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In late September, I had the much anticipated opportunity to visit several ecovillages in Portland, Oregon. Always on the short lists of greenest cities in the country, Portland is located where the Willamette River meets the Columbia. Ten thousand years ago, this location was periodically submerged under 400 feet of water, thanks to the glacial Missoula Floods.
These days, people are flooding into Portland and I was on my way to stay the night at Columbia Ecovillage and next day, visit Cully Grove Garden Community and Kailash Ecovillage. I was to discover ecovillages come in all sorts of flavors.
Columbia Ecovillage: Planting the Seeds
A friend connected me with a fellow at Columbia. Denny and his wife Anne had lived at Columbia Ecovillage (CEV) from the beginning, about eight years. As it turned out, Denny was a highly informative and enjoyable host. Our interests were the same-how to green our homes, but also, reach further into the neighborhood and community. We had a great time.
Arriving at CEV, and veering right past a sign advising "Watch for Children," I entered a mostly shaded parking lot. It was surrounded on all sides by 1970s-era two-story apartment buildings that contain 37 condominiums. There is ample and thoughtful landscaping, much of it edible, a number of large trees, a covered and secure bike shed with dozens of bikes and trailers inside. I saw an extensive recycling area, and chipped wood paths that connected the parking area with attractive two-story buildings where residents live.
This all looked well cared for. The first residents I talked with in the parking lot were friendly and pointed me to where Denny lived. Stepping past a kid's trike on the chip path under a chestnut tree and up the stairway, I came to Denny and Anne's comfortably arranged three-bedroom apartment. Within minutes, I had made friends with Denny, Anne, and their two resident cats; we were soon back out the door to see Columbia Ecovillage.
Columbia occupies almost four acres in an older neighborhood. It has a condominium ownership model. The founders bought an old farm house behind the apartment complex in 2004 and were later able to buy the apartment complex with the intention of creating a cohousing community. They took on...