Community Catalyst

Anti-authoritarian ideology transcends political boundaries and languages, and in Montreal,  the radical and anarchist bookshop L’Insoumise has  been reflecting this multicultural and multilingual character for over twenty years.

Located on the fringes of the city’s Quartier Latin, L’Insoumise is an all-volunteer, collectively run bookstore and infoshop. that operates under the umbrella of DIRA (Documentations, Informations, References et Alternatives). They make available to the public a wide variety of anti-authoritarian publications and ‘zines, primarily in French and English, but with additional selections in Spanish and Italian. From social and environmental justice topics, to DIY guides and political history/philosophy, L’Insoumise is a powerful resource for the Montreal community.

Although it has existed in different incarnations, the entity behind L’Insoumise has been in existence since 1982. Over the years, questions and conflicts have arisen over the scope of the material covered by the store, which at prior points has leaned more towards liberal political ideology than radical anarchist politics, depending on the perspectives and influences of the contributing members. The current collective of the store is committed to maintaining a radical legacy, and the space readily identifies itself as anarchist. L’Insoumise is anti-profit; money earned through the sale of  books and other publications goes towards paying rent (they lease the space from DIRA, which maintains the building and also houses a lending library above the store) and purchasing new materials.

L’Insoumise sells new books as well as used, which makes their inventory all the more financially accessible to the public. Collective member-powered energy goes into seeking used books from various sources, including internet sites, thrift stores and garage/house sales. The end result is a store that almost certainly has something to fit into any anti-authoritarian belief system and budget. Folks are also invited to read in the space, or in the library above; the store has long been a source of hard-to-find information.

L’Insoumise hosts events in their space, including workshops, lectures and discussion forums. This is an area they hope to expand in the future, as continued community outreach is an integral part of the collective’s mission. Collective members are involved in a number of activist causes and organizations beyond the bookstore, and it is hoped that these ties and links will enrich the relationship that L’Insoumise has with the surrounding community.

Some shots from around the store:

For more information on L’Insoumise, call 514-313-3489, or if you’re headed to Montreal, visit them at 2033 St-Laurent.

Tomorrow, I’ll introduce two worker-owned businesses; Cafe Chaos, a music venue and pirate-themed bar, and the Coop Touskie, a cooperatively run restaurant and cafe that serves as a link between good food, art and community.

Point: the United States is an Empire.

We have a military presence in 153 countries, and both occupation and exploitation are the practices on which the Empire builds his foreign policy.  He does not arrive on a country’s doorstep, arms laden with democracy and freedom. He is less concerned with the hearts and minds of his hosts and more focused on the value of the ground beneath those hosts’ feet, the strategic value of the house in which they live. The Empire has many, many aunts and uncles, all of whom are clamoring for rooms of their own, good rooms, and there are also many, many favors owed to this plethora of kin. They want to cash in, but the house needs a little cleaning first. No worries. There are people back home, not the sons and daughters of close friends and associates, never them, but people who live a bit further down the street, around the corner and over the bridge, people not like them who live in a world where personal financial whims don’t start wars, where banks get bailed out but regular folks just board up their windows, swallow hard upon passing the foreclosure sign, and move on.

Point: Each state in the Union pays a specific sum of money into the defense budget. In Vermont, that amount adds up to 1.5 billion dollars.

A lot can be done with 1.5 billion dollars. You could even argue it’s enough to get a new nation on it’s feet.

Activists in Vermont have been clamoring to become an independent nation for many years, and their reasons for wanting sovereignty are just as varied as the backgrounds from which they have emerged. For supporters of the Second Vermont Republic, much of this reasoning comes down to basic morality and the common sense of scale. According to writer and secession advocate Thomas Naylor, one of the founding members of the Second Vermont Republic, the United States, through illegal wars and gross negligence towards social, economic and environmental justice, has lost its moral authority and integrity. The federal government is not able to meet the needs of Vermont and Vermonters, and both the population and land would be better served by a sovereign local system of governance.

The Second Vermont Republic describes itself as a nonviolent citizens’ network and think tank. It’s ultimate goal is to return Vermont by peaceful means to the independent state that existed between 1777 and 1791, and in doing so, catalyze the breakdown of the American Empire. According to Naylor and the SVR, an independent Vermont would be able to refocus on a number of key values and ideals, including sustainability, local economic solidarity,  power sharing through town meetings and greater citizen involvement in the decision-making process, tension reduction and a shift away from the military industrial complex and illegal wars, and providing equal opportunities to all Vermonters in public services, health care and education. For more information on the principles upon which the Second Republic is based, go their website at http://vermontrepublic.org/about.

