Cohousing-L Mailing List: Building a social culture by using the common facilities

[Jessie Kome (jehako]

Hi again-

There are a few people in our community (Eastern Village Cohousing)  
who are on a quest to figure out how to increase community  
interaction, mostly through trying to increase use of the common  
house.  We don't have the physical problems mentioned here - the CH  
temperature is constant and comfortable, the acoustics are a little  
loud but not impossible, and we are required to keep at least some  
light on everywhere all the time (most of the commonhouse is below  
grade on the back wall).   Our commonhouse gets decent usage for  
events, but not a lot of casual use, except by the kids.  I think the  
biggest issue for us was also identified in an earlier message -  
people have comfortable homes and tend to stay in them.

To overcome that inertia barrier, EVC has started building up a some  
patterns of activities built on uses that were occurring  
sporadically.  For example, we are now offering a regular selection of  
social activities on Wednesday nights.  I don't remember the whole  
cycle, but there is a craft night, a book and culture guild night, a  
games night.  They cycle around so there is almost always something on  
Wednesday that everyone is welcome to join in.  This effort has been  
going on in a variety of forms for 2 or 3 years.

The group is also experimenting with more kinds of one-time events,  
which are fun on their own, but could also evolve into a series.  For  
example, we just had a soup swap night.  Everyone who came brought 5  
quarts of soup, one to sample and four to swap.  We had a taste-off  
and the winner got a soup ladle (I came in second with vegetarian  
Pho ;>)).  The organizer got the idea from Family Circle or Redbook!   
It was great fun and I think it might have legs as a series.

Communications has also improved.  The monthly calendar of events is  
available in more places, real world and electronic, meeting  
announcements and written.  And the written manifestations have a  
cleaner, at-a-glance design.

There has also been an informal but persistent effort to find out what  
members want to do and why they don't participate.  I think I have  
been asked five or six times in the past 6 months what events I  
especially liked and did I have any ideas for future social events.

And, of course, the Common Grounds Cafe @ EVC is one of the latest  
additions.  Daniel, the champion of that effort, says he will try to  
post some pictures to show how easy it is to set up.  He also says we  
have taken in about $30 in the first few days of operation.  (We have  
56 households in EVC and 11 live/work condos in the adjacent  
commercial wing.)

I think experimentation, variety, communications, and persistence seem  
to be key to luring folks out.

-Jessie Handforth Kome
Eastern Village Cohousing
Silver Spring, Maryland
"Where we've got a crop of new babies with another one imminent. . ."