Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Your Participation Policy

[Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

At Cornerstone in Cambridge, MA, we’ve had a very light touch since the 
beginning, operating under the premise:  No volunteers? = Not important!

But is it true that “everything gets done”?  For instance, in an urban 
community where every square foot is expensive, limited and precious, our 
workshop has turned into a junk dump.  Lacking a volunteer for stewardship, 
it’s now pretty much useless and unused.  The putative exercise room is only a 
tad better.

Maybe this is how we “vote", how we decide that a space is “unimportant”, 
without the formality of holding a meeting.  But the premise feels a bit 
Panglossian to me.  (Just one opinion among many …)

------------------
Thanks, RPD

Almost everything in life can be explained by momentum, inertia, or entropy.

On April 1, 2023 at 11:47:15 AM, David Heimann (heimann [at] theworld.com) 
wrote:

<<<<<<<<<<  

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

<<<<<<<<<<  

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  
Message-ID:  
<CADQ+R_K3eLFBqZhF8CRUJTYO4Z0hF90wCPPh2KsEM3TNdvEuGA [at] mail.gmail.com>  
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"  

>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*  

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