As one of the co-founders of Daybreak Cohousing, I spent a lot of time in the early stages researching what communities who had come before us had done to build their communities, both physically and as people. The Get It Built Workshop by Katie McCamant and Rick Mockler of Cohousing Partners gave me a solid… Read More
The Great Depression, probably not, but we sure have a mess on our hands. On Sunday, October 5th In Fresno, CA the Cohousing Partners and McCamant and Durrett Architects (MDA), and an awesome cohousing group celebrated the grand opening of La Querencia cohousing among hundreds of well wishers, under glorious blue skies and next door… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian If a cohousing community uses the word “ecovillage” in its name, is it really an ecovillage? What does that mean, anyway? Today I got an email from a cofounder of a cohousing project in the Northeast. She wrote, “Can you tell me how a community gets to use ‘ecovillage’ as part… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian If you want to join a cohousing community, in my experience there are at least two ways to plan visits to likely existing communities and/or core groups of forming communities. One way is to visit only those that seem like likely candidates — communities or groups you’re actually considering joining, given… Read More
An acquaintance of mine, Chris Zimmerman, owns and operates a couple of assisted-care facilities in Alameda, California. He inherited one at age 23 and subsequently built a second one. He’s now 60, and despite the limitations of an assisted care environment, he has developed astute theories about seniors and elders. Like many observers of the… Read More
Diana Leafe Christian What happens when a cohousing community changes in values, lifestyle, and “community culture” over time? And how might this affect you as an a new incoming member? I have a good friend who lives with her young son in a cohousing community she helped to start. When she and the other founders… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian If you’re looking for a cohousing core group or existing community to join, you’re probably thinking about what you want. You may also be considering what personal characteristics tend to lead to enjoying —even thriving — in cohousing. Because I live in community myself, and I’ve talked with many others who… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian “The results of this water test are enough to make the hair on the back of anyone’s neck stand up!” the scientist at the testing lab told my friend. Soon after she bought a home in a brand-new cohousing community, the weather turned cold. She and her neighbors turned on the… Read More
Cohousing is a hoot – it really is. When I walk onto the site after a hard day at work and chat with a couple of the 37 kids, or see cutie one-year-old August smiling in his mother’s arms, well, it makes my life worth living. When I walk into the common house an hour… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian If you’re looking for a forming cohousing community, learn to “read between the lines” in directory listings and websites. • I observed in my book Creating a Life Together that only about 10 percent of forming intentional community groups succeed, and about 90 percent fail. And while the statistics for cohousing… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian 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),… Read More
By Diana Leafe Christian On August 1st, Fostermamas: “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… Read More
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