Green Haven Cohousing

Time to Register!!

2011-12-19T11:36:00.000-05:00

Using Sociocracy in Community

A Self-Governance &
Decision-MakingMethod

to Raise Morale and
Help Your CommunityThrive

WeekendWorkshop

January28 & 29, 2012

 9 to 5 each day

NewHaven, Connecticut

Featuring

 JohnBuck 

Primary teacher of Sociocracy in the US,

Co-author, We the People:  Consenting to a Deeper Democracy

Jerry Koch-Gonzalez  

Consultant, the Sociocracy ConsultantGroup Resident, Pioneer Valley Cohousing 

 Diana LeafeChristian 

International Community Consultant,

Author of Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools

to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities

$175 for two-day workshop
Discounted tickets available
Includes lunches, Saturday evening wine reception, and all materials

Complimentary all-day childcare and activities
Limited capacity. Reserve early!

First 20 registrants receive a complimentary copy of
We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy, by John Buck and Sharon Villines.
Click to REGISTER

CLICK FOR MORE INFO

Diana Leafe Christian to be at Green Haven's Jan 28-29 workshop

2011-12-06T11:10:00.001-05:00

We are thrilled that Diana Leafe Christian will be joining John Buck and Jerry Koch Gonzales at Green Haven's Sociocracy workshop, dates now changed to January 28 and 29. It takes more than land and buildings to make a neighborhood, and Diana's book, Creating a Life Together, has been Green Haven's guiding light as we've been forming this community. More info about the workshop below. Watch for details and registration info later this week.

DATE CHANGE: Sat/Sun Jan 28/29 Weekend Workshop on Sociocracy

2011-12-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

SAVE THE DATE
Green Haven CoHousing Presents
Sociocracy: The Self-Governing Community
Weekend Workshop
January 28 & 29
9 to 5 each day
with
Diana Leafe Christian
John Buck and Jerry Koch-Gonzalez
At the Grove
71 Orange Street, New Haven

With its roots in Quaker consensus decision-making and the feedback loops of engineering, Sociocracy is a successful model for self-governance among equals.

Sociocracy means government by the socios, or community of people who have a social relationship with each other, as opposed to democracy, government by the demos, or mass of people. Hallmarks include consensus decision-making, rather than majority rule, and a circular governance structure whereby power flows both up and down the hierarchy of interrelated semiautonomous workgroups or circles, each circle with its own domain of responsibility.

Also known as Dynamic Governance, Sociocracy builds feedback loops right into the organization's structure, so that each working circle not only is continuously measuring and evaluating its own work, but providing feedback to those circles with which it interacts. This is the dynamic feedback that allows power with, rather than power over or power under.

Watch for our flyer, and links here to full registration information

No cohousing tour this fall

2011-11-02T19:24:00.001-05:00

In the aftermath of the recent storm and power outages, folks did not have much enthusiasm for a trek next weekend. All who initially indicated interest ended up deciding not to go. Sunday's business meeting has also been canceled due to the lack of a quorum.

Cohousing tour November 6

2011-10-30T05:15:00.000-05:00

Cohousing.org is again sponsoring a fall tour of cohousing communities in New England. This year, the communities on the tour are all in Vermont.

Please note that

All of these communities are pretty much a straight shot up I-91.
If you opt for the morning tour (or all day), your carpool will need to get up to northern Vermont Saturday evening, and you will need to make your own arrangements for accommodations.
Cobb Hill (afternoon community) is 2.5 hrs south of the northern two.
If you opt for the afternoon tour (or all day), dinner is not included: appetizers at 5, followed by a slide show ending at 7 pm. Then we'll have dinner on our own, and a three-hour drive home.

Info about the morning tour

Info about the two communities visited that morning
Burlington Cohousing East Village
Champlain Valley Cohousing>

Info about the afternoon tour

Info about the community that afternoon
Cobb Hill Cohousing

If you are interested in joining us and taking advantage of the group discount, let us know by filling out the Doodle poll set up for this.

Great dinner yesterday

2011-10-24T09:25:00.000-05:00

We had a great community dinner yesterday, with all members present and a slew of new and returning visitors. It was a very energetic meeting.

