Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 264, Issue 14

[lewbowers155 (lewbowers155]

My name is Lew Bowers; I am on the "Seniors in Cohousing" Committee of Coho
US and live in PDX Commons in Portland. I am interested in collecting formal
techniques/processes/events that communities have used explicitly to deepen
the relationships between members. I recognize that almost all the structure
and processes of cohousing have a goal of deepening relationships to some
degree, but most of those - such as common meals, shared work projects,
consensus decision-making, architectural design - have other goals as well,
i.e. eating a meal, getting the work done, making a decision, building a
community. Also, the impromptu discussions when you run into someone in the
common house and the informal gatherings can serve this function. I am
interested in the more formal techniques/events/processes which are
explicitly designed with the focus being to deepen relationships.
In our community,  we hold listening circles, where a group of members get
together to share their thoughts on a particular topic; and conversation
cafes, where a small random group get together over dessert and respond to
prompt cards to share their unique perspectives. We also have recently
started "Storytelling Evenings" where several members share true stories
about their lives with the community. The goal of all of these is explicitly
to deepen our connections and to have fun of course.
What does your community do to deepen relationships? For instance, if you
use prompt cards, what cards have you found most useful? What other events
has your community successfully used? 
After I have collected different examples, I will write an article for the
Coho US newsletter on the topic and offer a virtual workshop to share what I
have learned.
Engendering deeper personal connection between members is one of the most
important benefits of living in community. Let's learn how to do it better
and more explicitly.
You can either respond to this list , or you can send me an email at:
lewbowers155 [at] gmail.com.
Thank for your help to further cohousing.


-----Original Message-----
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Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2026 3:16 AM
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Subject: Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 264, Issue 14

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Today's Topics:

   1. Kitchen Inventory Inquiry (Ann Lehman)
   2. Re: Kitchen Inventory? (Ann Lehman)


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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:17:13 -0800
From: Ann Lehman <ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com>
To: Cohousing-L <Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org>
Cc: Laura Nelson <nelsonalpert [at] gmail.com>
Subject: [C-L]_ Kitchen Inventory Inquiry
Message-ID:
        <CAEJbfBRRyNewMmLxPNfG6MisSLdrONdikHix_Jn7QM6HikjQYw [at] 
mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Berkeley Moshav is just under a year from completion.  Folks setting up our
kitchen asked, "Do you keep an inventory of the items (not of food but pots,
dishes, spatulas, plates, etc.) that are in your communal kitchen. If so,
can you share it with us?

Please be sure to respond to Laura Nelson, cc'd.


*Ann Lehman*
*ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com <ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com>**510.755.5701 *

*S*



*ubscribe for Free ENews, ZimNotesserving nonprofits for 30-plus
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<http://zimnotes.org/>*



*@zimnotes.bsky.social*


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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:28:49 -0800
From: Ann Lehman <ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com>
To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Cc: Laura Nelson <lauranelsonlcsw [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Kitchen Inventory?
Message-ID:
        <CAEJbfBTOZwSP3Oi+Q+jtNHuNOB0dmqerFggH6eqojBfMXUy6og [at] 
mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

Berkeley Moshav is just under a year from completion.  Folks setting up our
kitchen asked, "Do you keep an inventory of the items (not of food but pots,
dishes, spatulas, plates, etc.) that are in your communal kitchen. If so,
can you share it with us?

Please be sure to respond to Laura Nelson, cc'd.




*Ann Lehman*
*ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com <ann [at] zimmerman-lehman.com>**510.755.5701 *

*S*



*ubscribe for Free ENews, ZimNotesserving nonprofits for 30-plus
yearsannlehman.substack.com/subscribe
<https://annlehman.substack.com/subscribe>zimnotes.org/
<http://zimnotes.org/>*



*@zimnotes.bsky.social*


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End of Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 264, Issue 14
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