Saturday was our day to head south. But Portland wasn't about to let us slip out so easily. Or at least Daniel Lerch wasn't! Our packed scheduled hadn't permitted for a moment to sit down and chat with Daniel, so we met for breakfast at the bustling Utopia cafe whose blueberry pancakes were sublime.

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At the Women's Temple
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Since we had a few hours before our next destination, Daniel seized the moment and led us on a wild and delightful whirlwind tour of special places in Portland. We visited the cob building being reconstructed beside the Women's Temple, a house converted solely as a women's sacred space. While Daniel chatted about persimmons and other gleanable fruit trees with the knowledgeable street man, Robyn and I were welcomed by a young woman to quickly tour through the house painted in dark, rich colors.

Cob building in process

I was intrigued by a small shop in front of the Temple house called Shining Arcana, filled with shiny objects like semiprecious jewelry. I loved the inclusive spirit in their flyer: "goth punk retro rennfaire pagan lovecraftian victorian techno outsider insider queer straight friendly." I don't know what all those terms refer to, but its spirit of inclusiveness seems cosmopolitan and welcoming. Around the globe, can we find our way to do that instead of the "Us vs. Them" fires of tribalism being hotly fanned in so many places, most visibly now in the Middle East?

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Portland Re-Building - Salvaged Materials
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Daniel led us across town to the enormous Re-Building buildings, stock-full of re-usable building materials. We had videotaped conversations at RE Store in Bellingham, the smaller cousin inspired by Re-Building. Mark Lakeman designed the new addition: we delighted in the wall of windows of varying sizes and shapes (all salvaged, of course). And the cob-crafted entryway with tree-pillars extending to steel beams, blending the natural and human-built environment.

Entry to the Re-Building store

A water feature slowed the movement of rainwater to the storm-sewer system. It was fronted by a playful, inventive ironwork fence made of wrenches, pipes, hardware fittings you'd find in the store. Not simply a store, this is a community gathering place. Inside the building were places to sit, and a large set of display boards for a myriad of flyers and community notices. I could've spent hours wandering the aisles of porcelain bath fixtures, lighting fixtures, hardware knobs, cabinets and furniture, paint and tile, grilles and appliances--endless wonders each with stories to tell. 

A playful tool ironwork fence

We have so much wealth we throw into the landfill needlessly! Where are the Re-Building stores in every community?

(Synchronicity note: I'm writing this as we're going through Chico. On our way out of town, Robyn spotted a "Re-Store" sign and whipped back to check. Sure enough, a Re-Store sponsored by Habitat for Humanity. It's happening! Onward to Every Town!).

(Post Note: I'm posting this back home after learning a Re-Store-like business has just opened in our own community. Maybe we're at the tipping point to RE-Store and Re-Build our world!) 

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Natural Foods Coop: built for sustainability
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Portland's Re-Building isn't the only commercial space that's creating community space. Daniel led us south to the People's Food Coop. Located on a corner in a residential district, this new building incorporates some wonderful features: a big open courtyard out front for the weekly grower's market and other gatherings. A living roof. Bioswales to let rainwater percolate before going into the stormwater system. Corner traffic-calmers. A colorful bottle-glass cob wall. A spacious community meeting room upstairs. 

It was sustainably built, as their brochure proudly notes, listing a ground source heat pump, solar chimney, water and energy efficiency, building efficiency both in materials and operational practices.  This "community model of green building and sustainable business practices" reminds me that our own Grass Valley Briar Patch market's new building -- now under construction -- will likewise be such a model.