Cohousing-L Mailing List: Why Co-Housing

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Elizabeth Cobb <lizacobb [at] earthlink.net>
is the author of the message below. 
It was posted by Fred the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org> 
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 >>Mac said:
I don't know whether cohousing will ever become mainstream (whatever 
that is), but I'd sure like to see it become MUCH more available. I 
worked to help create a cohousing neighborhood because I wanted 
community for my family *AND* I felt that the cooperation and community 
found in cohousing neighborhoods are sorely lacking in America. I have 
no doubt that cohousing is a big step in the right direction. I want 
more of it in our culture. I like that cohousing has no ideology other 
than an intension to live in greater harmony with our neighbors. IMHO, 
discouraging non-liberals who seek community from joining cohousing 
unnecessarily stifles the growth of cohousing and the richness of 
diversity found therein. I hope that when my children are looking to buy 
homes in 30 years, they'll find existing cohousing opportunities almost 
anywhere they may want to live. - Mac (who would never consider myself a 
liberal, nor a conservative for that matter) <<

When Mac was naming above what cohousing gives us that is otherwise 
lacking, he helped me put into words what it is about cohousing that has 
inspired me so.Very new to the idea, I like the idea of community, green 
architecture, and sustainable living, but there's another thing that 
really, really excites me:  consensus.  I'm not sure that the U.S. 
system can be fixed, but I am totally convinced that for the world to 
survive, we are in desperate need of a new paradigm.  Hierarchy has got 
to be replaced with something else.  That something else is flat, or 
circular, or linear:  King Arthur's knights sat at a round table so that 
no one would be the head, and no one would be the foot; Riane Eisler 
coined (if I remember correctly) a new word -- matrilinear -- not that I 
would insist on the 'matri' part.  Co-community gives us a model.  It's 
small, because we have learned that bigger is not better -- it's just 
harder to manage.  And it sounds like, although again, I've only had 
co-community in my vocabulary since November, most cohousing communities 
operate around the principle of consensus.

With every new cohousing community, more people become acquainted with a 
non-hierarchical structure, gain practice in consensus-reaching, and 
have direct evidence that other forms of (micro) government work.  That 
is what excites me most of all about the potential inherent in co-community.

Now for the qualifier -- I realize that my political ideas are possibly 
farther left -- if indeed they haven't fallen off the edge -- than many 
folks'.  The beauty of co-community is that we don't all have to 
think/believe/act alike.  It's enough eommonality to believe in 
community, sustainability, green architecture, and consensus, and yes, 
I'm aware that I've already defined more limitations than have to be in 
cohousing.  It might ultimately be harder, therefore, for me to find a 
niche to fit into, or to find enough similarly-minded people to start up 
a new co-community.  And that's okay.  Let the adventure begin!

Anyway,  that's my nickel's worth.

Cheers, Liza

To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not 
only plan but also believe.       - Anatole France


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