Submitted by DanaSaylor:
This past Tuesday, April 3rd, the Facebook group “Preservation-Ready Sites” met up in person once again. The third installment in their series of preservation-related mixers was held at Bacchus on Chippewa from 5:30-7:30, a change from their previous breakfast meetings. The group, founded by Frits Abell et. al. of the Buffalo Expat Network, has been getting together to collaborate and share ideas on best practices. This month, Daniel Ash from Farmers and Builders presented a brief talk on the topic, “Aligning Preservation, Conservation, and Sustainable Economies”. He encouraged the preservationists and community members in attendance to consider smaller-scale projects that need their attention just as much as larger ones (i.e. Trico). Dan is a proponent of individual, grassroots action, stating, “From a conservation perspective, reusing a building is one of the greenest things you can do…there is so much energy embodied in an historic building”.
Speaking about Farmers and Builders’ success in forming a cooperative on Riley and Michigan Streets, he told us about additional farms that have joined in their movement, including one on Peckham near Broadway/Fillmore, Wilson Street, and others. Dan is a proponent of “direct, local, and small-scale” preservation; beginning with fixing up your own house, and growing your own food. This can be revolutionary in bringing together neighbors, as “growing, cooking and eating food together is one of the best ways to share responsibilities and experiences.” He mentioned exciting projects like the “Broken House Club” and the “East Side House Works” that have popped up on Facebook, where friends take turns repairing and restoring members’ homes, just like an old-fashioned barn-raising.
In a sense, that’s why Preservation-Ready sites exists (from their Facebook group page): “An independent/grassroots media watchdog group comprised of citizens interested in architectural preservation and quality new design opportunities in Buffalo, NY. We are NOT another preservation group- we look to collaborate with the other preservation organizations in Buffalo. Our mission is to create a media platform/effort that raises public awareness about Buffalo buildings at risk, document issues effecting the status of the buildings, and create calls to action to enable the public to get involved.”
If you’d like to learn more about what Farmers & Builders is doing, click here: or join their Facebook group, which states, “Farmers & Builders is an opt-out strategy. Grow your food. Fix your house. Create your livelihood.”