The SVR Flag

In the coming election, ten candidates are running on a Free Vermont platform, including Dennis Steele, a fifth generation Vermonter and Abenaki Indian who started Radio Free Vermont, an all-Vermont artist internet radio station in 2006. Steele hopes to earn enough of the popular vote that his party would be able to have a presence on the ballot in future elections, and that by emphasizing the tangible possibility of a free state, more and more Vermonters will be better educated and more aware about the legality and realities of secession.

We interviewed Thomas Naylor at his home in Charlotte, Vermont, where he discussed the history of the secession movement and the strategy offered up by secession on a wider scale. I’ll leave you with Naylor’s words and wisdom:

Coming up: the Canadians are coming – posts from our time in Montreal will be up and running in the next few days.

The heart of Vermont is farm country. Good soil, ample water and a tradition of working with the land have all contributed to the creation of a place that is well-suited to agriculture and agricultural activism. Given this climate, it makes sense that Vermont has long been a testing and proving ground for new innovations in farming, as well as returning to the roots of what small-scale, organic farming once was. The dual concepts of food sovereignty and local food have true meaning here; this is a state that has the potential to sustainably provide for it’s communities and create a Vermont-sourced food system, and there is no shortage of individuals and projects working to achieve those goals.

The Intervale Center in Burlington is a non-profit that exists to strengthen local food systems through a variety of different approaches. They are home to a a composting center, community farm, resource center and an Abenaki heritage garden (the fruits of which go to the Abenaki tribe further north),  and also provide consulting services and a farm incubation program that strives to provide a safety net of sorts for new farmers. The Center’s has approximately 350 acres to it’s name, and many of these acres are used to provide start-up plots for folks just getting started in agriculture. This period of incubation allows farmers to formulate a business plan for the future, acquire and expand their markets and gives them the ability to troubleshoot and work through challenges in a supportive and knowledgable environment. While most of the farms are granted their land for five years, one farm, the collectively run Diggers’ Mirth, has been on the property since 1992, and is one of the Intervales’s original success stories.

A few visual bits from around the farm:

Diggers’ Mirth currently has five collective members, who own and operate the farm. On 15 acres, they grow over 40 types of vegetables, and sell their salad greens to many Burlington-area restaurants, as well as at local farmer’s markets. These markets provide a viable means of staying financially profitable, and after an initial training period, all workers are paid the same hourly wage.

When it comes to making decisions, all voices are equal at Diggers’ Mirth, and the process to becoming a collective member is relatively easy. Most of the current farmers were working or volunteering in other Intervale projects when they got involved, and there is an initial training period for newcomers depending on their existing base of agricultural knowledge. Collective members work schedules that meet their personal needs, with some spending 40-50 hours a week on the land, and others putting in 10-20 hours of labor. As a result, the folks at Diggers’ Mirth are able to maintain a level of personal sustainability, and develop lives and interests beyond the farm. Leaves of absence are permissible, and one of the keys to their long-term success as a collective seems to be a high degree of flexibility when it comes to planning and farm operation.

When asked what he advice he had for up-and-coming farmers, collective member Elango Dev suggested that starting small is wise. Knowing your land, crop potential and markets well before expansion can truly help a project get established. I was personally impressed by the low turnover rate Diggers’ Mirth has experienced over two decades, and it leads me to believe that the consensus process as a decision making tool combined with equity in all areas of administration make for committed and invested individuals.

We spent our last two days in the Burlington region with author and Vermont secession activist Thomas Naylor, a founder of the Second Vermont Republic, and one of the state’s gubernatorial candidates, Dennis Steele. Check in tomorrow for our conversation with these two men about the need for self-determination, standing up to Empire, and the possible future of a free Vermont.

The capitol city of Montpelier is home to about 8,035 people. It also has five books stores. The books-to-people ratio would suggest that the town has a thirst for words and ideas, and it is into this environment that Black Sheep Books set up shop almost six years ago.

