism was innovation and invention largely to serve an economy based on an endless consumer appetite that fed economic growth at any cost. And a lot of what lead to the Transition was about unregulated technology. The economy was more about growth - buying and selling - than taking care of reasonable human needs and the consequences were a disaster for the environment, the human spirit and culture.
Many of us considered that economic system to be in-capable of repair or reform. That would have been like asking an odd number to become and even number or asking a tiger to become vegetarian. It just could not happen. Too much power and wealth would have needed to be let go of. Too many people would have had to change their basic world view. That economic system and those world views that went with it, had to run their course. It was not pretty. We still see much of the consequences, like a climate that is much warmer than it used to be. From what we understand by ham radio, large parts of the world have become uninhabitable. The Transition has provided us with a chance to learn from that experience."
"We have chosen to be much more careful about how we make use of technology. So we have the TIRD. Seems unlikely we could put something together here in Cascadia that might be out of bounds but previous history has made us quite sensitive to the issue. There have been some controversies, there will be others. We call upon our thoughtful Cascadian ideals, values and goals to help guide us. We are trying to be as wise and careful as we can."
"Thanks Elder Naj. Thats helpful. Its still a matter of who decides for others. History is full of examples of groups or individuals granting themselves that privilege. Certainly there is need for some cohesion but historically, the results have been mixed at best."
12
"That's true Brendon. We have set up a system as carefully and thoughtfully as we can. As you mention there is a need for social cohesion. In my entire experience PT, there was never any real widespread discussion about what is the goal of our town, our state, our nation, our society? It was just assumed the reason for life was to work and consume. We saw what happens with that set of values.
There are other choices. We have come to agree that some actions, like unregulated technology, are a threat, given human history, to Cascadia's ideals and values. So we review innovation. Even still, not everyone is happy with that. OK, its important to have these conversations. Who is next?"
“That's me. I am Zora, 18. Thanks everyone, that is really interesting conversation.
I'm staying with the Nutria Cluster for a time. I live out near the Edge with Full Square Co-op. We started out ten years BT, way before my time, as a farm at the edge of town. It evolved into a farm co-op. The founders still live there. Besides working on the farm, I help co-ordinate Town and Farm Alliance, or TFA. Most of you are probably familiar with this. Its one of the choices for Community Service. At certain times of the year, there is a great need for help out on the farms. We are the ones who organize people in town to go out to nearby farms for several days at critical planting and harvesting seasons.”
“Again, this work brigade system has its origin before the Transition and it's a critical part of growing enough food to feed us all. It goes without saying, many many projects and ideas that serve us well in the present had their beginnings years before most people even noticed the early signs of major change. There were people in town who wanted to grow more food but didn't have the space in town for bulk crops like dried beans and grains."
"So they contracted with nearby farmers and leased space from them to grow larger scale. Typically, this was done in a co-op way with groups, usually 20 to 30 people cultivating a couple acres. As the slide towards the Transition deepened, more and more people duplicated this idea. We have taken the Alliance even further, to the point its common for people in town to do seasonal help on a nearby farm and most co-ops in town have formal relationships with co-ops in the country growing and processing food. So I help coordinate the Town and Farm Alliance.”
"Thanks Zora. That's great. Having a lot more involvement with taking care of our needs makes us all far more appreciative of what we have. That's all of us. Very nice! I know a lot of people who look forward to trips out to the farm."
“Elder Naj. Its your turn. How about telling us about your place? I've heard stories but have never had an opportunity like this to see and hear about your place." It was Gracie. "You have one of the oldest and most well known suburban property conversion projects in Cascadia. Can we take a break and you tell us a bit about your place? This is great for land use."
Others added to Gracie's request.
13
"OK. A brief look. Its a special place for me. I appreciate everyone's interest."
“I moved here close to 40 years ago. Even then, many of us were quite convinced we were on the edge of big changes. Some of us were early advocates in a movement based on applying principles of Permaculture to Suburbia. We had discussions, organized meetings, wrote articles and described practical approaches for taking care of more needs in ways that were friendly to people and planet. This was not only about resource scarcity and the ongoing damage to the natural environment. It was just as much about culture, human potential, economics and spirituality. Some called this movement "regime change", others a "new paradigm.""
“When I bought this place and moved onto this property in 2000, my plans from the beginning were to make major changes. With a bit of imagination, you might see fences between all these houses. You know about automobiles. They took up an enormous amount of space. Each house had expanses of concrete to park the cars. My own place could accommodate 5 in what we called a driveway. Most houses had a space called a garage where the cars actually had shelter indoors. Part of my plan was to remove the driveway and turn the garage into living space. I liked to call this reclaiming automobile space.
Surprising as it seems, most houses BT were surrounded by grass and trees and shrubs that provided no food at all. One of my first actions was to turn both front and back yards into gardens and edible landscaping. The patio had been closed in before I bought the place but a friend and I rebuilt it five years after I moved in. Soon after, followed, I installed the first part of what would become a 6500 gallon rain water storage system. You can see it all. It's aesthetically beautiful as well. I welcomed visitors, tours and media. It became a place where people came to learn. I created a set of posters and other educational outreach to move these ideas beyond my property to a wider audience.
