Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE:[C-L]_Supporting forming communities & national policies/structures

[braford (braford]

Maggie & Tom,

Yes, several members of the Board of the Cohousing Association of the US,
which we call Coho/US for short, are on this list and are listening.  I'm
the new board president, so I'm jumping right in on this great thread.  Tom,
you've raised some very cool ideas that are closely aligned to our thinking.
We're looking for more ways to get more information into the hands of all of
us in the forming stages, at reasonable cost.

Just this weekend we had a rare live board meeting where we came up with a
whole new approach to how to promote the development of cohousing.  We'll be
sharing more about that in the next week and in weeks to come.  In a
nutshell, though, we will make it very easy for everyone involved in
cohousing to be members of Coho/US and we'll be inviting everyone to
participate in creating ways to make cohousing available, even in the
'wastelands'.  Among other things, we're planning to build our website,
www.cohousing.org, and other systems to be key sources of information and
use them to connect people and resources.

Thanks, Tom, for throwing out the first ball, even if you didn't know a new
game was about to begin!  (Rick will be contacting you and Joel about the
regional seminar idea.)

Carol Braford
Coho/US Board
Culver Way Cohousing
St. Louis, MO
314-534-4780


Date: Wed, 05 Nov 2003 08:26:37 -0700
From: Maggie Dutton <mdutton [at] shaw.ca>
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
Subject: [C-L]_C-L]_Supporting forming communities & national
policies/structures
Reply-To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org


Tom Hammer wrote
>Here in the middle of the East Coast is a vast
>wasteland of no cohousing.  We're just an example of
>one of many such areas in the country
We are also in a wasteland for no cohousing.  There is only one project
completed in the province of Alberta and it is about a 9-hour drive away.

>Wouldn't it make more sense if money and effort flowed
>the other direction, from formed communities into
>specific areas of the country with no cohousing?
I agree with this.

>--Using the model of union organizing, could there be
>paid organizers whose jobs it would be to travel the
>country and help groups?
Sign me up for one of those jobs when/if the time comes.

>--Could be mass produced signs like the ones you see
>all over for "work at home" "At last, affordable
>health care", that say "Cohousing:  building a village
>in a new way" or somesuch, the national website
>address, and the phone no. of a local forming
>community below that?
We have a bumper sticker that says "Cohousing, the old fashioned community
of the future" but that is all it says.  I like the idea of having more
information on a bumper sticker and am going to look into getting some made.

>--Is spreading cohousing part of the vision statement
>of your community?  Could it be?
We are an umbrella group and have only forming groups but our mission is to
promote the concept of cohousing in general.  We have applied for seed money
from several Funders who support non-profit organizations who do community
development and are waiting to hear back.  Including a big % of affordable
units qualifies a project for assistance and that is the route we are
taking.
>I represent hundreds if not thousands of other people, we'd
>appreciate some discussion along these lines and some
>help.  I'd like to challenge the creative and
>intelligent folks I keep reading notes from on this
>list to "think big" about some of these issues and to
>take on the formation of spreading of cohousing as one
>of the missions of your community or your life.
Tom, you do represent how we feel about discussing this and seeing how we
can both support this initiative and get some help too.  It seems to me that
first there needs to be a "training program" that produces more people who
would be qualified to assist forming groups.  What could we do next to move
this along?  Does the National have any plans?  Is anyone from the National
org reading the list?  I do hope others on the list get involved too and
respond to this thread so we have an indication of support for this
initiative.
Thanks Tom for posing your questions.
Warmest regards,
Maggie Dutton,
Project Leader,
H.O.M.E.S.
Housing Ourselves Made Easy Society
"creating a better way to live, one neighbourhood at a time"
in Fort McMurray, AB. Canada.
http://www.thehomesproject.shawbiz.ca/







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