Village Building Convergence

Logo for the 2007 Village Building Convergence

The Village Building Convergence (VBC) is an annual 10-day event held every May in Portland, Oregon, United States. The event is coordinated by the City Repair Project and consists of a series of workshops incorporating natural building and permaculture design at multiple sites around the city. Many of the workshops center around "intersection repairs" which aim to transform street intersections into public gathering spaces.

Background

In 1996, neighbors in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland at the intersection of 9th and Sherrett created a tea stand, children's playhouse and community library on the corner and renamed it "Share-It Square"^[1]. Community organizers founded the City Repair Project that same year, seeking to share their vision with the community. In January 2000, the Portland City Council passed ordinance #172207, an "Intersection Repair" ordinance, allowing neighborhoods to develop public gathering places in certain street intersections.^[2]

Sites

The first Village Building Convergence took place in May 2002, then called the Natural Building Convergence. During its history, the VBC has coordinated the creation of over 72 natural building and permaculture sites in Portland, including information kiosks, painted intersections, cob benches, and a strawbale house at Dignity Village. The sites are primarily located in the southeast quadrant of Portland. Natural builders from around the world have coordinated the activities at many of the construction sites at the Village Building Convergence. Most of the labor taking place at the sites is done by volunteers.

Workshops

The VBC hosts a series of workshops, many of which are free to the public. Topics of the workshops are usually related to sustainability and natural building. Past workshops have included aikido lessons, outdoor mushroom cultivation, bioswale creation, and nonviolent communication.^[3]

Speakers

The VBC also hosts speakers and entertainment during the evenings of its convergences. Presentations for the 2007 convergence were made at Disjecta by Starhawk, Michael Lerner, and Paul Stamets.^[4] Prior years' presentations have been given by Malik Rahim, Toby Hemenway, and Judy Bluehorse.

Further reading

• King Cob, Jennifer Anderson, Portland Tribune
• Building community, one mural at a time, Stephen Beaven, The Oregonian

References

1. ^ Bergeson, Laine. The Enlightened Intersection: A Portland, Oregon, neighborhood turns a street corner into a convivial gathering place. Utne Magazine
2. ^ Street-corner Revolution, Stephen Silha, Yes Magazine
3. ^ Streets meet; so can people, Jennifer Anderson, Portland Tribune
4. ^ Ideology, action converge and prosper, Rebecca Ragain, Portland Tribune

External links

• Village Building Convergence homepage