Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: feedback on participation policy

[Fred-List manager (fholson]

Helen Spector <helen94611 [at] gmail.com>
Re: feedback on participation policy
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by
Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
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--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------
At Trillium Hollow, we have come to clarity that we have 2 main values
guiding our participation policy:  1) to build relationships within
the community by doing work together, and 2) to get work done by our
own efforts and keep our repair and maintenance costs as low as we can
and still have the work done well.

We have had at least 4 versions of our policy over the 20+ years of
the community, and have found that the in order to manage the polarity
between these two values, we need to revisit, review and revise our
policy/agreement every few years.  As people come and go, the energy
from new folks entering the community shifts the gestalt for work
share.  And so we have come to recognize that this will always be a
work in process, and it helps us to talk about it with less storm und
drang when we know that each new version is the next stage of a social
experiment we have embarked upon together.

There is a Roundtable on Pay or Play at the National Conference where
you can hear a broad range of perspectives and experiences on this
topic.   Hope to see you there.

Helen Spector