Thirty tillable acres and the lush richness of Columbia watershed provide ·an ideal living laboratory. Meanwhile, back at the farm, efforts are underway to further develop the school's 80-acre production farm and open the Crest Trail Inn as a school-managed restaurant and study facility in food-related problems. Program engineer and mycologist: David Yett, "The Trash King," president of Levelle and Yet; 'Inc._, Western Oregon's largest sanitary dt:;molition dryfill, 1s piloting a oevelopmental plan for a methanol plant. A 400-foot head makes for a strong hydrological power and wate_! system. Dams, pipes, turbines and generators are also under David's jurisdiction, with completion scheduled for late s'umm,er/early fall. Like all Cold Spring projects, this will be a labor-intensive effort. While David's landfill operation affords access to heavy earth-moving equipment, it will be used only for removing precious topsoil from the pond site which can then be transferred to productive use in the gardens. In the near future David will sell his business interests in order to make a full-time commitment to Cold Spring. The Crest Trail Inn, nestled snugly on the shore of the Columbia, provides a study facility for food-related problems. As a student-run, school-managed, natural foods restaurant utilizing fruit and produce from the farm, the Inn will offer trail foods, fresh and smoked fish, rattlesnake jerky (oh, yum!), and eventually specialize in cheese·s, homefTlade baked goods and elderberry mead. The Inn is presently open by appointment only, with expectations of being fully underway by· eariy s'ummer. Resident gardener Sandy Hepler assures us that there will be an ample supply of produce for the coming year. Beehive rescue from extermination As career opportunities in renewable use have barely begun to be tapped, Cold' Spring will be a mod~l for development of this kind. Apiculture has been an integral link in the development of quantum econics, both a:s an example of living system.· efficiency and as a renewable source of income. Cold Spring Project has direct responsibility for 50 hives and another·50 tended c?operatively with an elderly Gorge resident, thus providing po,llination services, honey and observation hives. In addition, two thousand chestnut seedlings planted this winter should be able to be marketed within three years. May 1976 RAIN Page 21 A fine exam'ple of efficient use of industrial waste is the Big Eric Tree Skinner. A.ten-pound, tw_o·-foot long planer mill blade has to be reground into a draw shave blade of exceptional quality and strength. (Avaiiable for $20 from The Cold Spring Experiment, Box 186, Unaerwood, WA 98651.) As a live-in facility, students, faculty apd their families will share in th<r responsibilities of the work/study community. The quantum econics (1 Q = 1 square meal) will carry through all life support systems of the farm. Residents will earn their r~sidence privileges, including tool access and food, by contributing four hours of concentrated work/study per day in addition to a reasonable share in the financial reality of land payments. Space will be available for.individual homes, labora·- tory/workshops, library, music studio and theater, tool shed barns, goatshed, sauna, compost privies, and the sundry trappings of a work/study farm-community, as determined by its needs. The performing arts sector will need the least structure, and its growth will therefore be a function of the individuals involve<) and will evolve accordingly. Paul Libby program godfather. I "It is the hope of this farm to increase the fruitfulness of the earth; to create work/study opportunities for children in systems that are alive; to give experience in sustained-yield land use and food production, and to make education responsive to the world food crisis." Perhaps the most disruptive factor in the developmental stages of an intentional community is the talented, well-meaning participant who wishes to alter the direction or.structure of the communitY" to fulfill his personal ideals. The Cold Spring Project is perhaps the most thoroughly planned and broadly-scoped project I have yet encountered. If you have skills in stone masonry, beekeeping, organic gardening or the elementary manual arts and.are in agreement with the Cold Spring intent, please contact: Hank Patton, Sacajawea Elementary School, 4800 N.E. 74th, Portland, OR. Summer sessions will include three 3-week work intensives of 7 persons each. $100 per sessi~n. Nancy Lee
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