Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How did the cohousing weekend in Conway, NH go?

[Craig Ragland (craigragland]

I was fortunate to be able to attend and am really glad I did. It was great
to connect with some of you who actively post to Coho-L in person...
something I always enjoy as I "get out."

There were about 40 people at the event (assuming the peak count was on
Saturday). The program was well-designed and featured
presenters/facilitators who were both well-prepared and quite knowledgeable.
I didn't do an actual count, but about half the people already lived in
cohousing and about half are members of forming groups (or were hoping to
start one).

There was a real good energy - a "buzz" as people re-energized or more
excited about Cohousing - to this end, I witnessed and participated in
several casual exchanges over meals, during breaks, and late into the night.
There was a lot of education happening, with great information exchanged.
The energy was quite positive. I believe that some of this will have major
impact on people's dreams and plans, as well as those who currently live in
Cohousing.

I shared about the Cohousing Association's work. In this context, the two
topics most discussed were

(1) the 2011 National Cohousing Conference in Washington, DC (some people
who attended hope to present and I hope will get involved in its leadership)

(2) formation of a New England Cohosuing group to facilitate this type of
regional exchanges. The established regional cohousing groups that I'm aware
of are (a) Mid-Atlantic Cohousing, (b) East Bay Cohousing, and the (c)
Northwest Intentional Community Association - which has a broader scope with
active participation by cohousers. We also talked about the Coho/US Bus
Tours, especially the Massachusetts tours led by Laura Fitch, who was
actively present, as well as a core presenter.

Norma Wassel, who organized the event, did a great job with overall
facilitation and planning. The program took advantage good of the larger
offerings of the World Fellowship Center, which provided food, housing, the
grounds, and a variety of recreational and educational programs. The
cohousing program was one of these programs, so some of the people attracted
to the center for other reasons also attended some parts of the cohousing
weekend - I really liked how this worked and will be recommending to the
Coho/US board that we actively explore how Cohousing content is added to
larger events presented by other organizations. Norma is on the World
Fellowship Center board of the directors and was really able to take
advantage of its strong program.

Finally, the location was absolutely stunning; the White Mountains of New
Hampshire. This was the first time I'd been to New England, which helped me
understand the beauty of that part of the country.

Craig Ragland
Executive Director
Cohousing Association of the United States (Coho/US)
http://www.cohousing.org
craig [at] cohousing.org

Please consider attending the National Cohousing Conference. Click here:
http://www.cohousing.org/conference


On Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 5:08 PM, Bob Morrison <RHmorrison [at] aol.com> wrote:

>
>  Is there anyone on the list who attended it and would like to report on
> it? I considered going, but didn't.
>
>
>
> Bob Morrison
>
> Berlin, MA
>
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