Free School


It is our belief that education is an essential component of building a stronger, informed and connected community. The People’s Free Space Free School provides an open educational format that is committed to making education available to people free of charge. Since October 2002, The Free School has provided free workshops each month to the Portland community on a variety of topics. In the past workshops were held in a variety of spaces around Portland, but now most of our workshops are held at the People's Free Space on Cumberland Ave.   Anyone who is interested in offering a workshop should get in touch with us or if there's a topic you're interested in, tell us and we can try to find a teacher. Every two months, we put out an events calendar with all of our Free School workshops.


The workshops break through the divisions between teachers and students and encourage all people to share and pass on their skills and knowledge. We are dispelling the myth that only experts can teach and we are nurturing an equitable educational style that empowers both the “teacher” and the “student.” We focus on having an informal and skill sharing environment that encourages group discussions and dialogue as opposed to the lecturing of formal classroom structures. This has helped participants feel comfortable and has helped new facilitators ease into teaching. We believe that this type of educational format is empowering and encourages a drive for lifelong learning. Through the workshops, we are creating an open learning environment that breaks through divisions between teachers and students and encourages everyone to share and pass on skills and knowledge.


Some of our past workshops have included:

bike repair, book making, anti-oppression, genetically engineered food, silkscreening, natural pregnancy and childbirth, women's health, wild foods and herbs, yoga and dance, arts, candlemaking, organic gardening, lead poisoning, globalization and trade agreements, homebrewing, knitting, sustainable forestry, tarot card reading, biodiesel, hemp, and papermaking.


We've also had several groups and series develop:
Radical Parent's Group, Yoga Workshops, HOME Series, Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants, Drumming

Lending Library:

We operate a lending library with over a thousand books and magazines. We try to stock titles that are not often found in other libraries and book stores including books on: political theory, sustainability, do-it-yourself skills, ecology, anarchy, radical history, indigenous issues, globalization and more. You can check out books in the library by talking to a staff person during open hours.  

Video Series:

Every last Wednesday of the Month for the past 3 years, the People's Free Space has shown videos on a range of topics. We mainly focus on documentaries on social, enivronmental and political issues and feature films that provoke thought and discussion.


Some of the past topics have included: 

War in Iraq, industrial logging, political prisoners, US foreign policy, Native sovereignty, ecological issues, labor issues, consumption, Afghanistan, poverty and more.