"Critical to doing all this, I made a series of lifestyle choices that allowed me the time to work on the place and advocate for deep changes in culture and economy. I simply chose to have free time instead of buying lots of stuff. Of course, the gardens and home infrastructure were only part of a larger ideal that included social, economic, environmental and even spiritual concerns. This was an unusual set of actions at the time but now, its pretty much normal. All of you are living in places and in ways that are normal now but would have been unusual twenty five years ago. We will have more opportunity to continue this conversation another time.
For years, showing people this “suburban renewal project,” has been one of my favorite things to do. I loved answering questions about the place. Explaining some of the history of suburbia helped put it all in context. It was great to describe what had been learned about solar design, food storage, rain water catchment, composting my own waste, economics and much more.
"OK, That's good."
"You Newbies are vital to your clusters, co-ops, Eugene and Cascadia. Some of you may become part of making important decisions and policy in the Public Sector, others will do your important work with modest or little recognition. There is no better or more important. Our survival and evolving as a community and as individuals is all part of our identity and what we pass on to the future. It is our responsibility to be a benefit to ourselves and our community and to live our lives with the greatest respect for the natural world and our community which we all depend upon."
“Already today, we have heard an impressive variety of stories about what you all do and where you live. We will visit many of the places mentioned today. In the process, we will create and strengthen important relationships as friends and community members."
“Let's meet at the Land Us Sector next week downtown at City Hall. That's Gracie's place of apprenticeship. We will have a look at some economic and cultural history from before the Transition and mix in some land use. Enough for now. See you all next week.”
Dear Reader, If you would like to help edit Windmill 2040, please contact me.
Imagine having a unique vantage point for a close up look at Windmill Co-op, Eugene and Cascadia in the year 2040. Elder Naj will show you where he lives, explain how Cascadia come into being and what its like fifteen years into Recovery. You will hear about the actions people took at home, in the neighborhood and community, 30 and 40 years before, that were critical for surviving the Transition and taking on the challenges for creating a new, healthy and green economy and culture.
Newbies
note-
italics is Elder Naj talking
bold is Elder Naj thinking and narrating
regular font is others speaking
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The story begins,
Elder Naj enters the kitchen for breakfast and there is immediate banter with his housemates. Its normal.
“Good morning everyone.”
“Good Morning Naj. Join us for breakfast. We're having pancakes and pan roasted filberts. Your favorites. We understand you made special pancakes back in the old days when you lived in the Arkansas Ozarks. Care to tell us about those pancakes?”
"Rumors. Who told you that? My reputation seems to be a target all the time. What has a helpless old man done to deserve ridicule? So what if I had special pancakes anyway? So what if I went on all day hikes up the valley, down the valley and along the cliffs with views of murmuring Beech Creek 800 feet below. The music of the spheres."
Playful banter. Something so simple and basic but so comforting. Living with people who care about each other and depend on each other. Hmmm, how much do they depend on me, at 92? Well, after all, this has been my house for over 35 years. But then, that was a different kind of ownership in a different world and its all over now. Who'd a thunk it?
Before the Transition, I lived for years out of a back pack traveling the world. Sometimes going for months not seeing anyone I knew for longer than a conversation. Sometimes going for weeks without speaking English. I would not trade that for anything. But now, there is something warm about familiarity and being close to home. Only a few unusual people travel very far, these days. Home and family are much to to be appreciated. Especially after what we have all been through.
“Thanks for the offer, Fred. Count me in.”
“Are you joining us for Discussion this evening? We have a few co-op items to cover. Windmill has accepted a new group for potential membership. You'll love this, they managed to make it all the way to Cascadia from Arkansas. They showed up at the Fence four months ago. What a reaction! We're next in the host rotation and from the info we have, they look very interesting. And we also have a request from a young woman who would like to make a trial visit here for a few weeks, with the idea for eventual membership to Windmill. Finally, we need to talk about our obligations out East. Its time for several Windmill members to put in some time at the "Fence."
2
I sat down at the kitchen table and looked around in satisfaction. Sun streaming in from the glass in through the glass ceiling in the sun room. It was cool outside but by mid morning, already becoming a solar positive day, even though this was early March. Plants all around inside. Aime's art projects taped to the walls. Outside the glass walls was one of our gardens. Early spring greens and lettuce gaining some size, especially in the cold frames. Eugene's weather and climate have warmed a good deal since the turn of the century and that was easy to recognize with a lengthening growing season.
Past the near garden, across what had been a typical grassy back yard decades before, past the Bungalow and 3000 gallon tank was the garden of Cherry Cluster and the north side of their house. There was no fence between the properties. I had lived here for nearly 35 years. If I didn't have the old fotos to show what this place used to look like, visitors would have a hard time believing this was the same two houses and the same block of 15 or so houses. Fences gone. Virtually every nook and cranny serving some kind of useful purpose.
