Project Oasis

Social support networks

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

LA is home to an extensive network of community groups that often operate on a shoestring budget. As rents rise and political polarization proliferates, grassroots groups are getting pushed out of meeting venues and organizational development training they need to connect, plan, and operate effectively. Venue market rates are often unaffordable for grassroots organizations, requiring them to meet less frequently or online. For organizations that tackle basic human needs, provide community support and address quality of life, this lack of face to face connectivity not only erodes the human connections vital to grassroots work but also serves as a barrier to recruitment and service providing.
Many organizations are experiencing unnecessary dysfunction as they struggle to operate in an increasingly isolating landscape. Without a strong foundation, many organizations struggle to address both their higher level goals and their basic needs. Our project will meet some of these basic needs.

As Los Angeles’s largest and oldest community owned and operated affordable housing cooperative, Urban Soil / Tierra Urbana (USTU) and the LA Eco-Village have deep roots and active connections with a wide breadth of local advocacy work. Over the past 25 years, we have opened our doors to offer our space and skill building workshops for many groups, serving as a physical touch point for thousands of Angelenos.
Project Oasis will grow existing connections, establish new ones, and support the healthy functioning of grassroots groups. To do this, we will upgrade our meeting spaces, make them accessible to more groups, and develop a training program in core foundational skills for grassroots groups to advance their higher level goals.
Project Oasis will be an affordable family-friendly connective space, with access to gardens, internet, bathrooms, kitchen, temperature control, and A/V meeting technology. The space will allow people to come here and feel supported, in a setting informed by universal design that fosters human connection.
We will also offer workshops aimed at strengthening core skills for healthy organizational design and function. Programming will include group facilitation, conflict resolution, cooperative governance, and consensus building.
The ultimate goal of our space and its role serving Los Angeles is to further civic engagement and promote the mission of small grassroots organizations doing vital work, within a community run and cooperatively owned setting.

Our vision for Project Oasis is to establish a self-sustaining community hub in LA where local grassroots organizations can unite, organize, and thrive. We aim to provide an affordable and accessible space that fosters collaboration, innovation, and growth. We seek to inspire a culture of mutual support and shared learning among diverse groups dedicated to social justice and community empowerment. Project Oasis will be a catalyst for building internal capacities by offering tailored training sessions, skill-building workshops, and leadership development programs. Our focus is on equipping grassroots organizations with the tools and knowledge they need to expand their reach, enhance their effectiveness, and sustain their impact. Our overall goal is to demonstrate that our project can be replicated in communities throughout LA County.
We envision a ripple effect that provides inspiration for those community leaders who simply need a supportive space that helps them nurture their vision.

This project is a natural and necessary progression of USTU’s long standing work. Organizations we already work with, including LA Tenants Union, LAFD CERT and LA County land trusts express their need for affordable meeting spaces as well as the trainings and workshops we will host. Quantitative success will mean that after renovations are completed, Project Oasis will host at least 20 community events and offer at least 3 skill-building workshops to community groups by October. To measure the qualitative success of our project, we will survey the organizations that use our space. We will adapt our workshops to their responses, and seek to co-develop additional training with our community groups into the future. We will know our project is successful if they are experiencing more efficient meetings, richer connections, greater capacity to collaborate, a healthier sense of community, and being more effective in their area of work.