Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Your Participation Policy

[David Heimann (heimann]

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Somehow everything gets done - although some people put in a lot more 
time than others.*

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Hello All,

	During our (JP Cohousing) early years we had assigned work 
tasks, fairness as a goal in doing the work, and strict accountability. 
After a couple of years of this, many complaints arose about bureaucracy 
and "cohousing police".  At a key General Meeting we faced the choice of 
having fairness and accountability or having a light touch with 
unfairness accepted and some work not getting done if no one stepped 
forward to do it and it wasn't essential.  We chose the latter, and it's 
worked out since (YMMV).

Regards,
David Heimann
Jamaica Plain Cohousing


Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:52:37 -0700
From: Sharon Miller <slmiller.325 [at] gmail.com>
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Your Participation Policy
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> From Sharingwood in Snohomish County, WA:
1. What you do when someone is longer able to participate in the
physical tasks of maintaining your building and grounds. *People who aren't
able to do physical work volunteer instead for other tasks: giving tours of
the community; updating the telephone list; adding up the IOU book for the
pantry, serving on the Community Health Team, etc. My sense is that those
who have lived here for a long time always find a way to contribute.
People also build up social capital over time and I think everyone is happy
to give a 'pass' to those unable to work. *
2.      What you do when someone refuses to take part in getting the
community work done. *This is a problem with only a few people or
households. At one time there was discussion of whether someone could pay
someone else to do their tasks. This idea died quickly! I'm in charge of
team signups this year and after three reminders to sign up, I've dropped
it - as it's easy for someone to sign up and then just simply never do
their assigned task. Better to have willing workers who show up than
unwilling people who never complete their task. *
3.      What are your requirements for participation . *Each person is
supposed to sign up for two teams (although board members and team
coordinators are required to sign up for only one team). Teams vary in
terms of work load. The garden team (of which I'm the coordinator) requires
three hours minimum of work from April-Sept. I would say in general, it's
2-3 hrs a month. The community has three work parties during the year and
it's all hands on deck at that time. Somehow everything gets done -
although some people put in a lot more time than others.*

*Hope this helps!*
*Sharon Miller*
*Sharingwood*