By Diana Leafe Christian

Right now I’m at the NICA Annual Sumner Gathering in Portland, Oregon.
NICA, the Northwest Intentional Communities Association, is the largest regional communities network in the US. It’s members are cohousers and members of non-cohousing communities in Washington and Oregon. The Gathering is hosted this year by Columbia Ecovillage. The founders of Portland Permaculture Institute, a permaculture teaching facility on a four-acre farm in the middle of Portland, became founder/developers of this cohousing-model ecovillage project when they bought the six-building, 32-unit apartment complex next door. The apartments are being renovated, and will soon get solar panels and other green features. Members of Columbia Ecovillage will live in the apartments and have access to their own CSA garden and the permaculture teaching farm. They’ll build a common house in the back end of the current parking lot. Sweet!
http://www.comumbiaecovillage.com