Similar changes have happened in other lucky parts of Cascadia. In fact, leading up to the Transition and afterwards, you either made profound changes to where you lived or you just didn't make it. We called it Green Preparedness. Even those fully into big economic and culture change twenty five years ago were shocked about the Transition. Pre Transition, some of us talked about how the neighborhood would look if conditions came unglued and un imaginable changes to our way of life followed. Well thats what happened.
So we are Vertical Cluster. There were six in the house itself and I was still living in the Bungalow just south of the main house. Still navigating the same steep ladder to the loft. The Bungalow has served me well for almost 30 years. Our immediate household includes Sue and Jim in the southeast bedroom; Fraeda and Fred along with their adopted 6 year old daughter Aimie in the west room. The small northeast corner room was empty, but soon, possibly occupied with our new trial member.
We are a solid household, Sue, Jim, Fraeda and Fred and I sharing the place for over ten years. And Aimie joining us six years ago. No one really knew her story. She was found as a toddler at one of the border camps with a note that said, please take care of our baby. Fraeda and Fred, at the time were taking their turns at the border, adopted her. She is one of the family.
“Pancakes? Sit yourself down here and tell us what's on your plate for today, Elder Naj.”
“Very funny! Just as you say, Fred, take me to your pancakes. And don't call me Elder.”
We had gone through this same conversation before. And I detested the title Elder. I had done my best to ignore the calendar for decades and did not care to be reminded.
“I'm leaving most of the day open for Learning with a group of Newbies. Seems like I'm always teaching the Newbies but, don't tell anyone this, it is one of my favorite things to do. When the kids are this age, they are so full of curiosity, taking on the responsibilities of being adults.. Its vital for them to know about our history. You know from an early point as we picked up the pieces after the Transition, we all agreed never again. And part of the way to avoid that past was to understand how it happened, how we survived and not do it again.”
“Yes, I remember your being our teacher 15 years ago.” Fraeda added. “Until that time I had heard stories from my parents, older friends, done some reading but without flattering our favorite elder, your explaining made it all fit together. After all, you and some of your friends were in the middle of it all. The trends, the denial, the Transition and even advocating for deep changes to culture and economy years before most people even imagined it was all about to go crazy."
3
"Those of us who saw the big changes coming, went through it and reflect on what has happened since, could hardly believe it either. What's also interesting is that we were actually living in an accumulating crisis for decades, the entire lives of Baby Boomers - damage to the natural environment, the consumer culture, economic turbulence, a sham of so called democracy, politics for sale, cities built for cars, trillions of dollars lost to military budgets. Its all we knew. Few people had higher expectations or imagined that the consumer way of life was not the only choice available. Its like people didn't value themselves, people had little thought that they deserved better."
“So its the beginning of Third Semester, Tenth Learning. We will be meeting this afternoon at two. And yes, I will be available for the discussion this evening. Whats with the jars?"
"Well, we failed to check the jars for moths. Looks like we lost a couple pounds of dried apples. Its a shame, all the work to dry and we forget to check for moths. We do pretty well with our fruit drying but a bit of forgetting and this is what happens. A couple are a bit too far gone but the chickens will enjoy them."
Important to pay attention. Ciao, I am off to visit with the Newbies.
I wonder what this group will be like. Here we go.
Newbies “Everyone here? All Newbies present?”
“Can we wait a few more minutes? Ed from 4th Street said he'd be a few minutes late. He had to check on a pump down by the River. Seems its not lifting as much water as it should. The river is a bit low for this time of the year. We'll be needing that irrigation by early May. He, shouldn't be long.”
I'll just collect my thoughts before we start. Hmmm. Irrigation in a month or so. Its only early March. Used to be irrigation wasn't needed until early June. So it goes with a changing climate. Its warmer sooner and drier, too. So, Newbies coming over. How long have we been doing this? These youngsters are all post Transition. This will be maybe my 15th year as Guide for Tenth Learning. What happened to retirement? Back in the old days, they gave you a watch and turned you out to pasture with a decent pension. Some went to the Villages in Florida. None of that now. Everyone has to earn their keep.
4
Imagine, working , retiring with a nice bit of security and doing what you wanted. People often traveled all over the place when they quit working. Flying was cheap. Even was a time people drove these huge gasoline powered houses on wheels with all the furnishings. Not a care in the world.
None of that now. Everyone has to earn their keep.
“Here I am. Hi. Thanks for waiting. I'm Ed from 4th Street.”
“Sure Ed, glad you could make it. How's the pump?”
“The pump? Oh, it needed a bit of lube and to tighten a gasket. We had to move the intake a bit further out to deeper water. Looks fine for now.”
“OK? We're all here. Welcome. I'm Elder Naj and I will be your Primary Guide for this part of your Third Learning. You have all been apprentices for at least two years. Tenth Learning continues your preparation for Coming of Age when you will become a full Partner in the Community."
