Share for the world.
The world is a big place, but with the dominant culture pushing for individual ownership of all things, the planet is running out of resources fast. Cohousing spreads the idea that sharing is not only “normal”, it feels great to do it. Habits of sharing spread from one movement to another including cohousing, community gardens, mini-libraries, permaculture, social justice and more.
Share for our cohousing community.
We adopt a culture of sharing and get used to borrowing and sharing. For us lending to a neighbor or asking to borrow a needed item is completely natural. It means we own less stuff, buy things less often and get more use of the things we own. We also pitch in together to buy things that are owned by everyone together, or maybe just a group that is interested. Living on the same property makes it easy to pass a shared item around so everyone can use it when they want to.
Share for me.
I love lending things to my neighbors. The big canner that takes up space in my closet gets much more use when others use it too, and sometimes they bring me a jar of their canning when they return it. Often we exchange information or tips about the item they are borrowing. Not only are we less wasteful, we’re learning from each other too. When I need something for a short term use, odds are someone has one they are happy to lend.