EUGENE MUTUAL AID SOCIETY

A completely voluntary non-political, non-profit networking organization to connect those interested in being more self-reliant in an urban environment together with others in the Eugene-Springfield area. EMAS seeks to provide the organizational framework for those seeking to pursue the principles of permaculture, genuine perennial sustainability
and voluntary simplicity in mainstream urban neighborhoods.

The Eugene Mutual Aid Society is first and foremost an organizing tool to allow people to help others as close to home as possible; secondly an educational organization to share information and expertise about retrofitting existing homes and buildings into multi-family homes that are 100% self-sufficient for their own energy and waste disposal needs; victory gardens for daily vegetables and networking with local organic farmers for grains, legumes, nuts and fruit; thirdly, a non-profit organization to organized, plan and remodel or retrofitexisting homes and buildings to low-income self-sufficient living communities completely independent of municipal public services and utilities.

If you use Facebook, the page is here:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/297104546974762/

While we are constructing the website and forums.

If you would like to learn more please contact Warren Weisman weiswar@yahoo.com If you would like to attend our next meeting it is Thursday at 5PM and you can email for directions.

Barnraising in the Crest Neighborhood: the Laurel Hedge Party

Members of the NLCCS decided that doing “barnraising” projects for each other would serve a couple of good, green purposes. First of all, increasing connections between people is one of the basic tenets of sustainability, because you are more likely to survive and thrive if you know your neighbor (and which neighbor has water, which one has beans, which one has a chainsaw). Secondly, our committee works hard and has an ambitious work plan. You get a lot more done in a committee if the people in it genuinely care about each other and cooperate well as a team.

The second barnraising project was done at my home here in the Crest neighborhood. The weather wasn’t the best, but even so, eight people braved the rain and chill to help cut back my enormous mountain laurel hedge.

I’m a “newbie-permie” with a lot of plans but little money and time. I didn’t get a very good yield of vegetables last year, and I thought it was because I didn’t put enough work into the garden. But then I realized that over the years, the neighbor’s hedge has slowly taken over about six horizontal feet (and even more vertical feet) of my yard and has been casting a nice, thick shadow on my raised bed. Time to create more light! However, the estimate I got from a professional landscaper was $450. This project seemed like a likely candidate for a barnraising.

It is utterly amazing how much got done in just a few hours. Not only is my hedge tamed, but I also have a weeded garden as well as the knowledge that I have a few nice native plants that have been hiding in the dark (an Indian plum for one) as well as some poison oak.

We ate white bean chili and sampled some biscuits I made from some locally-grown wheat. Katherine’s daughter Lucy helped cut them out, so all ages participated in this event.

We’re hoping to put together some kind of instructional guide on how to do a successful barnraising after we’ve held a few of them. One thing that would be good is a tool inventory beforehand to avoid duplication as well as a site evaluation. Not all jobs are equal. There was a lot of work on the hedge for people with ladders and long loppers, but not a lot for the “ground-bound”. If we had evaluated other things to do, people could have brought other tools.

But all in all, it was an inspiring event that was so inspiring, I keep going out onto my deck to assure myself that it actually happened. It may not have been a “real” barnraising, but there is probably enough mountain laurel wood here to build something, if not a barn.

– Kathy Saranpa

Co-Convener and Crest rep

Permaculture for Kids: Seedballs
Saturday, May 22
Location: Friendly Park 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Kids will make wildflower seedballs to take home with them.
Wear clothes you can get muddy!

Saturday, May 15, 12- 3 pm
Maitreya Ecovillage (Broadway and Almaden)

Kids will create their own miniature homes out of recycled materials then collaborate to design an ecovillage together. Students are not required to bring any supplies.

RSVP with Roman at: childrenspeaceguild@yahoo.com