“Let’s vote on it, and if that’s what the group wants to do, I’ll sign off”.  Everything inside me screamed NO, this is so NOT how we stay in community with each other! This is plain wrong. If we take a vote, then we have winners and losers. And one potential loser now has declared... Read More

Strong facilitation makes for effective and efficient meetings. One ticky part is the balance between the need for strong leadership and the need to be an equal member of the community. This is where contracting comes into play. A facilitator needs a clear agreement with the community about their roles in the meeting and what... Read More

Yana Ludwig’s second WebChat was another great success. This time she tackled the topic of Cooperative Culture, giving us 6 of her 10 strategies for being effective in cooperative governance. Yana begins with an introduction to the extremes of the cooperative spectrum and the dangers of overcompensating. Then she guides us toward balance in the... Read More

What a great conversation to start off 2019. Ronnie Rosenbaum gave a clear and thoughtful presentation on communication in cohousing with so many tangible ideas to start using right away. Watch the full WebChat at this link: https://youtu.be/qVSvPCcHCMI Ronnie spoke on two primary points: 1. Individual Communication Skills – goal is connection – focus on... Read More

There are a lot of good reasons to hire professional help in cohousing. From areas of focused study like architecture and relationship skills, to the wisdom gained through experience working with many cohousing communities, there is much knowledge a consultant can share that would come at a much higher cost through trial and error. It... Read More

In our most recent WebChat, Alan O’Hashi shared techniques for facilitation in consensus cohousing groups. His approach is to shift from the transactional methods common in the greater culture, to methods focused on transformation. Watch the video at this link: https://youtu.be/ZQnz8X_7DME Alan gives detailed explanations and interesting stories that demonstrate four major strategies for fac

Ted Rau Sociocracy for All Making Meetings Shorter Much appreciation to Ted Rau for presenting WebChat #5 earlier this month. We had a great audience who were drawn by Ted’s enticing topic “Keeping Meeting Shorter. After reminding us that meeting are about connection and that long meetings can breed resentment and lower participation, Ted offered... Read More

Thanks to Yana Ludwig for an excellent WebChat introduction to consensus. You can read a short summary below and see the full session at this link: https://youtu.be/Uvbia2QJjEk Yana gave us a brief introduction to consensus and reminded us that this is just a beginning. Becoming skilled in consensus is a journey over years. As a... Read More

The Cohousing Association of the US was delighted to welcome longtime process professional, Laird Schaub for a WebChat on working with emotions. An audience of about 80 people including groups gathered in common houses to watch together. Laird started the evening with an explanation about why you would want to have a plan and practiced... Read More