Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: virtual cohousing/community building?

[Rob Sandelin (Floriferous]

It is easy to build community around you, what it takes it time and some 
effort. First step, throw a neighborhood pancake breakfast and personally go 
door to door to invite everyone, maybe draw up a little flier that says 
something like, come meet the people in our neighborhood. Its helpful to have 
name tags. Then one thing to do after people arrive and are milling about it 
to ask people their name, which house is theirs, and how long they lived 
there. 

Then do it again, a month later only call it a block watch party. Get people 
to come and talk about security issues, kid safety, etc. and how to watch out 
for each other.

Then hold another one a month later and call it something like neighborhood 
shares. At this gathering organize people who have similiar interests and 
stuff they could share. Brainstorm up a share and resource list that everyone 
who attends gets a copy of. The list is simple like this: Johnsons: willing to 
share lawn mower and carpool, need babysitting every once and awhile.  Smith: 
(elderly) needs help painting her house next summer, and chores.  

Things will take off from there.

Rob Sandelin
NICA
----------
From:   cohousing-l [at] freedom.mtn.org on behalf of Miles R. Fidelman
Sent:   Monday, January 05, 1998 1:42 PM
Subject:        virtual cohousing/community building?

Hi Folks,

I've been thinking about cohousing for a while, but am not quite in a
position to get involved yet.  Also, after having several friends go
through the process with varying degrees of success (or lack thereof),
I've been left wondering if there are other ways to build community
short
of a full cohousing development.

In particular, I live in Charlestown, MA, which has roughly 14,000
people
(5000 households) in about 1.5 square miles.  I've begun to wonder if,
out
of all these folks who are within walking distance:

- there are 20 or so households that might, under other circumstances,
be
an ideal group for a cohousing project

- if so, how do we find each other?

- if so, are there things we could do that bring many of the benefits of

cohousing without having to develop a whole new community - ranging from

getting together regularly for meals, to renting/buying/building a
common
facility akin to the common areas of a cohousing development (I'd love
to
have a place to drop into within walking distance - for meal sharing,
conversation, whatever)

Has anybody else thought about or tried anything like this?  Have any
cohousing umbrella groups had something like this emerge?  Is there
anybody in this area who'd like to try something like this?

Miles Fidelman