Tag: Work


An Inclusive Culture of Support

Submitted by Sharon Villines, Takoma Village Cohousing on
Rather than teams focusing on support for aging in place, I think it would be better to have a team focused on (1) what all community members need and (2) extending our notions about the abilities of all individuals to support others. Just because people are aging doesn’t mean they have more needs than anyone... Read More

Laird’s Blog – Stop Spinning Your (Roulette) Wheels When Making Personnel Decisions

Submitted by Laird's Blog http://communityandconsensus.blogspot.com/ on
Overwhelmingly, intentional communities can think up governance structures faster than they can staff them. It’s a problem. In my experience, communities generally do a fair job of puzzling out a decent way to set up committees (or teams) to oversee the major aspects of living together—for example, outdoor maintenance, common house management, common meals, budget... Read More

Consensus or Sociocracy?

Submitted by Sharon Villines, Sociocracy.info on
Question: We are 3 months into starting a co-housing community in western MA. We will soon be discussing how we will make group decisions. I don’t think we have to reinvent the wheel on this one. Consensus and sociocracy seem to be common strategies. Which do you recommend? Sociocracy and consensus are not opposite things.... Read More

Mistakes New Cohousing Groups Make

Submitted by Sharon Villines on
A list of the 6 mistakes that groups have made that contributed to their downfall or cost them significant financial loses and/or membership problems. Not a scientific study but reflects 20 years of reading Cohousing-L. 1. NOT READING COHOUSING-L. Cohousing-L will give you access to hundreds of successful cohousers who are more than willing to... Read More