One of our newcomers mentioned a recently released survey of U.S. cohousing communities on the cohousing.org site. Be sure to click through to the study itself, which is fascinating.

October 23 community dinner at new, earlier time

2011-10-19T19:59:00.000-05:00

This Sunday's community dinner and orientation will be at 4:30 instead of 6:00. We're trying an earlier time to see if it's convenient for more people. All are welcome. If you've not been to one of our dinners before, bring only your questions. If you have attended before, please come back to catch up with folks, and bring a dish to share. RSVP so we have a headcount. Call Char at 203-397-3803.

This Sunday's community dinner canceled

2011-08-26T21:03:00.002-05:00

The regular Green Haven community dinner and orientation scheduled for this Sunday, August 28, 2011, is cancelled because of the impending storm.

We'll be at Green Expo (New Haven) and at Live Green CT (Norwalk)

2011-08-23T08:22:00.005-05:00

Stop by our booth to chat about cohousing and what's happening with Green Haven.

GREEN EXPO
Saturday, September 10, 11 to 4
Edgerton Park
75 Cliff Street
New Haven

The sixth annual Green Expo is part of the CT Folk Fest.

LIVE GREEN CT
Saturday, September 17, 10 to 4
Sunday, September 18, 11 to 4
Taylor Farm Park
45 Calf Pasture Beach Road
Norwalk

Property negotiations

2011-07-08T07:53:00.002-05:00

Because of ongoing negotiations for a potential cohousing site, the Green Haven board may need to conduct portions of some of the upcoming business meetings in executive session. Nonmembers should call before attending a business meeting to find out if the meeting will be open to all (as meetings usually are) or will be closed.

Green Haven featured in Sunday New York Times

2011-03-05T10:14:00.003-05:00

Check out this great article in the New York Times real estate section. It will be in print tomorrow, Sunday, March 6, 2011. A shorter version of the article will be in the national edition on page RE9.

Announcement

2011-03-01T08:35:00.000-05:00

To the Green Haven community:

Many of you have been aware that we have been exploring the possibility of purchasing a property in Milford. After nearly a year of discussions and negotiations with the seller, the board of Green Haven, Inc., decided there was no possibility of coming to a meeting of the minds with the seller and concluding a sale. Although our lawyer told us the contract was signed when we announced it in early January, the contract was never subsequently delivered to us. Instead, the seller added new requirements. After an unexpected period of continuing negotiation, we have been unable to reach agreement. We have therefore withdrawn our offer on the property and recovered our deposit.

We did expend some funds on environmental testing of the property and on legal fees associated with the negotiations. On one hand, these expenditures are water over the dam. On the other hand, we learned a great many lessons that should make negotiations and due diligence activities on the next property we select much smoother, faster, and, we hope, less expensive.

Moving forward, our site selection committee has identified a number of properties to investigate in various towns and is also looking for appropriate properties that might be for sale but that are not currently listed on the market.

We remain confident that we will locate another property that will work for us.

Obviously, the attractiveness of any property to any specific family depends to some extent on its location. We remain sensitive to the desire to be within a short commute of New Haven and to be as close as possible to public transit options.

We are committed to quickly narrowing our options and to consulting with everyone who is interested as we make a final choice.

We will be taking time at our next meeting (Sunday, March 6, 6:30 pm) to review what we have learned from our experience, consider any changes we might need in how we work together and with others, and consider whether and how our criteria for choosing a site may have changed. We hope you will join us and share your views.

Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.

The board of Green Haven, Inc.

Do you have questions?

2011-01-31T07:54:00.002-05:00

Would you like the opportunity for an open-ended conversation with a Green Haven member? Members have volunteered to meet with prospective members for an informal conversation, to explore any questions you may have. You can request to meet with a member, either individually or with your family, or you can schedule a presentation for a group you belong to if you prefer. To schedule a talk, email Janet or call her at 203-466-4027.

Tuesday Dec 28: Holiday Party & Board Approval of Final Contract on the Property

2010-12-27T16:31:00.009-05:00

You're all invited to join us at our holiday party Tuesday 6 pm the 28th, in New Haven.
This will mostly be a time to meet, greet, and eat, as well as your time to ask questions and find out more about us. Visitors will also observe a brief Board of Directors meeting at 7:30, as we have one really important agenda item--the review and final approval of the sales contract on that property we've been talking about for months. Some of you even walked this property with us a bit ago.
This is a hosted meal: Newcomers and other visitors are our guests, only members bring food! For directions, RSVP to Tina & Dick, 203-389-4413
We have a hosted dinner on the 28th of every month to allow some weekday meetings for those who find it difficult to attend weekends. Come when you can!

