Cohousing-L Mailing List: Oaxaca Communities

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Mark Harfenist <markharf [at] yahoo.com>
is the author of the message below.  It was posted by
Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
after deleting large quoted portion of a digest.
--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------

David Hornick <dhornick [at] nycap.rr.com> wrote:
>
[snip]

> I'd be happy to discuss this project via email, telephone
> or Skype.  Please
> contact me first by email to arrange a telephone or Skype
> conference.
>
> Contact info:
>
> David N. Hornick, M.D., M.P.H.
>
>

David, I'm interested in hearing more about your project(s).  In
particular, I'm curious whether prospective residents are at any point to
be welcomed to participate in the decision-making process. As I read the
information on your website, quite a number of planning decisions are
already made, and more are to be made by you during the coming months and
years.  You will then be selling completed homes in "communities" which
are to be built in phases.

FWIW, I noted in passing a number of ways in which your statements here
and those made on your behalf on your website do not exactly align.
Probably, material on the website has not been updated as the project
moves forward. You may wish to have a look at this.

I will also say I was disturbed to read the following (begin paste):

"...self-sufficiency has its limits, and to some extent dependence on the
broader Oaxacan community will be a key element. Hornick plans to develop
relationships with residents of nearby towns and villages who are
interested in employment as housekeepers, gardeners and personal care
aides." (end paste)

This does not sound like the sort of community embeddedness to which
cohousing communities normally aspire, and I wonder whether there plans to
engage in other ways with the larger community.

Lastly, I wonder whether an on-site visit would be welcome.  I'll be in
that area during the fall, and it's not clear whether you (or your
representatives) are interested in receiving guests or trying to satisfy
their borderline-insatiable curiosities.

Looking forward to hearing more.  Thanks.

Mark Harfenist
Bellingham Cohousing
Bellingham, WA