Black Sheep Books is a community space and bookstore specializing in radical and scholarly used books. They are collectively run and powered by an all-volunteer staff. While many stores that identify as radical adhere to one specific doctrine (or rejection of doctrine), Black Sheep is unique in that the material they offer runs across the ideological spectrum, from anarchist texts to socialist pieces and every anti-authoritarian realm in between. When we spoke to Arthur, one of the founding members of the collective, he expressed the notion that one couldn’t and shouldn’t be afraid of ideas, and Black Sheep Books hence provides  access to writings, thoughts and research of all varieties.

Many of the original founding members of the Black Sheep collective were affiliated with nearby Plainfield’s Institute for Social Ecology, and many of the core principles advocated by the Institute are manifested in the structure and mission of the book store collective. They provide access to radical, hard-to-find information to the community at a price that is accessible, and their anti-profit business model is a definite step away from the destructive corporate habits that dominate much of mainstream America’s production and consumption habits.

The book store has evolved into a go-to spot for access to information, but it is also a community space, open to events, workshops and classes.  Black Sheep has hosted many a book tour stop, and its walls provide a showcase for local artists. In the future, the collective would like to increase the number of events they host and are affiliated with,  moving beyond just the physical space occupied by the bookstore, with the intention of playing an even larger role in the Montpelier and surrounding community. Folks interested in either using Black Sheep’s space for an event of their own, or who want to volunteer their time and energy to augment the forces pushing for greater outreach capability can email the collective at info@blacksheepbooks.org

In terms of membership in the collective, the structure at Black Sheep is pretty simple. There’s currently a Core Collective of five people, who are entrusted with the maintenance and operations of the shop, as well as adhering to the mission of the space. Other collective members participate in all meetings, where decisions are made by consensus.  The process to becoming a member involves completing an application stating your reasons for wanting to get involved, and if things line up, you’re in. The level of ease in becoming a collective member  could, potentially, contribute to an immediate level of investment, as one could participate in the decision-making process and help guide the store right off the bat. This is not a process we’ve seen in many other places, and the openness is certainly interesting in terms of the potential to bring in a wide variety of people and ideas.

When asked what made Black Sheep Books successful enough to survive six years in a town full of book store options, Arthur stressed that the day-to-day operation of the store is very low-key. Core collective members meet, on average, once a month, and having an all-volunteer staff removes many of the administrative logistics that would create a greater time investment. Black Sheep Books is a sustainable component of their lives; it does not swallow or engulf, and allows for other ventures outside of the store itself. Financially, low rent and an anti-profit mission make ends easier to meet; again, no one needs to be paid, and any actual profit made by the store goes right back into it. He also pointed out that Montpelier is a small, tight community, and all of the stores adhere to a loose policy of mutual support; owners and managers pay attention to what publications the others are selling, and do not stock those titles. In addition, Black Sheep has its own specific niche in the book store community.

Once of the things we’re rapidly learning on this tour is that there is no one set model for a worker-owned/collectively-run business or project. Black Sheep Books operates differently from other radical bookstores and spaces, and their current structure and systems work very well for them. So much of a grassroots project’s success seems to depend on having solid knowledge of your surrounding community, and then adapting your idea to best suit the needs and wants of that arena Black Sheep has done just that.

For more information on Black Sheep Books, go to their website at www.blacksheepbooks.org.

Grassroots Activist Guild created a video on Black Sheep.

Call me cynical, but contemplating, let alone preparing for, a world without oil is not something that most of the population is equipped to handle. Take away the ability to drive and live in climate-controlled environments and most Americans will cry bloody murder; the country’s perceived right to vehicular movement (the bigger, the better) and the right to wantonly consume and waste kilowatt hours seem like they belong in the Bill of Rights’ secret addendum. Yet increasingly, around the globe, individuals are banding together and creating projects and programs that will allow them to face the reality of peak oil with solid alternatives and resources in place. We’ve spent the past two days at D Acres in Dorchester, New Hampshire, an organic farm and educational homestead that is not only putting into the place the infrastructure necessary to eat and thrive in a post-fossil fuel era, but also nurturing the sustainability and localization movements through outreach and building authentic bonds with the surrounding community. D Acres is  a colorful, visually stunning example of what can happen when ingenuity, hard work and a realistic understanding of the obstacles that global society faces all come together under the auspices of conscious minds and intelligent, compassionate people.

