South Willamette Valley

The Willamette and McKenzie rivers flow through the valley between the Coastal mountain range and the Cascades. Since settlers arrived to extract the timber and farm the land previously cultivated and stewarded by Kalamath and other nations, the area has been developed for externalized profit (grass seed and timber) that doesn’t serve local needs. Since the 1970’s the Eugene area has attracted earth-loving counterculture individuals who created alternative institutions such as the Oregon Country Fair, Lost Valley Education Center, Center for Rural Livelihoods and a history of cooperatives such as Growers Market and Hoedads.