A Campaign For Grassroots Sustainability
Compost toilets, grey water, cob, eco-villages– these terms are entering mainstream vocabulary more and more. Yet many old-fashioned codes and regulations are holding people back from adopting earth-friendly homes and lifestyles.
Recode Portland is an initiative to address this incongruity. Started by folks over on Tryon Community Farm, they believe that codes and regulations have not been keeping pace with the city’s sustainability visionaries. Many projects dedicated to sustainable urban living are illegal or just very difficult (or expensive) to get approved on either city or state levels.
For example, here in Portland, a simple system using dishwater for irrigation is not allowed under code. Many other water regulations need to be addressed, like rainwater harvesting and storage issues, site-built composting toilets, living machines, onsite blackwater treatment, and more.
Regulations for natural buildings and land-use need to be updated, including projects like off-grid micro cottages, strawbale, cob, wood chip/clay, tree houses, temporary structures, and more. Building codes and regulations should be encouraging use of local, minimally processed materials as much as possible. Also, while sharing amenities (kitchen, bathrooms, common living spaces, etc) improve resource efficiency, current land use and building codes require that all slept-in structures must have their own amenities.
Overlapping uses of land and structures should be encouraged in zoning to increase resource efficiency and also reduce travel distances and social isolation. Therefore, general changes to the zoning approach are necessary, including altogether new zones like “ecovillage zones”.
Energy issues involve masonry and site-built rocket stoves. The list goes on and on for projects requiring code or regulation adjustments, to increase accessibility and education for citizens and builders alike.
The creators of Recode Portland recognize this challenge as a great opportunity to focus the energy, spirit and wisdom of all the different people working towards a more sustainable city. Recode intends to bring together builders, permaculturists, activists, planners, and local officials.They are still in the initial stage of gathering and identifying projects and strategies, but will soon begin public education and outreach.
Brenna of Recode explains, “We’re working actively with folks within the City of Portland Planning Bureau, BDS and BES. I think the solutions will come from a combination of grassroots organizing and education, and working with local and state governments for legislation and code change.”As a work in progress, they invite feedback and ideas: “What are we missing? Who should we be talking to? How do you want to be involved? Let us know!
Tags: building, ecoproducts, farm, portland, sustainability
Dec 20, 2007
I think that this is absolutely stunning…an organized challenge to wasteful legislation! A local approach, such as Portland’s, will ultimately be the solution for many of us; it is encouraging to see such a lofty goal being pursued so doggedly and liberally!
A wasteful action is bad enough..a law which mandates repeated wasteful actions is terrible!
Cheers to all who are dreaming, talking, brainstorming, acting and changing this world!
Dec 20, 2007
RIGHT ON ! Thank you to all of those raising the level of
‘living consciousness’ in our country!
Dec 29, 2007
Great work happening in Portland. I also wanted to share the information about how the Anastasia book series by Vladimir Megre has inspired over 150 eco-villages in Russia. Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote recently which hopefully will get published soon:
These books have set the hearts and minds of the Russian people on fire. Families are once again returning to the land of their ancestors, creating homesteads and thriving beautiful gardens, in hopes of restoring their Motherland to its original pristine condition.
Over 70% of the country’s population grow their own food on their plots and collectively provide far more vegetables, fruits and even meat and milk than the whole country’s commercial agriculture taken together. (Book 1, Anastasia, p. 234)
Readers of The Ringing Cedars Series (which has already sold over 11 million copies) state that “Anastasia’s dream” of bringing back a flourishing earth paradise is not just a “pie in the sky” fantasy of hers, but has manifested real life concrete results. They say that since the book’s inception in 1996, over 150 Anastasia inspired eco-villages have been created in Russia alone (each with over 100 families) and many more continue to blossom in some 21 other countries.
According to the author, Vladimir Megre, these books have had an amazing impact upon the political climate in Russia. In 2001, in an open letter to President Putin, Megre made a personal appeal asking Putin to not continue down the already proven “disastrous path” of the other developed nations, pointing to the negative and devastating consequences these nations’ economies have had upon the environment and the world’s people. Instead he invited President Putin to test out Anastasia’s ideas of how to restore Russia, its economy, its land and its people to what Anastasia calls their “pristine origins”. In his fifth book, Megre wrote of the recent legislative successes in Russia, he said:
On 7 July 2003, less than three years after this book was released in Russian, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into federal law the “Private Garden-Plot Act” (Zakon o lichnom podsobnom khoziaistve). According to this law, Russian citizens can receive free of charge from the state plots of land in private inheritable ownership. The maximum size of plots differs from one region to another, but in most cases is between 1 and 3 hectares. [Approximately one hectare equals 2.5 acres]. The produce grown on the plots is not subject to taxation. Subsequently, on President Putin’s instructions the Russian parliament developed another law to further facilitate the acquisition of land for gardening. This second law was passed in June 2006. (Book 5, Who Are We? P.42)
If the Russians can do it, so can we!
Jan 07, 2008
One strategy that we are going to attempt here in N.Caly is to approach the Board of Supervisors with a complete “EcoVillage Model Plan” and request a “Pilot Project Permit” – a one time permit that allows for the creation of the model – such a permit would allow officials and other concerned individuals to actually see how this new way of living is actually done. People are more inclined to go along with changes when they see how it “looks” in real life. When the project is successful then it would be easy for any city/state to allow for more of these permits to be issued as an actual alternative permit – i.e.: EcoVillage Permit – with it’s own set of codes and requirements. This would make it easier in the long run because it is very hard to change building codes and it would allow a quicker way achieve the goal.
Feb 08, 2008
Wow! Excellent. I love building with cob, and so far the only structures I’ve worked on have been ‘off the radar’ in rural parts of CA — for this very reason. Though some are ready to take such risks, others (esp. those of us who want to build our cob homes in urban centers) must deal with the limitations of codes.
I’m so glad you Recoders are doing this important work. I hope you can spread your ideas and successes around to other communities as a model — we need to educate those with legal power over our creative ideas!
This group (and CityRepair) make me want to move to Portland (which I may very well do this summer!).
Aug 08, 2008
Thank you for this posting, and thank you for the comments. Rose Taylor’s comments are especially heartening. Putin gets a lot of bad press, but that he has helped this movement is amazing.
It puts me in mind of Wangari Maathi and her courageous work in Kenya. The race is on there between permaculture and Monsanto.
Perhaps Russia will move to help prevent the giant seed companies from attempting to own most of the plant DNA on the planet. It will take some clout to stop Gates and Monsanto.
Our work in Portland to allow individuals to collect and use rainwater and graywater are wise for us beyond just the notion of conservation. We are in an earthquake zone. Our sewers and water mains could break, and we should know how to deal with that in an emergency.
This applies to California, Washington, and many other places around the world as well.
Mary