D Acres got its start in 1997, when director Joshua Trought, using family land that had been gifted by his aunt Edith and uncle Delbert, both land stewards and artisans in their own right, began to re-develop the property with the intention of creating a sustainable farm system appropriate to the New Hampshire bio-region, In addition, D Acres was founded with the goal of limiting fossil fuel dependence and relying instead on reusing, recycling and local sourcing, all the while providing an educational center for people to develop farming, natural building, forestry and cottage craft skills in an environment that would simultaneously hone their ability to live and make decisions in a communal living setting. Today, D Acres is home to forest gardens, no-till vegetable, flower and medicinal herb beds, chickens, oxen and pigs, and it employs solar panel and solar heating technology, radiant floor heat, water reclamation, composting toilets and a number of other entities which move towards self-sufficiency and energy independence. To clear the land, for example, staff does not have the need for heavy machinery; once cut by hand, oxen can drag trees and pigs can be counted upon to clear a field of brush and growth. Many of the practices used at D Acres hearken back to an age before oil became such a player in farming, and they are used effectively to show that another way is possible.

Appropriate technology and inventive ingenuity play a large role on the farm. Sustainability and moving back to the land do not necessarily have to conjure up images of primitive living and going without; D Acres does not currently have anyone living in caves, and rubbing rocks together to make fire is purely optional (though several chickens call a mud hut home and there a number of tree houses sprinkled throughout the property). Technology, natural building and old fashioned reusing and salvaging are all in play here; photo-voltaic panels provide power for the house and many day-to-day operations, and a solar hot water heater, made out of an old refrigerator compartment and sliding glass door, heats an outdoor shower. Intentional thought in building and placement saves even more energy; a greenhouse is connected to a cob structure home to chickens on top floor (in the past, pigs have lived on the bottom), and the heat generated by the animals serves to keep them both warm and also raise the temperature for cultivating plants. Josh is big on intention, and the placement of plants, buildings and animal shelters is all done with thought and theory put into action,

A quick visual tour of D Acres:

D Acres is practicing a solid level of sustainability, and will have the ability to provide enough food and resources for itself well into the future. Yet another crucial component to the farm’s existence is the many faces and facets of outreach and activism that it engages in. D Acres staff work with school groups from every age group and background, helping students connect more with the food they eat, and allowing the sample a taste of the skills that go into producing nutrition. A visit to the property, for many of these children and young adults, is also an opportunity for seeds of inspiration and new ideas to be planted in their minds; D Acres can get folks thinking in all sorts of new directions.

Truly being part of the community in which they live is another facet of D Acres outreach, one that gets their ideas and practices out into the universe while creating a strong sense of mutual support. People can attend their monthly, sliding-scale donation Farm Feast breakfast, eat the freshest local food possible and converse with their neighbors at a fraction of what a diner breakfast would cost. Seasonal soup Saturdays are another feature that draws neighbors in, and Full Moon Potlucks and parties serve the same purpose. D Acres builds community through food, farming and education, and the energy they put into reaching their community has been gifted back to them in terms of a strong network of interest and support. This relationship is a great example of long-term sustainability, as well as one that recognizes the importance of grassroots when it comes to furthering an idea and strengthening a movement.

Workshops, classes and skillshares are also held at D Acres, and one the things that struck us the most about these offerings was the financial accessibility that they presented; fees to attend ring in at $4 a pop (compared to $50, 100 or more for similar courses at other locations), and no one is every turned away for lack of funds. Topics covered have included everything from fermentation, woodworking and natural building to basic blacksmithing and permaculture, and they are an important part of the farmstead’s education program. Folks that want to get an even deeper sense of the property can volunteer, or enter into the Apprentice and Intern programs. The latter two programs are extremely affordable, and they too are financially flexible; to paraphrase, if you’re willing to work, they’re willing to negotiate. Volunteers of all sorts gain viable farm and sustainability skills, and if they live on the farm, they get the chance to live in a communal living situation, where decisions are based on consensus and hard work and character are the entities on which you are judged. Pretty sweet for $100 a week (for apprentices) and $20 a week (for interns) plus elbow grease. These programs exist not to bring in money, but to bring in people, spread skills and spread the word.

