Greetings from Hazelnut Grove Village.
Our little corner of the city is vibrant and bustling these days. The Village is at capacity and new and long-time residents have been working together to write and consent to new community bylaws. We’re providing hospitality for those in need of a place to land for a few days, our gardens are thriving, and we’ve welcomed a few new four legged friends into our mix. None of this felt possible a year ago when we were living under constant threat of demolition by the City of Portland.
We remain grateful for your care, your commitment to self-governed villages, and your readiness to rise to action to support and fight for Hazelnut Grove.
You’ll find several opportunities for ongoing material support at Hazelnut Grove outlined below. If you have access to resources and capacity to help out, please respond and we’ll connect you with the responsible resident individuals or team.
Forward Together, Not One Step Back!
Hazelnut Grove Village
Ongoing Support Opportunities
1. Monthly Meals
The Village is gathering the first Sunday afternoon of each month for community building and engage in political education. We are looking for a team of folks who will support this vital work by organizing and delivering a meal each month. We are serving 20ish meat and vegetarian meals each month.
If you are either interested in gathering your friends to form a team or would like to be connected to other individuals to form a team, please email us at oregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org.
2. Firewood
When deemed safe by the fire department, Hazelnut Grove keeps a fire in the community space that serves as the gathering place for meetings and security shifts. If you have firewood to donate, please email us at oregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org and we will connect you with a resident at the Village who will work out pick-up/delivery details with you.
3. Computers
Two village residents are in need of laptop computers to be used for organizing and school. If you have a spare laptop in working condition, please let us know at oregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org.
4. Funds for Batteries and Little Buddy Heaters
Most of the homes at Hazelnut Grove are outfitted with solar panels batteries. While new and long-term residents are largely responsible for being self-sufficient in terms of keeping their space, batters and heaters are kept up by collective effort. We are in the process of replacing most of the batteries at the Village and securing heat sources for new residents. If you have funds to offer this infrastructure, please reach out to us at oregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org and we will connect you directly with the Village’s Venmo account.
5. Ecological Transformative Project Team
In this moment of stability and calm, we are thinking about projects that will make the Village self-sustaining (maybe even regenerative!). We are building a team of people who are interested in helping us think about things like rainwater collection, composting toilets, heating our homes with biofuel energy sources, etc.
6. Animal Food
Animals are an important part of the Hazelnut Grove community. Dogs and cats provide emotional support, ducks offer a consistent and reliable food source, and goats are being raised to help clear the fire line each summer – a task that is becoming increasingly challenging as elders age in place at Hazelnut Grove.
Reach out (oregon@poorpeoplescampaign.org) and we’ll connect you with an animal caretaker who can talk you through more details about needs.
7. Propane Runs
Most homes in the Village are heated with propane and we have a long standing relationship with a propane provider in Molalla. Thank you to Pacific Northwest Family Circle for supporting the next propane run! We will need continued support later this winter and into the spring.
We are looking for volunteers to do occasional runs from Portland to Molalla to take empty 5 gallon propane bottles and pick up filled ones. The run includes picking empty propane bottles at Hazelnut Grove, driving to Molalla (an hour away from HG), dropping off the empties, loading full bottles (around a dozen), and driving them back to Hazelnut Grove. While a pickup truck or van is ideal for this, it has been done with a car. If you have capacity to support keeping the heat at Hazelnut Grove by doing these runs, please contact Peter – peter_Grove@oxidized.org.