"First, lets have an overview about this part of your Learning.
“Before any of you young folks came along, some of us older ones were present for one of the most dramatic episodes in human history. You have heard many of the personal stories from parents, grandparents and older friends. The Elders Council considers knowing our history to be very important. We want you to understand and appreciate the past, present and future."
“What were the trends and conditions that lead to closing the border, the Transition and Recovery? How have we adapted? What about the monumental dislocation and suffering that persisted for years both here in Cascadia and all over the world. Each one of you know people who still suffer from the pain. All of you have aunts, uncles, even parents who did not survive.”
“None who went through all that would like to see it again. We learn from the past. It helps for making a happier future. We have so much to be grateful for and what we have achieved deserves to be understood, cherished and protected.”
5
“So, lets go around the circle and become acquainted. I know some of you already know each other. We are from different parts of town and will be spending a good deal of time together over the next few months. Ed, can we ask you to start off? Lets hear a bit about you. What part of town are you from, what is your apprentice program, co-op and what do you do in the community?
"Also, please identify what community office your apprenticeship operates under. We will be visiting Community Hall and at that time, we want to make sure we all understand how the the various community offices and programs are organized. The City of Eugene had an extensive set of departments, programs and staff to look after the needs of the city. We have made use of much of that governmental organization before the Transition to our current civic structure."
"We want you all to understand how we benefited from certain aspects of that organization BT, what we have adapted to our current needs and what the city did then that we have no use for now. And, we very much want to explain new community services that did not exist at all BT. You are all part of a dynamic history. We learn as we move into the future."
“Sure. Its great to be here. I'm Ed, 16, from 4th Street Bear Co-op. Its a co-op with about 40 members and 8 clusters. We have several sizable garden plots in the Maurie Jacobs area. thats in coordination with Urban Agriculture. Members from our group are also involved with several other projects such as making garden tools and weaving - Manufacturing; tofu - Food; concrete removal - Redevlopment. Our co-op actually predates the Transition. Personally, I am an apprentice in the community engineering sector, in particular irrigation. I have always had an interest in mechanics. I want to spend some time up at Thompson's Mill near Shed at some point. Water power is fascinating and I would like to learn more about the mill there. It dates back to pioneer days. I'd like to see the original because its the model for several newer mills in the Valley”
“Thanks Ed.”
“Next. And will you tell us a bit about yourself?”
“Sure. I am Robin, 17, from Down Town and Blue Sky Co-op. We live in what was the LCC building across from the Library. You know it was built as residential, office, classrooms and all the solar stuff. We produce more electricity than we use. I have been in a program that teaches information management at the library. thats part of Education. We still have some of the old computers, which are giving out one by one so we need to preserve all kinds of digital info into hard copy before its lost. We have been patching up computers for years but that works for only so long.”
“Our downtown co-op is also part of the Babylon Project. We help locate, install and maintain gardens downtown, sometimes roof tops as high as ten stories, south facing balconies, interiors of buildings with banks of south facing walls - we call them vertical fields, former multi story parking lots where there is good solar exposure and just about any where else we can grow veggies, fruit trees and vines downtown. Thats with Urban Agriculture. ”
6
“Hmmm. Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Its beautiful, I expect we will have a look and yes, I know the library well. Even before it was built. It was an impressive act of civic cohesion and investment that brought the library into being forty years ago. In its hay day, it was full of computers and electronics. I think many of us have admired the downtown greenery and would be great to see more behind the scenes. Good, thanks Robin.”
“Hi. I'm Rita, 17. The Mall has been home for most of my life. I hope to have a chance to describe all the wonderful projects going on there.”
“For sure, Rita. We can visit the Mall. Much of this Learning is about sharing our stories - who we are, our Clusters, our Co-ops, our ideas, what we are doing. Field trips and outings are a major part of the curriculum. When we know more about where we live, we tend to have more respect and appreciation. Those are very powerful positive conditions. Its hard to respect and appreciate something when we don't know anything about it. Please continue.”
“I can't wait. So I live at the Mall. That project has been coordinated with the office of Redevelopment. You know its like big neighborhood all to itself. Actually, its a multi co-op place. My apprenticeship is, not surprisingly, Redevlopment. It takes in redesign of the inside which is still ongoing. There's a part for looking after the windmills on the roof, another part is the rehabilitation of the soil that has been uncovered by removal of the acres of pavement all around. thats with Energy and Urban Agriculture. I am also an assistant in the culture program at the Mall School working with children. Thats with Community Development.”
“Very good, Rita. Just a quick note. Its hard to imagine the mall was once a collection of dozens of stores surrounded by acres of pavement for automobiles. Few people actually walked or rode a bike to the mall or any where else at that time. During our Learning, we will have a good look at the history that lead to the Transition and that history has a lot to do with transportation, automobiles, in particular. But let's continue.”
