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Cob Pizza
Friday,
January 6
What it that? Pizza made out of corn on the cob? No, it's pizza made in
a cob oven and this oven is located at Tryon
Life Community Farm in SW Portland. The farm itself is a wonder--7
1/2 acres of land adjacent to Tryon State Park. A year ago the land was
about to be lost to a luxury home development when the tenants on the
property rallied to overturn eviction, stop the development, and purchase
an option to buy the land (if they could raise $1.4 million dollars by
January 10, 2006.) A year later they are four days and about $30,000 from
securing the property and transferring it to a land trust or losing it
all. I first met the folks who live and work here in the fall and have
volunteered my time and talents to their heroic efforts. About 16 adults
and three delightful children live here in an intentional community (don't
call it a commune, they don't like that!). They all have their own jobs
and lives and then they volunteer in caring for the land, the goats, chickens
and have put together a nonprofit organization in which they educate children
who visit the farm about things like soil and food and serve as a model
for community action and sustainable living. They are people with big
hearts, incredible vision, and they invite anyone and everyone to come
in and participate--even wayward exiles from Minnesota. I was invited
to spend Christmas/Hanukkah with them and have spent many hours working
and eating with them the past few weeks.
This week has been
quite exciting, with time, but not hope running out, the outpouring of
community, government, and media support has been breathtaking. People
are showing up at their door with donations of $50, $500, and even tens
of thousands of dollars. This has brought them oh-so-close to realizing
their dream. This evening was pizza night for whoever wanted to show up,
so I dropped by at 3 in the afternoon and was immediately put to work
making buckwheat dough, chopping onions, mushrooms, and grating cheese
and then relaying trays of pizzas to the outdoor oven where Matt was tending
the stove in the rain and dark. I chatted with him and he explained that
cob is a very durable, inexpensive and environmentally-friendly building
material which is basically made of mud and straw. It also makes delectable
pizza! When the pizzas where done about 20 of us gathered for dinner which
morphed into a birthday party for Brenna, one of the residents. There
was music, dancing, laughter, games, and with the arrival of "balloon
man"-- who made intricate balloon hats for everyone, the evening
was launched to greater heights of fun. I'm so glad I didn't pick something
predictable like coffee for today's theme!
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