D Acres’ success is due largely to the hard work and dedication of the folks who trickle through the door, adding their muscle and minds to the continuance of the environmental sustainability and social justice movement. Josh, in addition to being a decently cool guy, is an amazing resource and tool for change; along with Regina and Beth, the other forces currently living and working at D Acres, one gets the sense that their small community is committed to innovation and evolution, for the project and the greater world.  In terms of financial sustainability, D Acres relies mostly on grants and gifts from the large following of people who support them, in spirit and sometimes with currency. They also operate a hostel out of the farmhouse, and given Dorchester’s proximity to prime rock-climbing, mountain biking and other outdoor pursuits, the dorm rooms and campgrounds are often very full. Providing space and meals at a cost to travelers, and also selling wood and metal crafts (cottage industry!) contribute to the oh-so-important but frequently overlooked (or ignored) aspect of non-profit and project management – staying afloat.

I’d urge y’all to check out D Acres at www.dacres.org. Clover and I are considering heading back at some point in the near future, perhaps next spring or summer, to get a few skills under our belt and experience more of the warm community and generosity that we were blessed with this week. Check out our video tour and talk with Josh on our YouTube channel.

Tomorrow: Black Sheep Books in Montpelier, and then a little more farm and grassroots action in Burlington.

Work is undeniably a huge part of everyday life. Many of us drag ourselves to jobs each day that we are not invested in or care about; they are a means to an end. The power dynamic at this jobs is usually pretty hierarchical, with authority figures, folks in the middle and people on the ground level. For us to move towards a more just society, we need to change this structure to something that is more inclusive and equitable. The worker-owned business model is a perfect example of an alternative to mainstream corporate culture. In addition to providing a level playing field for all workers, it gives them a voice in the decision making process, and in doing so, breeds greater personal investment and pride in a business or project. Workers are able to put their values and ideologies into play, and this is exactly what we have seen this week at Local Sprouts, a worker-owned cooperative cafe and community space that recently opened in Portland, Maine.

The worker-owners at Local Sprouts believe fervently that food can be used as a tool with which community can be built and society re-imagined. Regardless of color, creed or ideology, we all have to eat, and they are actively using the whole food experience, from growing to consumption, as a way of bringing people together.  Local Sprouts sources all of their food from local farmers and producers, adding to the environmental sustainability of the cafe while contributing to the economy of Portland and the surrounding region. The menu includes offerings for all diets and preferences, with vegan, vegetarian and carnivorous options; this was an intentional choice, according to Jonah Fertig, a worker-owner we spoke with at length with, as the cooperative wanted to create a space where anyone could walk in and feel comfortable. This intention is carried on throughout Local Sprouts, which is also host to a children’s area, comfortable seating that invites lingering and mingling, and a visual spectrum of works by local artists, craftspeople and the fruits of the Bomb Diggity Bakery’s art program. Bomb Diggity, a separate baking business, shares a space with Local Sprouts, and in addition to providing them with daily baked goodness, runs a baking skills training and art program for intellectually-challenged adults.

The roots of Local Sprouts run deep. The cooperative first started as the People’s Free Space around 2002, which included free schools, a community space and kitchen and the Frida Bus (a biodiesel, converted school bus home to a lending library and the host of a plethora of projects and grassroots efforts).  The challenges of giving away products and services for free eventually became an issue; it did not always prove sustainable, and Jonah expressed that rather than just react to capitalism, many members wanted to move towards creating a viable alternative. The collective would eventually evolve into Local Sprouts.

It is important to point out that the Local Sprouts cafe and community programs were several years in the making – the planning process was well-considered and researched, as was the effort put into seeking and cultivating worker-owners. Before the vision of a learning and teaching cafe became a reality, Local Sprouts functioned as a catering service focused on local agriculture, and also ran programs teaching local, whole foods cooking to schools, programs and non-profits. The collective worked to get healthier foods integrated into Portland’s vast and diverse immigrant community, and held dinners and benefits for many area organizations. Their active investment in the community provided a strong base of support when it came time to move towards opening up the cafe as a physical manifestation and showcase for their efforts and mission. While they did receive a portion of their funding from a state-based loan, the majority of their financial backing came from independent donors (0% interest!) – people who had the means and wanted to be part of investment that they could wholeheartedly support and believe in, as opposed to investing in an entity whose deeds and ties are buried or blurred. The local connection carried over the construction of Local Sprouts, as the space was molded by artisans and volunteers who added their own ideas to the fray. From the spontaneous mural of a beautiful tree in the children’s area to an earthy cob bench to a hand-hewn wood slab counter (the making of which was aided by a man who was paying forward the gift of alternative health care he had received earlier in the year), the essence of the people of Portland permeates every seam and corner of the cafe. Chalkboards overhead let customers know where their food is coming from, and a vast wall is available for fliers, event notices and information about local businesses and services. The book shelf available for browsing, the eclectically mixed chairs, tables made from old New England doors and warm, vibrant colors all around make the place -as was expressed in writing on the bathroom’s chalkboard wall during our visit by an anonymous poet- feel like home.

