Pallet Houses Could End Homelessness

carbon wood to me it's a manifestation of the intent to live well amongst nothing in a way there's been no direct support for this except through the people who wanted to see this place actually grow there's no institutional aspect to it it's just people [Music] you don't find that a lot [Music] and these clearings well that's the counterbalance isn't it which is the situation with all of the clearings regardless if it's with Caltrans or any City it's seeing people lead a life outside of the system that is not allowed because the economic system and everything that goes along with it is the way through which we you know get water through the necessities of life and to see people managing that without it in the midst of it not just like you know people the tribes people into a far away land but people actually breaking out of the system the ones who survive and thrive out here I don't think they hate it I'm sure some people do but a lot just look at her like that's not right that's not how I live and they just sweep it away without much thought [Music] harbon wood is the greatest manifestation within a homeless encampment in history it is the flagship of impossibility in the garbage heap of futility I was fearing homelessness like for 30 years as I became an adult and had to be self-supporting the the one nagging thing of why I get so stressed out about money is like I'm gonna be homeless that's the worst possible thing it's a void of the worst fate imaginable oh to be homeless oh I got to work I got to keep it going I got to keep it going and that stress was killing me I didn't even know what the I knew Community was right that I could never get it going and then I came here and the rough raw rude essential Community form was happening we are here at a homeless encampment in Oakland California under the freeway it's a project called Cobb on wood this was a community service center built last year to serve the residents here at the Wood Street encampment there's about 250 people living here at this encampment and so we built a kitchen and a clinic and a free store and a pizza oven and a little sleeping cob in and we have nice Gardens and we have a little mobile Cobb house and we built these structures actually all out of pallets right so these were pallets insulated with well trash there's lots of garbage here that needed to go somewhere uh foam there's lots of foam laying around clothes cardboard and we put that inside the pallets and then we put a Cobb plaster over that you know just nice Earthen plaster and then we did a lime lime plaster over that just because there's a slight difference of the way that we might want to live and that's not where we want to live and build and trash and stuff I talk about a different way of living is that we people out here don't want a slave 80 hours a week for somebody who's becoming a billionaire looking down on everybody from their one of their 20 mansions on the hill and everybody else is struggling stuff there are people out here they just want to appreciate enjoy life to the fullest because life is so short so we we there's a message that we're trying to get across is that it's not people that are lazy or that everyone out here is on drugs are crazy of what it's it's a different way of living that was a way of living that centuries ago people were living this way in communities in Africa and rural areas in China and stuff they're still living this way with Community where everything is is their food is grown you know everything that they do they make things out of out of trees and rocks and you know everything is from the mother earth and it's not a abundance of wastefulness and stuff and that's uh what we're trying to go back to is just being a little bit closer to one another good [Music] when we first did it it was to be kind of to serve you know the whole Community but then we realized that we really actually wanted to provide housing for people like that was really important and so we we now have people living in this space so there's somebody living in here now you can see here this has a you know the the city came here and they put this no trespassing this is the state property this area is scheduled for cleaning on September 26th which is tomorrow begin at 8 A.M all persons must leave so we uh so yeah that's what's happening right now is that this cob on wood as fantastic as it is is under threat of eviction so everybody living at this encampment is being forced to leave because they don't want people living under the freeway so uh so we've been having this rally here today there's going to be a big rally tomorrow tomorrow morning to try to you know protect our space and uh you know to try to prevent the Caltrans the police from evicting people from the space not very many of the candidates came to the unhoused and asked them what should we do what do you need what's it going to take how are you going to get back indoors stuff like that the answers reside with us we have a lot of hard-working people and a lot of intelligence and wisdom and they just you know oh you're in-house you know they'll bleed you for information and use it for their portfolios and their resumes and their promotion and leave you in the Lurch I mean I'm trying to get off the curb myself to get my house back get my family back in order but I'm never going to abandon my people what is Liberty it's goddamn time they find a way to get you time slaves and you just can never get out above and get to the expression that you must do for your heart and your Humanity but I found the way to have my time without rent Liberty is time we're hoping that this project here the Coban wood project can can serve as a model to inspire other homeless encampments around the state and the country to do something similar if there is a piece of land that is not being utilized such as this you know have people come together and uh you know build structures like this because I really I think this really is a great solution for super quick low-cost fire resilient well-insulated all natural beautiful structures as a great alternative to what they're often doing now is just buying these little Tough Shed Little tool sheds or little white boxes they're having people stand but you know those have no soul and these these have you know a lot more character if you make the city look good and you're no problem and no one's complaining about you they'll leave you the alone okay and that's kind of how it goes but if you've got haters out there you've got grudgers or you've got people that want your land space like say uh Rick holiday okay and his development is his huge conglomerate business of affordable housing which is not affordable for anybody that actually lives in any of these districts and are not for the People by the people but actually lost he's the king of Lofts he made the clock tower in San Francisco right he does make beautiful spaces but just not for us I'm born in the Box commute in a box working the Box die in a box and get as isolated as bored and as hopeless and collapsed as you possibly can get in the long run all of this will be rebuilt tenfold even bigger more powerful uh more resourceful and more people will see us more people will join the cause and realize what's really going on here and stuff no this is just the beginning of something that's going to be bigger and more beautiful in the long run it doesn't stop anything it slows it down and this was an introductory to how things are going to be in the upcoming decades and stuff and how the the country people in this country are going to be moving forward and to appreciate and enjoy life more and that capitalistic way of living which I'm not disrespecting at any at all and stuff but it has to be a change in the way that people are being treated we can't be a society that goes to church and preaches God things and and and and then we have a community of unhoused people and that are starving and can't get the treatment that they need and just thrown to the curve that's not fair [Music] this land is your land and this land is my land from California to the New York island from the Redwood Forest the Gulf Stream water this land was made even me [Music] it's been 500 years of displacement the displacement that's happening here today is just a continuation of imperialism to live in Freedom and indignity people deserve to have all of their rights perspected

Channel: Natural Buildings

Views: 10,438

Keywords: pallet cabin, pallet construction, cob, cob on wood, homeless, homelessness

Id: R6DfH6bGuqo

Length: 10min 37sec (637 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2022