Caddis Collaborative has been privileged to design a number of cohousing communities across North America. As society begins to move out of COVID-19 restrictions, we reflect on how many of these communities have thrived during the pandemic. More than hunker-down survival mode, these communities looked actively to self-organize for neighborly care and connection. A case... Read More

Another yummy recipe from the archives! Cohousing has changed a lot over the years, but cooking for one another remains a joy, along with our love for good, wholesome food.  CohoUS Staff has recently uncovered a stash of cohousing recipes. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we do.  To add to this treasure... Read More

The concept of self defense is embedded in our legal system, tucked into our expectations and folded, perhaps unexamined, into our values. Self defense is the idea that when our intention is to protect self or others, we are absolved from responsibility when our impact is harm.  If someone is killed, it is self defense... Read More

Many communities wonder about protecting community members, especially children from sex offenders. While some members feel strongly that background checks should be used, others object to relying on the criminal justice system (which many view as racist and unfair) as a source of information.  Read on for a detailed explanation of what a background check... Read More

This question was posted recently to the cohousing listserv.  As usual there were many great responses. A couple of those seemed useful, so we have gathered them here.   Raines Cohen offered is take on concepts around the deeper “why” of a Common House: Because through sharing space and resources and time together, we can live... Read More

Trust through Conflict Trust comes in many forms and layers. Some trust is about believing someone will do the thing they said they would do. Sometimes trust is about believing they will behave toward me in a certain way – perhaps with kindness or generosity. Sometimes we event find stability in trusting that a person... Read More

Trust Through Crisis Everyone’s least favorite way to build trust in a group is a shared experience of crisis, which doesn’t stop it from being highly effective.  The classic case is surviving a natural disaster together. Total strangers grab on to each other in a storm, survive the night, and by morning are friends for... Read More

Intentional Trust While building trust through everyday habits is effective, it takes time. Many communities want ways to build trust faster. I don’t believe anything can replace the small stuff, but I do think you can accelerate the process with intentional practices designed for trust building.  These intentional practices range from full weekend retreats to... Read More

How do we build trust?  It’s a common question, both from communities experiencing a lack of trust (which often appears as conflict) and from forming communities wishing to foster trust.  I often tell my client communities that trust (and mis-trust) is built in 1000 small moments and a couple of big ones. Or to say... Read More