Local Sprouts is also running several other grassroots programs out of their space, including an expansion of their community dinners. They want to continue these meals and potlucks, and continue to teach groups how to cook, share and build connections over local foods.  Jonah described this as an effective way to make local, organic foods accessible to all populations, and also a means of involving and connecting farmers and producers with the folks who enjoy the benefits of their labor.  The collective worked with elementary students to create a one-night “restaurant” – the Funny Honey Cafe – which involved the kids at every level of the food production and service process. Future plans include cultural-centered dinners and benefits as another form of outreach.

We were also struck by the cooperative’s Community Supported Kitchen program. Taking inspiration from community supported agriculture (CSA), the CSK would similarly help support locally grown foods while providing financial benefits to members. In the past, members could order from menus online, having put money down upfront, then pick up their foods on designated days. Now that the cafe is open, these members receive a discount on all purchases. This program is mutually beneficial for the cafe and members, as it provides alternative financing for the collective and financial benefits for the folks who support it.

What makes Local Sprouts successful and a business model to draw inspiration from?  A couple of elements stick out quite pointedly. First, it is important to note, again, that an extensive deal of planning and research when into the creation of a cafe. As much as potential worker-owners, organizers or activists might bemoan the drudgery of administrative and legal tasks, the fact remains that understanding and knowing how to do them will prevent a ton of headaches in the future. Lack of money and legal issues have brought down many an amazing organization, so getting a good grasp on funding options and resources is a good idea, and participating in a small business class or workshop might also facilitate having a solid foundation upon which to build.

Knowing how to complete administrative tasks is not the only area people can educate themselves in. What it means to be a collective is open to interpretation, and there are as many different models and versions out there as there are people putting them out there. Local Sprouts spent time researching other worker-owned business models, and went forth having a solid understanding of what they wanted their project and the role of worker-owners to look like. They are currently a smaller collective, with three worker-owners; the importance of being able to truly trust and have a good relationship between worker-owners has been duly recognized, and they want to expand intelligently and intentionally to include more worker-owners in the future.

Another thing – know and interact with your community throughout the growing stages of your vision – from conception through gestation, past birth and into evolution. Local Sprouts, through its grassroots activism and community ties, built up a strong base of support before they opened their doors, and it has certainly helped their growth. They also sought feedback from this network, asking what people needed and wanted to see from the space; asking for and using input only builds the sense of ownership and involvement your supporters will have with your ideas. True and varied outreach is certainly key.

If you live in Portland or find yourself traveling through, go to Local Sprouts. Talk to the worker-owners and pick their brains. Their website talks more about their programs; take a look at www.localsproutscooperative.com.  A YouTube video of Local Sprouts and an interview with Jonah should also be up in the next few days.

We’ll be heading to Vermont tomorrow morning, and are looking for suggestions as to places to check out – let us know if you’ve got ‘em.

Yesterday we had a chance to sit down with two of the staffers at the Meg Perry Center for Peace and Justice, Jacqui Deveneau and Wells Staley-Mays. Both are affiliated with Maine Peace Action (as Office Organizer/Outreach Coordinator and Program Director/Community Organizer, respectively), one of five non-profits that calls the Center home. A video of their interview is forthcoming on YouTube.

The Meg Perry Center is a community space dedicated to furthering the movement for peace, social justice and environmental advocacy and providing a place for organizers in Portland and beyond. It is named for Portland activist and organizer Megan Perry, an inspired (and inspiring) individual who, in addition to a number of other grassroots projects, put together the Frida Bus, a school bus reborn that ran on biodiesel, held a lending library and was used for youth programs, community outreach and food distribution. Meg and the Friday Bus headed down to the Gulf Coast in 2005 to take part in post-Katrina hurricane relief efforts, where she was tragically killed in a bus accident. The many organizations and individuals affiliated with the Meg Perry Center today continue to push forth the movement for social and environmental justice that Meg so passionately believed in.

