Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing in Seattle: Duwamish Cohousing

[Oz (oz]

Over the past 5 years or so, Duwamish Cohousing has joined several other
cohousing communities around the country in hosting various Cohousing and
Intentional Communities events

Today, I'll be attending this $10 Communities event at Duwamish:

http://www.nwcommunities.org/nica-spring-gathering-getting-better-results-from-meetings-sat-april-14/


(Kind of late notice, but I just didn't think about posting it to Coho-L.
Funny how a change in job can also change your focus...)

Oz
ozragland.com

On Thu, Apr 12, 2012 at 5:51 AM, S. Kashdan <s_kashdan [at] hotmail.com> wrote:

>
> clippped
>
> "My wife has known her best friend since she was young, and I envy that.
> That’s what I want for my kids.  It’s why we’re here," says Hanus.
>
> "Here" is Duwamish Cohousing, a 23-home intentional community located in
> West Seattle that is home to some 70 people, including nearly 20 children.
> And at the moment, many of them are running around the Duwamish common
> house.  Hanus surveys the room where about 30 residents have gathered for a
> community meal in the spacious, homey building where residents share food,
> hold meetings, play and enjoy other activities as they work to build
> friendships and strengthen a united commitment to community.
>
> Most of the kids at the table on this particular night are under age 5, and
> they are running gaily around the room, squealing often, wrestling and
> otherwise creating a joyful under-buzz to the din of adult conversation
> happening around them.  Their parents and other Duwamish residents linger
> around dinner tables interrupted now and then by kids’ questions or
> requests.  The kids here know they can approach any adult with their needs,
> whether or not the adult is their actual parent, and that person will
> listen.
>
> Why Families Come
>
> Hanus smiles, looks around, and indicates with a hint of melancholy:
>
> "I wanted my kids to grow up with all these kids and to have the kind of
> long-term friendships I didn’t have."
>
> Hanus and his wife, photographer Mhari Scott, moved to Duwamish with their
> two young children (Ethan, 6, and Leila, 2) more than a year ago to give
> this gift to their kids.  What they’ve learned during their time in this
> community explains why they will continue their family’s cohousing
> experience when new work takes them to Portland in March.  This week, the
> couple traveled to Oregon to interview with a new cohousing group.
>
> Over the past year, Hanus and Scott have grown into a deeper understanding
> and commitment to the values of the cohousing movement:  neighbors working
> together to build community through shared activities and self-governance,
> negotiation and consensus, stewardship of shared property and community
> resources (each family is responsible for its own financial well-being),
> and
> creating a safe haven for children.  They are disappointed to leave
> Duwamish
> but grateful for its lessons.
>
> "We’re just learning how to communicate in a cohousing environment," Hanus
> says.  "But we already know this is what we want for our kids."
>
> The cohousing neighborhood model "reminds me a little bit of the freedom
> that I had when I was a child," adds Scott.  "The children in the community
> have the ability to explore their environment with a level of freedom that
> is exceptionally rare in today's society."
>
> Cohousing Co-parenting
>
> At Duwamish, each parent is responsible for giving his her children
> physical
> boundaries.  For example, Hanus and Scott allow Ethan to go as far as the
> stairs in the south circle of the community property.  The community was
> designed from the start to promote resident interaction and safety:  homes
> are separated by a walkway, there are no streets between the houses, and
> houses have enormous windows that look out into the common grounds.
>
> "It means that Ethan has a lot of free time to just be a child and be
> creative without having to be placed in structured environments to be
> taught
> creativity and dream about adventure," Scott says.  It also means that when
> a smaller child strays outside his or her boundaries, other community
> members feel comfortable re-directing the child.
>
> "I love that my kid is safe when she runs out the door when I am not
> looking," says Lena Eivy, whose family is now in their second year at
> Duwamish.  "I know that even if she walks through door of a neighbors
> house,
> they are going to laugh and say, ‘Uh oh, Ilya’s escaped again!’"
>
> "For families, you just can’t beat it," says Jonathan Faunce, who moved to
> Duwamish Cohousing with his wife and kids (Ethan, 4, and Eliana, 2) last
> October after relocating to Seattle from San Antonio, Texas.  "I trust the
> parents here to help me keep my kids safe."
>
> Read the entire article at:
>
> http://www.seattleschild.com/article/cohousing-in-seattle
>
> Sylvie Kashdan
> Community Outreach Liaison
> Jackson Place Cohousing
> 800 Hiawatha Place South
> Seattle, WA 98144
> www.seattlecohousing.org
> info [at] jacksonplacecohousing.org
>
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