Cohousing-L Mailing List: Voluntary Community Participation?

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

Last year I did a presentation at the CohoUS Conference on cohousing over time. 
I talked about how my opinions and feelings had changed over 22 years of living 
in cohousing. Workshare was my #1 concern when I moved in and I designed and 
implemented every scheme I could think of to produce a fair distribution of 
work. I even objected to the use of the word “volunteers” when asking people to 
take on a job, as in “We need volunteers to set up chairs for Sunday’s 
meeting,” because members had signed on to share the work. Everyone was 
obligated. Calling residents “volunteers" made tasks seem optional. But on the 
other hand, I didn’t like being “assigned” work any more than anyone else.

Over time, based on my experience and watching the work of others and how it 
contributed to the community, I formed an entirely different opinion. The two 
main changes were (1) recognizing that talking about work in terms of hours per 
month was self-defeating and the wrong attitude and (2) understanding that we 
needed creative people to take responsibility for ongoing tasks. Not to spend 
four half-hour periods a month watering plants in the common house but to take 
responsibility for them. Becoming our plant person for indoor plants. Watering, 
feeding, pruning, dusting, alternating, and making choices based on aesthetics 
and optimum lighting. To become an expert at a minimum or maximum level as the 
person desires. Forming a partnership with 1-2 other people to trade off tasks 
and share expertise. 

Sometimes we do need an hour or a workday in which people just show up and do 
what’s on the list, but more importantly, we need to encourage people to take 
charge and master the skills required. To describe the work of building a 
community in terms of 4 hours a month or 6 hours a month doesn’t come close to 
conveying the kind of work that creates a neighborhood or a home.

After the workshop, I wrote out notes on the Zoom presentation and answers to 
questions that people raised that I didn’t have time to address in the 
workshop. The document was supposed to be posted with the conference video but 
we were suddenly in the middle of Karen and Karin leaving and the files 
vaporized. 

I posted them in my blog on Strong Neighborhoods at:

https://www.strongneighborhoods.info/changing-feelings-about-workshare/

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org