In addition to hosting the offices of Peace Action Maine, Centro Latino Maine, the Portland Food Co-op, Local Sprouts and the Fur Cultural Revival, the Center also contains an open lending library, gallery space, an arena for public meetings and a stage for shows and performances.  Wells described a recent event involving a group called Think Outside the Bomb, a diverse group of young peace activists headed to Los Alamos for the summer to protest and spread knowledge about the use of nuclear weapons. He also spoke of being visited by a group of traveling Japanese Buddhists, who engage in a silent meditation and walking protest against global issues such as nuclear proliferation and the abuse of indigenous peoples around the world. The Center is open to hosting events for the community – check out their website for more information on the simple scheduling process.

According to Jacqui, the Meg Perry Center fulfills a number of different roles in the community, from serving as a source of information through events and the library to providing a sort of haven for others. She recalled a recent encounter with a woman living in a domestic violence shelter who deemed the place a safe space, and expressed an intent to bring other women from the shelter to the Center in the near future. On any given day, individuals from across the demographic spectrum can be found at the MPC, which both she and Wells attribute to the success of the Center. The diversity of the organizations based there guarantees a similar diversity in the people who walk through the door, and the interactions that often result have gone a long way to foster a sense of interdependent community for many Portlanders. While the non-profit offices bring in many people and generate a good deal of interest for the Meg Perry Center, come folks also come in to browse the library’s book and zine collection, both of which operate on a trust system – no sign-out required, and a number of area groups and activists use the Center for their meetings.

The Center uses its walls as an art gallery, and is part of Portland’s First Friday Art Walk. The gallery provides a space for up-and-coming as well as local artists, and has also been used to bring attention to the plights of artists in other parts of the world; this month’s collection is by an Iraqi painter who has been refused entry into the United States and seeks to reunify with his family in Maine.

Jacqui hopes to use the foot traffic generated by First Friday events as a means of showcasing the Center and its activists through simultaneous events, tabling and children’s happenings; with the Local Sprouts Cafe recently opening just across the street (the MPC, in various stages of development, provided a home base for the collective that would eventually evolve into Local Sprouts), she feels that their particular part of Congress Street could become a real hub of grassroots activism in Portland.

When asked about what makes the Meg Perry Center a successful space and tool for grassroots activism in the community, both Jacqui and Wells pointed not only to the diversity of the people using the place, but also to a high level of clear communication and respect enjoyed by the folks who use it. There is a feeling that everyone is working towards a similar goal – a more just and equitable society and planet, and this goes a long way to keep relations solid and harmonious. They hope to expand the scope of the Center in the near future, possibly by providing computers and a media center for the public, and are also considering creating a more formalized job training and placement program for the many immigrants and refugees that make Portland their home. Jacqui has visions of a women’s immigrant group using the space, and also creating a storytelling program for children; the Meg Perry Center obviously has a huge amount of potential to become even more of a focal point for community organizing in Portland.

For more information about the Meg Perry Center or one of the organizations housed in the space, go to their website at www.megperrycenter.com.  If you have ideas about events, meetings, workshops or what-have-you, be sure to contact them!

The Meg Perry Center for Peace and Justice

644 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04104

One of the most interesting parts of Portland, ME for me (Rachael) has been the dynamic immigrant and refugee community that thrives here. Historically, refugees  have come in waves to Portland, a trend which gained even more steam in the 1970′s. Portland has provided sanctuary to people from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Congo,  Burundi and many other locations, sometimes with true acceptance, other times with a degree (or degrees) of inter-cultural and anti-immigrant tension. I spoke at length with Wells about some of the amazing efforts and groups created by members of these communities, including the Fur Cultural Revival, which continues to to let people know what’s happening in Darfur while seeking to provide greater support for Sudanese immigrants in the States. I’ll be posting more about immigrant activism and integration in Portland tomorrow, and we hope to have a short video with a Darfur activist and survivor up on our YouTube site by the end of the week.

One more day in Portland, then on to New Hampshire and Vermont!