Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Hosting Cohousing Tours [ was hosting cohousing tour group from Brazil

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Apr 13, 2023, at 1:34 PM, Leela Devi <leeladevidancing [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> I am organizing a Cohousings Trip to New England (Massachussets and
> Vermont) in September 2023 .... Would you have interest in joining the
> group ?
> 
> Here goes the program of the trip.

I think this explains the absence of communication — comfort with the English 
language is limited and it is a small group.

It looks like a very interesting idea, however. I’ll share a model that my 
daughter used for vacations for several years. It’s called Escape to Shape. The 
website is not very informative right now because the organizer had to spread 
herself thin to adjust to the pandemic and hasn’t refocused it.

The organizer chooses 3-4 different places for 10-day vacations a year and 
rents a villa where the guests all stay. I think in the neighborhood of 15-20 
people. She hires a cook to do healthy meals and a yoga instructor to do yoga 
and meditation at least once a day. Then there are scheduled day trips to the 
area, hikes, etc. (Some probably just take naps or go shopping on some days.) 
My daughter has been to Bali, Turkey, Peru, Spain, Sicily, Bhutan, etc. She 
just chooses one from the list that year. The key advantages for a single 
corporate-type-job woman are (1) no planning or arranging beyond sending a 
check and arranging airfare, a base of operations instead of constantly being 
on the move, emphasis on fitness and wellness with no guilt-tripping, and some 
assurance of meeting others who will have similar interests. (And corporate 
types do have money so they can send checks.)

For a cohousing-interested group this would be perfect. Stable lodging, tours 
of cohousing communities in the area, lectures and presentations for part of 
the day or evening, long walks, and game nights. Group meals put together 
cohousing style. Ideal is being able to stay in a community, of course, but 
being able to use the common house alone would give people a good sense of 
living in cohousing.

It requires all the same skills of putting together a conference but for far 
fewer people with one program and a more focused topic. Learning about and 
starting cohousing. Cohousing communities themselves could suggest housing in 
the area that would be appropriate or figure out how to house 10-20 people in 
guest rooms, spare rooms, tents, etc. There need to be enough people to have a 
good group experience and to avoid the risks of the group being so small that 
people feel fish bowled.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org