Raines Cohen lives in Berkeley Cohousing in Berkeley, CA. He gives an overview about why give community open houses. He says there are a couple reasons, when a community has homes for sale or rent, open houses provide a way to give prospective cohousers a chance to “kick the tires.” He suggests taking plenty of photos of the community and community gatherings for websites and social media. Another idea is to invite seekers to work with community members in the garden, maybe prepare a common meal but on a different night apart from the regular mealtime. A second reason for open houses is to get out the word about how cohousing is an important hedge against loneliness not only day-to-day, but in times of crisis.

Alan O’Hashi lives in Silver Sage Village cohousing in Boulder, CO. He’s a movie maker and provided some DIY guerrilla video production tips about how anyone can produce video tours of their common houses, grounds, and gather interviews from residents about their cohousing experiences. He also stresses the importance of writing a community story that is useful in attracting the people you want to your community if there are openings, or if a community is in the forming stages.

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