Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Standing exclusive-group dinners vs standing community-group dinners

[Bryan Bowen (bryan]

We're beginning to experiment with a club approach at Wild Sage. 

Accepting that we're working with imperfection, we're working to see how
strong we can make the system.  We've had a core group of cooks/cleaners for
a while, and that core group is adding an additional layer of meals that are
focused on their preferences, whatever they might be.  There is an
expectation that the regular meal system will continue, but at a lesser
frequency than the core group want.  In some ways, we're just recognizing
what's been happening for a while now, and addressing it through
modifications to the program/expectations.  

We're also hoping that the club approach will help us overcome some of our
recurring issues:  kids eating earlier, commuters eating later, dietary
preferences (rarely an issue for us), more gourmet meals, quiet meals, or
themed meals.  

-b  

bryan bowen architects, p.c.
1510 ZAMIA AVENUE #103   -  BOULDER, CO  80304  -   (303)443-3629
www.bryanbowenarchitects.com


-----Original Message-----
From: cohousing-l-bounces+bryan=bryanbowenarchitects.com [at] cohousing.org
[mailto:cohousing-l-bounces+bryan=bryanbowenarchitects.com [at] cohousing.org] 
On
Behalf Of Oz
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2012 2:08 PM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Standing exclusive-group dinners vs standing
community-group dinners


I've seen this model used in several cohousing communities... in a couple
of cases, the community decreased the number of common meals/week (like
from 3 to 2/wk) - and some people really didn't want to decrease the number
and decided to just took care of their own needs without making it into a
big deal for the whole community.

I've also heard about "private" shared meals with a particular focus, such
as vegan, meat-eaters, gourmet, and quiet (no kids). The only one Songaia
has tried is a Quiet meal - irregular, but once or twice a month. Usually,
these have been done just by the adults participating filling plates at the
common house, then taking them to somebody's home. One nice thing about our
"Quiet Meals" is that it attracts some people who have stopped eating
shared meals in our common house because of the ambiance, i.e. the general
exuberance of youth.

Oz

On Sat, Feb 11, 2012 at 3:01 PM, <OldSol [at] aol.com> wrote:

>
> For what it's worth, a few years ago some of our members had a vegan
supper
>  club in which the meal was prepared and served in a private house to the
> limited  number of members.  The event was rotated so that each member had
> an
>  opportunity to be host & cook.  It seemed to be successful but, for  some
> reason, was discontinued.
>
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