Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: shared work agreements in cohousing communities

[Saoirse (ccharis]

On 5/20/04 12:35 AM, "Tree Bressen" <tree [at] ic.org> wrote:

> As long as all the important work gets covered and everyone is content, we
> do not worry about differences in contribution level.

Aye, there's the rub. If one person is doing an average of 20 hours (per
month) and another is doing less than 1 hour (per month), that's a
circumstance that could lead to worry and discontent.
 
> Somehow the main stuff we need gets done.  Sometimes things do fall through
> the cracks (read: get done more slowly than i personally would prefer, or
> don't get done even though i wish someone would do it), but that's life no
> matter what system you set up.

It is a real-life reality. If the comm'ty understands this and agrees to it,
no problem. What happens is that some things that fall through the cracks
are of primary importance to some people and very little importance to
others. A difference in values. One person says we have to repair the cracks
in the stucco. Another person says we have to produce a professional-style
newsletter to build understanding of one another.

> Recently i committed to limiting my hours of community work to less than 10
> per week.  I'd say our average here is about 8 hours/week, and the lowest
> contributor probably does about 5.  (I live in a 9-person urban group house
> where we share 5 dinners per week, it's not cohousing.)  Previously i'd
> been doing more like 15 hours/week, and i got burned out.  My
> community-mates have been supportive of my new commitment.  The one thing
> they insisted on is that i continue to attend our weekly house meetings,
> which for me as a process junkie was a great affirmation that i am living
> in the right place!

What is absolutely stunning in this example is the amount of time the
"lowest" contributor put in -- 5 hours per week!! We struggled to come up
with a "minimum" of 4 hours per month. The range in our community is quite
broad (from about 55-60 hours per month from the garden guy to an hour or
two every other month from our high-finance entrepreneur). In the past year,
we have agreed to "pay in lieu of work" for those who prefer this option.
It's really been a difficult and sometimes hurtful discussion.


Saoirse

-- 
Harmony Village Cohousing
Golden, Colorado
http://www.harmonyvillage.org