Cohousing-L Mailing List: re: Trust

[robyn (MANDERSE]

  While Ron Sandlin's (I hope I got that right I don't have your post in front
 of me) comments here on trust and community resonate well with me - I still
 see a need for some sort of tracking system in regards to work (sweat
 equity) contributions.  I know that even within my own (communal, loving,
 trusting) household we use a tracking system on chores and 'work around
 the house contributions'.  We never have any punishments for not doing your
 part (and its just a, write down the number of hours you do each
 time you do something - and what it was, system) and there is allot of trust
 involved, in that no one looks over you sholder to make sure you don't
 inflate your hours, but we do it. We do it even though we trust each other
 to take care of each of us.  The reason we do it is to maintain our awareness
 of what we are doing and our individual contributions and those of each other.
 It's easy to see what you do, and to inflate (even to oneself) the size and
 importance of your own contributions.  Conversely, it's easy to fail to see
 what other people do.  Especially if what they do it's something big and
 colorful and done with everybody around (cleaning up after a project later,
 or preparing for a project ahead by running errends, buying suplies etc. ...)
 We consider it an awareness excersize to do the tracking sheets, sometimes
 discuss them - and then we throw them away after a while.  The process seems
 to help us better apreciate the work others have done, and writing down
 what you did makes you (or at least me) very aware of the quality of the work
 I do and the fact that others will know I'm the preson who did this or that.
 If I do a good job they'll know that, and conversly if I do a poor job
 they'll know that too.
            Trust is great, but traking things can be
                    helpfull for more than just enforcement.

 - just my 2 cents worth. robyn