glyph 207: community (begun in mid-70's) . self-reliance . old, new . creativity . problem solving . washington, klickitat, north of Columbia River Gorge, Oregon ... management of complex systems, sustainability ... intentional community ... designed order, spontaneous order, balance, freeorder ... recognition of and respect for boundaries ... model, test, hands on ... Walt Patrick ... Windward Foundation ... note on taxonomy & parataxic distortions ... plans for civilization
On "Parataxic Distortions" (part of the above):
http://www.windward.org/windward/fine.htm#para
Windward is an intentional community located just north of the scenic Columbia River Gorge about 80 miles east of Portland, Oregon.
So far, we've acquired 111 acres of pasture and forested land, put in basic services and learned a lot in the doing of it all. Some of the lessons weren't the nice kind, but we've made it through the sticky parts and grown.
While we still have a ways to go, we're proud of what we've accomplished, and we're very excited about having reached the point where our renewable systems are coming on-line.
Sustainable systems are complex, and the rule in complex systems is that everything takes longer, costs more and turns out different than you thought going in. It's only by getting "hands on," by actually working and living with these systems, that their true potentials and challenges can be realized.
It's easy to see that change is going on all around us at a feverish pace. What's harder to see is a way to ride the wave of change to a better place; to show that it is possible to enhance the environment using appropriate technology that creates a wholesome, satisfying and sustainable way of life.
Windward is guided by the belief that there's nothing more radical than a working model of a better way. We're committed to building working models of a variety of sustainable systems in order to show that appropriate technology is viable, affordable and practical.This isn't an easy thing to do. It takes vision, courage and a touch of madness to understand why these things need to be done, and to want to be part of the doing. Windward isn't for the faint hearted, or those who take happy endings for granted. We can't expect to change the future without realizing that we too will be changed in the process.
Notes from Windward, Online Newsletter: http://www.windward.org/notes/
Realistic Expectations:
http://www.windward.org/windward/fine.htm
https://explorersfoundation.org/glyphery/207.html
entered before July 9, 2006; edited/updated November 26, 2015