Property deal is at hand!

2010-12-01T11:27:00.006-05:00

We've come to a final agreement with the seller, and our attorneys are hammering out the legalese. Once we sign on the dotted line, we'll be able to tell you more.

We've been kind of quiet here on the blog as we were waiting to be able to tell you where and what.

Of course even after we sign on the dotted line, it won't really be ours for another couple months—we'll have a 60 day due diligence period, during which we'll be checking everything out to be sure it's all up to snuff.

During those two months, we'll make special arrangements with the seller so we can show you the property, and you can see why we're so excited about it.

Meanwhile, to be sure all our eggs are not in one basket, we have a couple other properties in our back pocket, ready to act on if need be.

Stay tuned....

Psst... Wanna know more? Come to a meeting! Check out our December meetings up to the right.

New meeting schedule announced

2010-10-28T10:17:00.002-05:00

We have been moving along and making a lot of progress with our existing meeting schedule. But it's time for a change to accommodate more new members. Starting November 7, here is new plan:

First Sunday of every month. Business meeting, 6:30 to 9 pm. Optional takeout dinner at 6. If you have never been to a Green Haven meeting, we encourage you to attend one of the social meetings first. But if you want to come to a business meeting first, please come at 6 for a brief orientation while we eat. Dinner is usually about $7 apiece.

Second Sunday of every month. Orientation & Potluck, 6 pm. This is primarily a social meeting, a way for all of us to get to know each other and for people just beginning to explore cohousing to get their questions answered. If there is pressing business, members may convene a committee meeting or brief business meeting after dinner. Visitors may stay to observe or participate, or they may choose to leave at that time.

Saturday following second Sunday of every month. Business meeting, 6:30 to 9 pm.

28th of every month (day of week varies). Orientation & hosted dinner. 6 pm. If this is your first contact with Green Haven and you are shy about showing up with a dish for the potluck, this is the stress-free alternative. Members will prepare and provide the meal. All you have to do is show up with an appetite and your questions. The day of the week floats, to accommodate those for whom weekend meetings are problematic. Otherwise, this meeting follows the same format as the orientation and potluck on the Saturday following the second Sunday.

An RSVP by email is always appreciated for planning purposes (and so we can tell you where the meeting is). If you have special dietary restrictions, mention them at that time.

From daydream to absolute solid reality

2010-06-18T23:54:00.002-05:00

Last real update was May 27th and it is so out of date! We are just humming....This is really about to happen, we are in labor and the baby is on the way. No stopping us now. The design committee has narrowed us down to two architectural firms; we'll be making that decision shortly. We're negotiating on a property, can't say more, don't want to jinx it! More and more folks starting the path towards membership, and it is so wonderful how you all are jumping in with both feet to help us get the work done, get this show on the road. Lots of work, but it all feels like fun, to make it happen, watch it happen, because our goal is so visible now, no longer a pipe dream but totally real. Yes, lots of work, behind the scenes, so this blog sometimes gets neglected! Pretty soon we'll have a lot more to share...Stay tuned!

An invitation to take the next step

2010-06-18T22:50:00.008-05:00

Green Haven has THREE email lists.
These vary with how interested and involved you are in our project.

1. New Haven Cohousing
This is the biggest group. If you're on the New Haven Cohousing list, you are getting only the most superficial news about what we're up to. This list is for folks we haven't met yet.We don't want to overwhelm you with a lot of stuff that may or may not interest you, if you're not yet sure of us. So if you haven't yet come to a meeting, you are probably on the NewHavenCousing list. You get announcements about upcoming meetings, and a few random updates. Since you have never met us, we try to limit our mailings to the bare essentials.
If you want to find out more about us, and move to an email list that tells you a lot more about what we're up to, come to a meeting!