“Hi. My name is Brendon. I am 18 and live close in west of downtown at Maitreya Co-op. We have a lot going on, like food production, some of it solar, lots of natural building, a day care center. We are a group of ten clusters. Fences came down decades ago. Maitreya was an eco village years before the Transition. We also gained City Block Planning status in 2019, which was a big help for surviving the Transition.
At this point, most of us have work during the day downtown. My apprenticeship is in Community Cohesion. We help resolve disagreements between people. Its a bit like the court system pre Transition but its more than that. We want to resolve disagreements but we want an outcome that leaves everyone involved feeling good. A lot of the time, we go on site so we can mediate where the disagreements happen."
"Another part CC is facilitating cohesion and uplift so we go to schools, places of work and promote the ideas of good citizenship and social uplift. Its something like encouraging and reminding. You probably have seen some of our posters around town."
"Thanks Brendon. Community Cohesion is a very important community service. That's where the Elder Council is located along with the Technology Review Board, Transition Services, Recreation, Community Safety and more. When we visit Community Hall, we will find out more how all these needs and services are organized."
7
"OK. thanks Brendon, let's move on.."
“I'll go.” said an eager young woman. She looked to be very fit and had some kind of spirited self confidence..
“My name is Misty. I'm 17. I have been living with the South Side Salvage Collective. I asked if I could participate in this Learning group. I wanted to see more of the River Road part of town. Its a fair bike ride but nice. In the Southside, we are still removing houses from the hillsides. Most have usable wood, hardware and glass even though some have not been occupied for 10 years. That means we work with Redevelopment, more specifically, with Salvage.
"Its hard to imagine the size of those houses with only a single family living in them. We trade what we salvage to builders. Our collective can take credit for providing the materials for a good many of the upfill and Block Planning projects around town for the past 15 years. That means, we need to know about Code and Inspection. But actually, I am interested in finding out more about Community Cohesion. I am also very interested in recent history, the past hundred or so years, social, economic, culture. I am also very much fascinated by Travel and Geography - land forms, climate."
So this must be our visitor for the this evening's meeting. History, Geography, Economics, Culture, Travel, Climate? Did I already reincarnate?
“Interesting, Misty. Its not so usual people relocate. Extended families based on longer term mutual assistance are becoming entrenched in our way of life. Finding both a new Cluster can be a challenge. So you are interested in recent history? Let's talk about this later. ”
“Thank you Elder Naj. Yes. I just feel like this is important. Its a risk, I know. Something is telling me to make this move. I'd like to talk later. Thanks!”
“I'll go. My name is Rabble, 16 and I come from West Eugene at Phoenix Co-op. Our co-op is mostly agricultural. We were a church well before the turn of the century. As all the changes started to accelerate after 2015 and even more so around 2020, some of our members moved to the church and started cultivating the five acres we have. More and more people moved to the church, mostly members but others, too. Its not so religious anymore."
"I'd love to invite you all over and tell the story of how the church became a commune. And of course, we are close to Urban Agriculture and Redevelopment. Being further out, we also are in touch with Safety and Security."
“Yes, I remember hearing about Phoenix. One of the first communities of faith to actually turn their place of worship into a sort of co housing project. It made sense, especially if the site had so much available land. It took a while but faith communities finally moved into action by 2020 when political and economic disruption became hard to miss . They finally started putting to good use the social, infrastructure and spiritual assets they had all a long. Yes, Rabble, we want to visit and hear the story.”
8
“Me next? I'm Gracie and I live close in at Sequoia Co-op. . My apprenticeship has been in Community Hall. Redevelopment . Ever since I can remember, I've had an interest in what best uses could be in community service. I love the stories I hear from people who have worked at City Hall BT. Wow!
"I love what has been going on there for almost 20 years. Take what existed during BT, add Tansition and make best use of it. My favorites are about Block Planning, the Mall and urban agriculture like turning golf courses into neighborhood gardens. How we repair and repurpose the urban landscape is a big deal."
“So I have had a bit of experience in Block Planning, golf course conversion and redeveloping all those parking lots into much better use. I know Misty and Rita from before. We have done some collaborating. Our group played a big part in taking out the parking lot at the Mall. I was only eight at the time but remember visiting the site as a class outing and being amazed at how acres of lifeless pavement became acres of lush food production only three years later. ”
Misty spoke up. "Yes. The three of us have spent a good deal of time checking out different projects around town. We have seen the books and foto displays at the library and are amazed to see what Eugene looked like. Its hard to imagine back in the 1960's and 70's. The planners were just crazy for building highways. If all the big highways planned had actually happened, Eugene would have turned out a lot differently."
"That's right, Misty. One day, we were amazed how even longer ago, in the 1920's, Eugene had a dozen trains coming and going from Portland every day. What happened?"
"Good question. What happened?. We are a bit off track but these are great discussions. We will pick up these topics over the next few months. Its really important to understand the different reasons that deliver us to where we are today. That is my task for this group of Newbies. What happened in the past made some kind of sense, given the near obsession with buying, selling and consuming. Still, even sixty or seventy years ago some scientists were saying all the pollution from human activity could have big affects on the way the entire Earth functions. Some people could see a civilization based on never ending consuming was big damage to the planet, people and the future. It sure has turned out that way. Ok. Let's move on."
