The Rhizome Collective is located at 300 Allen St. and is open for public tours Sundays at 2pm, and virtual tours at www.rhizomecollective.org. Contact at rhizomecollective@earthlink.net, or 385-3695. The tour focuses on the group’s permaculture projects, but there’s more to the Rhizome than compost and fowl. Get involved without getting your hands (too) dirty with these affiliated organizations. The Inside Books Project sends reading materials to prisoners in Texas. Help out on Thursdays from 6 to 10pm and Sundays from 7pm to midnight. More info at 647-4803 or insidebooksproject@yahoo.com. Austin Independent Media Center produces independent news, opinion, and documentaries. www.austin.indymedia.org. Bikes Across Borders fixes up donated bikes and matches them with folks who will ride them. Get yourself a bike, or just learn some skills, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-10pm. The group also organizes an annual ride to Mexico to deliver bikes to maquiladora workers. The collective is also home to a Food Not Bombs kitchen, a “free store,” the Austin Zine Library, and Art in Revolution (i.e., space to build your puppets). A holistic health center is also in the works.
This article appears in December 31 • 2004.