Notes from Windward: #68

 

Visiting Portland

Adriann describes her recent travels


     Coming to Windward, you might be worried about the isolation of living seven miles from the very small town of Klickitat, and eighty miles from Portland, the nearest big city. But Windward is not as remote as it seems. I've been to Portland, OR four times since my arrival January 6th, and I've also been to Olympia, WA for Evergreen College's internship fair.

     While you definitely can fully enjoy the wild, natural feel that Windward has, you can still feel connected to large amounts of people and modern civilization. This is a good way of diversifying the number of people that you get to spend time with, and making sure that social needs are fulfilled. It also helps keep me reminded about what life is like for most people. It might not be difficult to adjust to a 4 minute walk through the snow to the winter shower, but once I was used to it, it was surprising to spend time in the city and be reminded that there is a real gap between Windward and mainstream culture.

  


     People have sometimes asked how big Windward is. Well, at the moment (during the winter) there are only four people living on site. But many people are involved with Windward at different levels, and live here part time, or will be living here eventually. This results in a network of people that provide support and resources for Windward's goals. Several of these people live in Portland.

     Our most recent trip to Portland took place last weekend. I got to spend time with Amanda who is currently a student at PSU. She is also involved with another community in Portugal called Tamera. We talked about differences between Windward and Tamera, and the benefits and drawbacks of different systems. We are hoping to be able to build a bridge between the two communities.

      Karen is a mother and natural leader living in Portland and organizing a community-run daycare and running a swap shop. We went to a Love-Based Living group meeting and potluck at her house. She is a good resource for interns and apprentices in the way that she provides Windward's wise-woman element.

      Jay is also living in Portland and working part time while visiting Windward part time to work on the alternative energy projects. So there is a strong Windward-Portland connection, and new interns needn't feel isolated here in the woods if they don't want to. The connection with Windward provides young people with contacts so that they can stay in Portland for several days and benefit from the city life before returning to our wonderful rural homestead.


Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 67