"That's great Gracie. Next?"
“I'll go. Call me Bridgette. I'm 17. I also live close in at Be Alive Co-op. We occupy an eight story residential tower just south of downtown. There are great views but the walk up is a chore with a load, but the longer the walk up, the better the view. The elevators don't work anymore. We have actually applied to Code and Innovation with an idea to build a human powered elevator. We are working on that idea."
"So, all those terraces are devoted to agriculture. We also have reconfigured space to allow vertical food production. The architecture really lends itself to high rise agriculture. There are large terraces at several levels and each of the apartments have balconies. I am involved with school gardens. We teach kids about growing food and nutrition."
Rabble commented, "Ha! I hear the long walk up the stairs mean only young people are up there at the top and the parties are great The older people, excuse me Elder Naj, cant quite make the climb to keep track of what they are doing!"
Thanks for the comment, Rabble. If you really want to know, many older folks could easily climb those steps. Its more a matter of younger people being able to express themselves. Within limits of course. But young people receive a lot of trust, and most have a lot of good judgement. You all know about part of your coming of age. Your Newby group here and two others will be allowed a week of what ever you want to do at a nice location near town. Drugs, sex, noise. Pretty much anything goes. We will leave it you you. This new tradition is very educational. Ok, back to our intros."
9
"Yes, we all know about that coming of age ritual. Thanks, Elder Naj."
Bridgette continued. "We have raised garden beds and large cisterns on the roof top and many potted dwarf fruit trees and vines. The place is an entire small neighborhood. We work on the Babylon Project with Robin and some other co-ops. BT, there was already the beginnings of edible landscaping what became Be Alive Co-op. The building used to be an upscale apartment complex so we had a head start. Lucky for those living here. During the worst of the Transition, our place was still secure, with boarded up windows on the ground floor. We also had a high level of cohesion from having to be so confined."
"A remarkable amount of food is grown downtown, especially on the roof tops, terraces, balconies and the old parking garages. With all the people downtown, we collect all the compost and poop to feed bio gas production. We have four bio gas systems at Be Alive.
“Where was I? My study,, yes, my area of study and interest is teaching kids about gardens, biology, nutrition and health in general. My own education began in the early days of the Transition."
"Another passionate interest and my second apprenticeship, is to help people who are having a difficult time adjusting to life post Transition. The stories I have heard about life before, during and after the Transition are just fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking. Its important for people to tell their stories. Its tremendously healing. Many people have what is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. With patients' permission, we record their stories for the historical record. A visit to the Life Changes Center will show you what I mean. I love my apprenticeship. Teaching kids and life changes are what I love to do.”
“Thanks Brigette. You have close contact with our history. And I know the place you live in. I watched it being built across the street from the Methodist Church. Your enthusiasm is a perfect example of one of our core ideals, bringing out the best in who we are. That's all about human potential and service to the community."
"Oh, Elder Naj. You are so flattering. We're just doing what we're supposed to."
"Yes you are and your part is essential. And let's call it compliments, not flattery. Sincere gratitude is a strong positive way to communicate. Its a core part of our ideals for people to be the best they can. And giving people encouragement is a big help"
I can look at these Newbies. This is one of the most gratifying parts of being an Elder. To see how these young people value themselves and our community values them. Our future depends on them.
“Your turn. Yes, Ralph.”
“Well, uh, hello everyone. I'm Ralph, live at Far In Co-op. I've been at work all day and probably look like it. I have been apprenticing in the Office of Mechanical Salvage or simply Salvage. This is related but not the same as Misty and her building recycling. We are about reusing whatever mechanical devices and items of metal we can find left over from the Transition. We are still finding ways to take things apart and rebuild something new and useful.
“Salvage is also responsible for the community smelter. We smelt down all kinds of metals and create feed stock for a wide variety of tools and implements. Many of the old machine and metal shops around town from Before Transition have been brought into Salvage. A number of Co-ops fabricate metal tools of various kinds as part of their income. Its remarkable what we can make with metal. We can build tools locally that once came from far away. As the old ones wear out, they are recycled into replacements. So we touch on Salvage and Reuse, Manufacturing and also have contact on occasion with Technology Innovation, which is part of Cohesion.”
10
And, I commented to myself, Salvage is the source of 95% of the cases brought before the Technology Innovation Board. I need to comment on this.
“Here's an item of ongoing debate. We can touch on this later in our Learning but enough to say at the moment, labor saving innovation, mechanical advantage, increasing human productivity - played an absolutely primary role in the Before Transition [BT] Culture. Indeed, innovation is a central theme throughout human history.
