Follow the flow of a wellbeing economy with this list of resources, prompts and actions. Imagine a future that promotes health and wellbeing for all of us on this planet. See what’s happening right now in regards to clean water and rivers, land use, labor, employee owned stores, collectives and cooperatives, transportion and food systems.
Embracing Nature
- River & Water Health:
- Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub: https://www.braidedrivercampaign.org, https://www.tankthetanks.org
- Info/Action: CEI HUB Phaseout (moving through council in ’26) and Risk Bonding
- Water protection & access: https://humanaccessproject.com, https://critfc.org (Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission)
- Info/Action: Ross Island contamination, algae blooms
- Flood zone protection, wetlands restoration
- Snake River Dam Removal: https://www.columbiariverkeeper.org/campaigns/snake-river-dam-removal/
- Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub: https://www.braidedrivercampaign.org, https://www.tankthetanks.org
- Land Use:
- Trees: https://www.portlandfruit.org
- Info/Action: Shade Equity, Urban forest protection
- Community gardens: https://nayapdx.org/services/community-garden, https://portlandcommunitygardens.org
- Trees: https://www.portlandfruit.org
Labor: Collectives and Cooperatives
MONDRAGON is the outcome of a cooperative business project launched in 1956. Its mission is encapsulated in its Corporate Values: intercooperation, grassroots management, corporate social responsibility, innovation, democratic organisation, education and social transformation, among others.
Corporate Rebels: Cooperative movement in the Basque Country.
Cooperation Jackson: An emerging vehicle for sustainable community development, economic democracy, and community ownership.
Bob’ Red Mill: Employee owned.
Workers Tap & Cafe A worker owned and operated all hours cafe and beer bar in Portland, Oregon.
Miller Paint: Oregon grown and worker owned.
Winco Foods: Employee owned.
People’s Co-op: Consumer-owned Co-op.
Free Geek: A non-profit organization with a mission to repurpose technology and discover sustainable solutions while providing educational resources.
Transportation
Bike Loud: Promotes bicycle transportation in Portland by empowering riders and creating safe streets for people.
No More Freeways: Responding to the passage of state legislation funding massive freeway expansions around the Portland Metro region.
Frog Ferry: A small group of curious local community members who asked, “Why don’t we have a passenger ferry service when nearly every major river city does?”
Families for Safe Streets: Applying the Safe System Approach, a proven, holistic framework for preventing traffic deaths and serious injuries.
DePave: Empowers disenfranchised communities to overcome social and environmental injustices and adapt to climate change through urban re-greening.
Oregon Walks: Promotes walking and advocates for safe, convenient, and attractive walking conditions as an essential part of thriving, sustainable, and connected communities.
Healthy Local Sustainable Food Production
Food forests: Expand opportunities through utilization of available lands, especially when connected to lower income neighborhoods, schools, places of worship, etc.
Access to public land for Farm incubators and community farms/gardens/orchards; set-asides at parks and public green spaces; converting public golf courses for local food production
Education and actions aimed at reducing food wasting at the household, commercial and institutional levels (gleaning groups, portlandfruit.org)
Expand learning opportunities through local food networks such as well as various non-profits doing this work; local time and skill share opportunities related to food production for low-income sites(growing-gardens.org, PDXpermaculture.org, @solarpunxpdx)
Sustainable agricultural practices that expand production capacity-access to free food compost from city collection sites; permaculture practices as well as soil sequestration practices, deep mulch (low water), no till gardening (saving beneficial microbes in top soil layer), vertical gardening, food forests best practices (shading,layered), seed saving and plant share banks/swaps, etc. No pesticides or herbicides and fostering pollinator corridors and bee keeping
Rainwater harvesting at school and community gardens for drought irrigation and emergency water supplies (need ceramic or other filters)
Equitable Food Distribution
- Support and create more affordable worker-owned food coops, mobile groceries and buying clubs that also have associated small free food pantries, especially in food deserts
- Food share! Expand access to community gardens and culturally appropriate food, including at housing developments; support for CSAs, school gardens, food pantries, mutual aid networks(@portlandmutualaid), gleaning networks, free fridges and food boxes, etc.
- Address loss of free food programs in schools
- Food as utility-Government Policy Council of producers and efficient distribution of abundant food resources
- Build out Neighborhood Resiliency HUBS with food and water as critical components
- Food Delivery systems for those in need such as currently happening with immigrant communities afraid to leave their homes
- Youth programs tied to food production and distribution that teach important life skills including leadership and project management
