Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Process cards

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> When my wife attended our first meeting of Portlandia Cohousing in the fall
> of '95, we were amazed and intrigued by the color process cards ....  we felt
> a bit awkward using the cards for
> the first few meetings, but with the help of the text on each card soon
> caught on.  In the long course of our development since, we all have come to
> rely heavily on the cards -- coudn't imagine trying to run a large group
> meeting without them.

I found the cards awkward to use because I was used to parliamentary
procedure -- you state you objections instead of raising a card. And that
group was too small to really need them.

Essentially they are a color coded set of cards -- the ones I used were
sealed in plastic and on a metal key chain -- that allow you to raise a card
to signal the leader that you have a process question, a request for
information, an objection, etc. I've forgotten all the categories but I
finally got the cards connected to the system I knew and could see why many
like them. You can use them without being put off by negative remembrances
of parliamentary procedure and the meaning of each one was printed on it.

> About three years ago, at a particularly tumultuous time in our development,
> we invented a sixth card -- the "purple card" -- that took priority in
> recognition over all others. The text on it says, " I have an emotional
> response to the topic that I need to share." After the purpled one has had
> her/his say, someone in the group volunteers to paraphrase, and works at it
> until it is acceptable to the card user.

I like this addition very much. It is to easy to begin to believe that
emotional reactions are "out of place" in membership meetings.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org


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