“We are a gadget oriented species and that fascination to innovate, our history clearly shows, takes on an overpowering momentum of its own, especially when money is to be made. The pace of innovation and labor saving gadgets was gentle for most of human history. But over the past several hundred years, the pace of innovation steepened rapidly."
"The collapse of the society I grew up in was largely a result of innovation that lacked responsibility and societal vision, that would have provided direction and meaning to culture and economy in the first place. In short, innovation, driven by the principles that dictated the BT economic system took on a life of its own and people and planet paid a steep price."
"We now have a civic mechanism to review new technologies, gadgets and practices that might lead to disruptive consequences. Its actually an office within Community Cohesion called the Technology Innovation Review Department, or TIRD. The Department is in contact with other TIRDs all over Cascadia. They are all in contact with each other and meet several times a year to keep up with each other.”
Quite a few few discreet and not so discreet chuckles and giggles.
“Ok, so its a great acronym. It is pretty funny. I mention all this because Salvage is charged with both reworking old machinery but also innovation. They work closely with a research group at the community college and link with other Salvage counterparts all over Cascadia. There have been occasions when some ideas and even hardware were denied for use. We are all for technology, with care, as long as it fits our ideals. For example, the elevator Rita mentioned. What could that lead to?”
“Thanks Ralph. Ok, and we now have,,,,”
"A moment Elder Naj?"
"Yes, Brendon."
"As mentioned, I work in Community Cohesion and we hear comments about some of our responsibilities. And what you just said about innovation. Its such an important part of the human experience. How would you respond? What do you think, do we have the right to regulate human creativity?"
Hmmm,,, we used to say question authority.
"That's a thoughtful question Brendon. Speaking for myself. The short answer is yes. It has something to do with being civilized. There has to be some kind of common understanding of what is ok and what is not. Ideally, everyone agrees what is ok and what is not but that's not what happens in the real world. So we do need some boundaries. The question is, how are those boundaries created and defined? Who decides? Here in Eugene and Cascadia we look to the Elders, we look to what seems to be compatible with the Natural World and uplifts the human spirit. We want to avoid what happened before."
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Many of us saw what happened earlier this century and we know why all that came down the way it did. It was essentially, innovation for the sake of economic growth and profits And much of it preyed on simple human vanity. Much of the innovation in the past had enormous consequences. In retrospect, one can look back and say, how could they let than happen?
What we have now that did not exist before the Transition is an articulated and widely accepted set of social and economic ideals and goals. The most important ones are, we must fit within what the environment can safely accommodate. We also believe in personal and social uplift of the spirit as individuals, clusters, co-ops and community. We are guided by history. We don't want to repeat what happened before. Believe me, I grew up in that world."
"Elder Naj." It was Misty. "How did you develop, what seems like, some kind of immunity to all that. I have read about all the commercials, all the mania for buying and consuming stuff as the reason to be alive. How is it you did'nt go for all that?"
"Good question, Misty. I knew a lot of other people who had that immunity. That's why I moved to the Northwest because there were more of them living in this part of the former USA. That immunity became much more common during the 'teens, as the whole misguided set up became more and more obvious. Let's save that story for another time. I would be glad to respond with more detail. Let's pick up the previous thought about innovation. It addresses some of your question."
"Specifically, we saw what global market capitalism did to people and planet. An essential part of global market capitalism was innovation and invention largely to serve an economy based on an endless consumer appetite that fed economic growth at any cost. And a lot of what lead to the Transition was about unregulated technology. The economy was more about growth - buying and selling - than taking care of reasonable human needs and the consequences were a disaster for the environment, the human spirit and culture.
Many of us considered that economic system to be in-capable of repair or reform. That would have been like asking an odd number to become and even number or asking a tiger to become vegetarian. It just could not happen. Too much power and wealth would have needed to be let go of. Too many people would have had to change their basic world view. That economic system and those world views that went with it, had to run their course. It was not pretty. We still see much of the consequences, like a climate that is much warmer than it used to be. From what we understand by ham radio, large parts of the world have become uninhabitable. The Transition has provided us with a chance to learn from that experience."
"We have chosen to be much more careful about how we make use of technology. So we have the TIRD. Seems unlikely we could put something together here in Cascadia that might be out of bounds but previous history has made us quite sensitive to the issue. There have been some controversies, there will be others. We call upon our thoughtful Cascadian ideals, values and goals to help guide us. We are trying to be as wise and careful as we can."
"Thanks Elder Naj. Thats helpful. Its still a matter of who decides for others. History is full of examples of groups or individuals granting themselves that privilege. Certainly there is need for some cohesion but historically, the results have been mixed at best."
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"That's true Brendon. We have set up a system as carefully and thoughtfully as we can. As you mention there is a need for social cohesion. In my entire experience PT, there was never any real widespread discussion about what is the goal of our town, our state, our nation, our society? It was just assumed the reason for life was to work and consume. We saw what happens with that set of values.
There are other choices. We have come to agree that some actions, like unregulated technology, are a threat, given human history, to Cascadia's ideals and values. So we review innovation. Even still, not everyone is happy with that. OK, its important to have these conversations. Who is next?"
