Cohousing-L Mailing List: Introduction from Oregon...

[Tiffany Lee Brown (magdalen23]

hello, co-housers! this list seems great. what an amazing resource. jerry, 
thank you for telling us about your experience. 

i'm a writer/editor in Portland, Oregon, tentatively planning a move to Central 
Oregon (Sisters area if possible) and perhaps, in the long term, a small 
community of some sort. i don't know whether co-housing, development, or __?__ 
would be the right model. 

my vision involves specifically planning in multiple streams of revenue 
appropriate to the area. this could take the form of artisanal/craft making, 
food, agriculture, hosting events such as weddings or yoga retreats, and/or 
tourist guest rentals. i picture guests being able to share resources with 
residents: a barn full of goats, a community garden, a catering kitchen. i'm 
also committed to creating a small artist/writer residency program, through New 
Oregon Arts & Letters, the 501c3 nonprofit i run. 

other areas of interest include: sustainable, ecological living (and, through 
tourist-oriented guest services, lots of education and outreach! people come 
stay here for a weekend, then go home and start their own neighborhood 
composting program...) ... experimental building techniques that unlike most 
LEED concerns focus on avoiding mold growth and being liveable for people with 
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities... possibly having a small business or maker 
center on-site, so that freelancers, artists/artisans, and small business 
owners could own or rent a house in the community, but also rent an office, 
massage studio, shared toolshed/tool library, darkroom, etc in the community 
center area.

lots of big fantasies! i'm sure you guys hear this sort of thing often.  i 
believe some of my ideas might actually work in real life :-)  . i have a few 
contacts in the development world  in Central Oregon, and had the fortune of 
growing up next to the Rainbow Valley Community near Eugene, from which sprang 
up Rainbow Valley Construction, the go-to guys for ADU style building in 
Portland and Eugene. the Community was very inspiring to me and i recently met 
with its founder to talk about building techniques for people with mold 
illness, allergies, and MCS (including me). but largely, i don't know what i'm 
doing. 

any feedback on all this would be lovely. i'm curious to get to know all you 
co-housing experts.


thanks...


tiffany


Tiffany Lee Brown
Editor, Plazm magazine

back issues: http://www.plazm.com/store