Homeless Oaklanders were tired of the housing crisis. So they built a 'miracle' village (pictures)

[Demovictory9]

Under a highway, beautiful structures offer food, healthcare, showers and a free ‘store’ – as well as a strong sense of community

Tucked under a highway overpass in West Oakland, just beyond a graveyard of charred cars and dumped debris, lies an unexpected refuge.

There’s a collection of beautiful, small structures built from foraged materials. There’s a hot shower, a fully stocked kitchen and health clinic. There’s a free “store” offering donated items including clothes and books, and a composting toilet. There are stone and gravel paths lined with flowers and vegetable gardens. There’s even an outdoor pizza oven.

The so-called “Cob on Wood” center has arisen in recent months to provide amenities for those living in a nearby homeless encampment, one of the largest in the city. But most importantly, it’s fostering a sense of community and dignity, according to the unhoused and housed residents who came together to build it. They hope their innovative approach will lead to big changes in how the city addresses its growing homeless population.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/may/11/oakland-homeless-cob-on-wood-village

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Oaklanders sick of the housing crisis build a complex below an underpass complete with a hot shower, fully stocked kitchen, outdoor pizza oven and CLINIC for around 300 homeless residents at nearby encampments

Cob on Wood is a small village center along Wood Street in West Oakland, beneath Interstate 880
It has transformed a patch of one of the city's biggest homeless encampments into a community area

Between 150 and 300 homeless people access the services and facilities including small huts known as 'cobins' for homeless people to safely shelter

There's also a communal kitchen, hot shower and compostable toilet, and a free store full of donated clothing
The center has a free health clinic with on-site practitioners, vegetable gardens and a cob pizza oven
It also provides opportunities such as construction training, cooking classes and careers development
Unhoused residents told DailyMail.com they finally have a place 'that I can call home'
Local organizers began the project in December in response to the city's inadequate response to the homelessness crisis













https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9580571/Oaklanders-build-complex-complete-hot-shower-kitchen-CLINIC-homeless-residents.html

[jmowreader]

1. Those guys just went all out on this one

It is very beautiful.

[Demovictory9]

14. very much so. and it's clean and organized. and they used land no one else wants... under freeway

[soldierant]

26. Please sign the petition to prevent their eviction.

https://www.change.org/p/cal-trans-stop-the-evictions-at-the-wood-st-encampment

[Raine]

28. Thanks for the link 👍... I signed right away, I hope it helps. 🙏 nt

[SheltieLover]

32. Please create separate thread for this petition?

I've signed it, but we can make a bfd out of this!

Ty!!!

[The Blue Flower]

2. I'd never heard of cob construction--what a great idea

https://www.motherearthnews.com/green-homes/natural-building/cob-building-basics-zm0z13onzrob

[Demovictory9]

13. billions of videos on youtube regarding cob construction

only cats have more videos than cob

[Pinback]

16. Very cool. This technique is similar

to adobe construction seen in many older buildings in the American Southwest, such as San Francisco de Asís Mission Church in Taos, NM.

[alphafemale]

34. That's what I immediately thought, too.

But, Oakland is far from a hot arid environment

[Pinback]

35. Ah, true

So you’d have to adjust the composition of the material to suit the conditions. Amazing how such an old and “primitive” method is still viable today.

[gopiscrap]

3. that is fantastic

[AllaN01Bear]

4. i remember seeing a lot of doom and gloom movies , atomic attack, etc

cicvilization destroyed , etc. this shows me otherwise and i think the homeless will show the way.

[LittleGirl]

5. Brilliant idea! I Love This So Much! eom

[George II]

6. "Yeahbut, they're too lazy to work!" That's beautiful, amazing detail in some areas. Thanks.

[iluvtennis]

7. Love this - very heartwarming. Thanks for posting. n/t

[HUAJIAO]

8. reminds me of The Shire..

[marble falls]

9. A good model. People with something of their own always do better for themselves.

[BobTheSubgenius]

10. What a fantastic project!

It obviously brings back memories of the Haight, with those of us old enough to remeber that spirit. The free stores, the Diggers, the community feeling. Wonderful stuff. As a superfluous little detail, actor Peter Coyote (played a lawyer in the Erin Brockovich movie) was a Digger.

I've seen that construction method before, but didn't know it was called "cob." Properly done, then properly maintained, it can last hundreds of years. The oldest cob-constructed building known is estimated to have been built 10,000 years ago.

[Demovictory9]

12. billions of videos on youtube regarding cob construction

only cats have more videos than cob

[BobTheSubgenius]

20. I'm not at all surprised by that.

There are several on a topic as narrow as changing a power steering line on a Honda Odyssey. I've just never had occasion to look up "cob" before.

[Hekate]

11. The human spirit strives to thrive. This is a wonder.

[Demovictory9]

15. agreed. people with talent and skill put together this lil village

[Pinback]

17. Beautiful.

I hope they can keep this going for a long time. Very inspiring.

[lagomorph777]

18. That is beautiful!

So inspiring.

[NBachers]

19. This People's Park veteran endorses the Oakland community who created this.

[lunatica]

21. Never underestimate the human ability to solve problems creatively

This is a charming communal village. It’s a great example of human ingenuity, especially in a crisis.

[orangecrush]

22. Get these people registered to vote

With the kind of numbers they represent, and watch how fast things would change.

[Ferrets are Cool]

23. No matter how nice it looks

it still makes me so angry that American families live under bridges...not because they want to, but because they have no choice.

[SheltieLover]

30. Agreed!

Nobody will tackle the REAL issue with "minimum wage:" the fact that housing / land is unrealistically inflated.

Previous generations had a much higger quality of life because housing was much more affordable.

I do not have a proposal to cure the ill of greed, I only ask that others consider this.

As always, turning a blind eye is, no doubt, tied to rich old white men & corporate personhood.

[seta1950]

24. It's a shame

The British media is reporting this, hint hint l.a. times

[byronius]

25. Excellent post. Thank you.

[Raine]

27. So cool! 👍 nt

[Mr. Evil]

29. Beautiful work by them.

What worries me is that it seems that building structures under a bridge, in Oakland, might not be the best place to be in case of another earthquake. I understand that it might be the only area they could find with minimal conflict or harassment. That just concerns me.

OTOH, if Bill Gates really wants to focus more on his philanthropy, he should start with this little community.

[SheltieLover]

31. A sense of community...

The often missing, key ingredient to sanity, complimentsof blood sucking multinationals.

This is so beautiful! Ty for sharing!

[Nexus2]

33. Very interesting, thank you for posting this! [nt]

[Vinca]

36. That's so creative. What a great thing to do.

[Nay]

37. As a lifelong reader of the Mother Earth News, I was aware of cob building and it does

my heart good to see this astounding little village. I think it should be legal for these villages to exist -- in fact, we need to build thousands and thousands of them.

And stop building 'tiny houses' and 'eco-houses' that cost $100,000 to $300,000 apiece!!!

[ChazII]

38. K&R

Thank you for sharing this information. The architecture is beautiful.

[ChazII]

39. K&R

Thank you for sharing this information. The architecture is beautiful. I watched two of the videos and amazed at the creativity and science in these structures.