“That's me. I am Zora, 18. Thanks everyone, that is really interesting conversation.
I'm staying with the Nutria Cluster for a time. I live out near the Edge with Full Square Co-op. We started out ten years BT, way before my time, as a farm at the edge of town. It evolved into a farm co-op. The founders still live there. Besides working on the farm, I help co-ordinate Town and Farm Alliance, or TFA. Most of you are probably familiar with this. Its one of the choices for Community Service. At certain times of the year, there is a great need for help out on the farms. We are the ones who organize people in town to go out to nearby farms for several days at critical planting and harvesting seasons.”
“Again, this work brigade system has its origin before the Transition and it's a critical part of growing enough food to feed us all. It goes without saying, many many projects and ideas that serve us well in the present had their beginnings years before most people even noticed the early signs of major change. There were people in town who wanted to grow more food but didn't have the space in town for bulk crops like dried beans and grains."
"So they contracted with nearby farmers and leased space from them to grow larger scale. Typically, this was done in a co-op way with groups, usually 20 to 30 people cultivating a couple acres. As the slide towards the Transition deepened, more and more people duplicated this idea. We have taken the Alliance even further, to the point its common for people in town to do seasonal help on a nearby farm and most co-ops in town have formal relationships with co-ops in the country growing and processing food. So I help coordinate the Town and Farm Alliance.”
"Thanks Zora. That's great. Having a lot more involvement with taking care of our needs makes us all far more appreciative of what we have. That's all of us. Very nice! I know a lot of people who look forward to trips out to the farm."
“Elder Naj. Its your turn. How about telling us about your place? I've heard stories but have never had an opportunity like this to see and hear about your place." It was Gracie. "You have one of the oldest and most well known suburban property conversion projects in Cascadia. Can we take a break and you tell us a bit about your place? This is great for land use."
Others added to Gracie's request.
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"OK. A brief look. Its a special place for me. I appreciate everyone's interest."
“I moved here close to 40 years ago. Even then, many of us were quite convinced we were on the edge of big changes. Some of us were early advocates in a movement based on applying principles of Permaculture to Suburbia. We had discussions, organized meetings, wrote articles and described practical approaches for taking care of more needs in ways that were friendly to people and planet. This was not only about resource scarcity and the ongoing damage to the natural environment. It was just as much about culture, human potential, economics and spirituality. Some called this movement "regime change", others a "new paradigm.""
“When I bought this place and moved onto this property in 2000, my plans from the beginning were to make major changes. With a bit of imagination, you might see fences between all these houses. You know about automobiles. They took up an enormous amount of space. Each house had expanses of concrete to park the cars. My own place could accommodate 5 in what we called a driveway. Most houses had a space called a garage where the cars actually had shelter indoors. Part of my plan was to remove the driveway and turn the garage into living space. I liked to call this reclaiming automobile space.
Surprising as it seems, most houses BT were surrounded by grass and trees and shrubs that provided no food at all. One of my first actions was to turn both front and back yards into gardens and edible landscaping. The patio had been closed in before I bought the place but a friend and I rebuilt it five years after I moved in. Soon after, followed, I installed the first part of what would become a 6500 gallon rain water storage system. You can see it all. It's aesthetically beautiful as well. I welcomed visitors, tours and media. It became a place where people came to learn. I created a set of posters and other educational outreach to move these ideas beyond my property to a wider audience.
"Critical to doing all this, I made a series of lifestyle choices that allowed me the time to work on the place and advocate for deep changes in culture and economy. I simply chose to have free time instead of buying lots of stuff. Of course, the gardens and home infrastructure were only part of a larger ideal that included social, economic, environmental and even spiritual concerns. This was an unusual set of actions at the time but now, its pretty much normal. All of you are living in places and in ways that are normal now but would have been unusual twenty five years ago. We will have more opportunity to continue this conversation another time.
For years, showing people this “suburban renewal project,” has been one of my favorite things to do. I loved answering questions about the place. Explaining some of the history of suburbia helped put it all in context. It was great to describe what had been learned about solar design, food storage, rain water catchment, composting my own waste, economics and much more.
"OK, That's good."
"You Newbies are vital to your clusters, co-ops, Eugene and Cascadia. Some of you may become part of making important decisions and policy in the Public Sector, others will do your important work with modest or little recognition. There is no better or more important. Our survival and evolving as a community and as individuals is all part of our identity and what we pass on to the future. It is our responsibility to be a benefit to ourselves and our community and to live our lives with the greatest respect for the natural world and our community which we all depend upon."
“Already today, we have heard an impressive variety of stories about what you all do and where you live. We will visit many of the places mentioned today. In the process, we will create and strengthen important relationships as friends and community members."
“Let's meet at the Land Us Sector next week downtown at City Hall. That's Gracie's place of apprenticeship. We will have a look at some economic and cultural history from before the Transition and mix in some land use. Enough for now. See you all next week.”