Fostermamas (see blog entry below) also mentioned that their family is multi-generational and multiracial. And on June 27th, Annette wrote a blog response, "Regarding ethnic diversity, what are the statistics?"

David Entin of Rocky Hill Cohousing in Northampton, Massachusetts (and Board Member of Coho/US and co-host of its "Research" Topic Room), responds with the following:

On August 1st, Fostermamas wrote in the "Researching Your Cohousing Community" Forum in this "Finding Your Community" Topic Room (http://www.cohousing.org/ma/findingforum/test):

"As potential co-housing members we're constantly refining what factors are important in our cohousing search. Each visit to a potential community has given us more insight into what we're looking for in our ideal community.

"After visiting our first cohousing community we decided that our multiracial family probably wasn't a good fit for a rural community.


"After visiting our second community we decided we wanted an older established community that already had some of it's "kinks" ironed out.


"After visiting our third community we decided we didn't want anything strictly urban as we are current urbanites looking for more green in our lives.

Friday night (7/25), I gave a talk at the "Community Seeker's Fair" which kicked off the NICA Gathering here in Portland (described below).

I talked about characteristics of people who tend to do well in community: confidence and assertiveness, humility (they're not mutually exclusive), a willingness to pitch in and work, and a willingness to contribute to something larger than oneself. I asked members of the audience to come up with the characteristics, to call them out. "Humility!" someone shouted. "Not being a know-it-all!" said someone else. "Being willing to listen!" said yet another.

Right now I'm at the NICA Annual Sumner Gathering in Portland, Oregon.

NICA, the Northwest Intentional Communities Association, is the largest regional communities network in the US. It's members are cohousers and members of non-cohousing communities in Washington and Oregon. The Gathering is hosted this year by Columbia Ecovillage. The founders of Portland Permaculture Institute, a permaculture teaching facility on a four-acre farm in the middle of Portland, became founder/developers of this cohousing-model ecovillage project when they bought the six-building, 32-unit apartment complex next door. The apartments are being renovated, and will soon get solar panels and other green features. Members of Columbia Ecovillage will live in the apartments and have access to their own CSA garden and the permaculture teaching farm. They'll build a common house in the back end of the current parking lot. Sweet!

http://www.comumbiaecovillage.com

"That's not the community I'd ever live in!"

The man in the back of the room was upset, and walked out. We were just 45 minutes into my workshop-consultation for his cohousing community. Clearly, what I'd said so far had upset him.

This blog entry is in response to Craig's Forum comment on June 4th in the "Researching Your Community" Forum about "Do-ers" and "Be-ers" in cohousing.

I think most cohousers are good-hearted, compassionate people. And I have a working hypothesis that cohousers (and people in intentional communities in general) apply compassion in different ways: some wanting to nurture individuals and others wanting to nurture more abstract community principles.

Match what you want with what’s available.

• You may only want to join a cohousing community if one already exists in your area. This limits your options of course, but saves you time and money ultimately, since it’s relatively easy to move across town.

Welcome to the blog of the Finding Your Community Topic Room.

This area is where you and other vistors to the “Finding Your Cohousing Community” Topic Room can comment about the process of finding and joining the cohousing community that’s right for you.

This first posting, today (June 2, 2008), offers some tips for researching a cohousing community ahead of time online.

If you’re looking for a forming cohousing community, learn to “read between the lines” in directory listings and websites.