Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Sweat Equity Inquiry

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

Sweat equity has come up a fair amount on the list in the past. To summarize:

1. If you create and post some sort of tracking board which lists tasks 
and who is doing them it makes it easier for everyone to see who is 
doing what.  Becoming aware of who is doing what is very helpful.

2. The physically challenged are often left out of tasks and that can 
be demoralizing.  There are lots of support related and other tasks 
which need doing which can be done by folks who can't do heavy labor.  
These need to be recognized too.

3.  Assigning someone as a task master, who checks on tasks, ensures 
their completion and gently reminds folks can help keep task progress 
moving forward.

4. There is variation in expectations and participation requirements 
from group to group.  Some groups have a strict everyone contributes x 
hours of time system, others use a sliding scale, allowing payment or 
trading of tasks, others rely on the honor system and accept that some 
people put in more energy, at certain times, than others do and that it 
balances out in the end.


One other idea for forming groups is to create a survey (like the one 
in the getting started guide) which asks potential members how much 
time they can commit.  This way you can figure out who has more time 
than money and who has more money than time.