Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Voluntary Community Participation?

[Kathleen Lowry (kathleenlowrylpcclmft]

Sharon, Thank you so much for all your notes on this topic! REALLY thorough and 
helpful. Kathleen

> On Jan 11, 2023, at 1:42 PM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> 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
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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