Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Question about "dining clubs"

[S. Kashdan (s_kashdan]

This is Sylvie Kashdan of Jackson Place Cohousing in Seattle, Washington.

I also feel that providing space for individual and small group social needs
and
desires is an important way of strengthening the greater cohousing
community. As cohousers we really already know that enabling small groups of
people to meet their own needs and desires in the ways that work best for
them is a positive for the larger community. The
existence of cohousing communities depends on the larger community (the city
or county, etc.) giving cohousing communities the opportunity to develop
even though they are somewhat different from other housing situations. And,
providing opportunities for smaller groups of people within cohousing to
address their individual special needs can do the same for the cohousing
community.

As a person with an age-related hearing impairment and some food
sensitivities (that have sometimes left me with very little I could eat at a
common meal), I
have requested on and off over the years that Jackson Place Cohousing start
dinner clubs and
possibly areas in the common house dining room separated by sheer curtains
during common meals to improve hearing by small groups at tables. But,
because so much energy is put into the meals program, no one has been
actively interested in having small group dining clubs in our dining room.
some community members
have also opposed these ideas because they felt they would interfere with
community sociability at common meals, while they feel that long tables
increase community sociability. So, the result is that I do not go to most
common meals, and it turns out that there are others here who do not go to
most common meals either... for their own individual reasons...  even though
most of us are involved in the cohousing community in other ways. However, I
should say that something like one half to two-thirds of all residents here
probably do attend some common meals.

Cohousingly,
Sylvie

Sylvie Kashdan
Community Outreach Liaison
Jackson Place Cohousing
800 Hiawatha Place South
Seattle, WA 98144
www.seattlecohousing.org


From: "Racheli Gai" <racheli [at] sonoracohousing.com>
To: "Cohousing-L" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 8:04 AM
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Question about "dining clubs"

But what are "community needs", and who gets to define what they are?
To me, small groups meeting to eat together is an expression of community,
too.  And how much should individuals suffer or "sacrifice" because of
community "needs"?

I'm not saying that there aren't whole community needs, I just wonder how
often people talk about "community  needs" which are tailored to suit their
own personal interests.
[The words about "sacrifice" raise for me the specter of the Nation/State, a
huge trigger (which is a main reason I felt move to write this...)]

Racheli.