Meetings--the path from one list to the next
These are on weekend evenings:
Sunday, June 27: Business Meeting (Usually the 4th Sunday).
Sunday, July 4, Potluck (Usually the first Sunday of the month)
Saturday, July 10: Business Meeting. (Usually the following Saturday, 6 days after the potluck)
Sunday July 25: Business Meeting (Usually the 4th Sunday, ie, 15 days after the last business meeting)
See info at the upper right ("CALENDAR") about time, place & whether you need to RSVP.

2. Green Haven Friends
Once you've been to a meeting or two, or met us on a co-housing tour, or attended a workshop, etc, and we see you're interested in knowing more about us, we move you to the Green Haven Friends list. That's how you really find out what's happening. You can join committees if you'd like, and get more involved in the details of what we're doing to make this happen. For example, this weekend, our "extra" weekend, the Friends of Green Haven have the opportunity to attend a consensus training workshop and hear more about one of our potential architects Saturday afternoon. Neither of these would make sense for someone who hadn't yet met us or attended a meeting.
If you're ready to move from one email list to the next, come to a meeting.

3. Green Haven Members
But we don't want to overwhelm our Friends, either, so we have an even smaller list, for those really committed to this project. This is our smallest, most active and hardworking list. It consists primarily of Green Haven members, as well as those who've made significant moves along the path to membership. People on this list also receive the other two lists, so we know what you are reading and writing, and can engage with and reply to those on the other lists.
If you want to find out more about what it takes to become a member, come to a meeting.

Come talk with us!

2010-05-27T16:00:00.003-05:00

Come join us for a potluck Sunday, we've got two in a row, May 30th and June 6th (details in calendar at right). We've got a lot to talk about.

Last Saturday, a bunch of us joined the Massachusetts cohousing tour, and saw 5 sites from Berlin to Northampton. It was great fun, and we learned a lot. There were about thirty people on the tour, about a dozen from Green Haven. We saw new projects still finishing off the final units, and Pioneer Valley which is 18 years old. Here are links to photo galleries one and two with pictures from the trip.

Lots more to talk about: a potential site, a lot more visitors joining us, membership stuff, our architect selection, all of your questions and....

Dreaming about cohousing

2010-05-26T19:14:00.006-05:00

Our programming workshop last month drew a good crowd. Dreaming about how we might live in cohousing gave us a sense of ownership. Visitors and founding members all jumped right into the process with enthusiasm. Output from the workshop, including our personal questionnaires, will inform the design process when we choose our architect in June.

Next week, the design committee will be interviewing five architectural teams. Two choices will be presented to the entire membership at a business meeting. Stay tuned for the date.

We're moving right along. More news soon to follow!

Group discount for cohousing tour May 22

2010-05-09T05:51:00.002-05:00

If we sign up as a group for the upcoming tour of cohousing communities in central and western Massachusetts (May 22), we can save money two ways. Instead of costing $120 per person when we sign up individually, it will cost $85 per person for a group of five. That's a saving of $35 each. In addition, by carpooling, we save on the cost of getting to the tour location.

We will have to leave the New Haven area early on the 22nd. Contact us at info@greenhavencohousing.org to sign up and reserve your spot with our group.

Some people who have already seen the two communities in Berlin have made arrangements to join the tour at noon, at Pioneer Valley, for a reduced price. Specify if you are interested in joining that group instead of taking the full tour.

Click the bus logo on the right for tour description.

Location set for programming workshop

2010-04-07T12:48:00.002-05:00

Our programming workshop is this coming Sunday, April 11, 3–8 pm.

Location
First Unitarian Universalist Society, 608 Whitney Avenue, New Haven

This is to gather our ideas about the physical form of our future community. Our architects will need this information. All are welcome, prospective members or just curious. We want your input, so that we can attend to the needs and desires of those who might like to join our community.

Please RSVP so we have a headcount for dinner.

Cohousing tour, western Massachusetts, May 22

2010-04-06T03:39:00.004-05:00

Mark your calendar
One of the best ways to find out more about cohousing is to visit existing cohousing communities. A day tour can allow you to see several communities—to look at how different communities use the spaces they’ve designed, to meet and talk with residents about community life in their neighborhoods, and to glimpse the ways communities work. To find out more, consider the upcoming tour of Western Massachusetts cohousing communities, scheduled for May 22.

Besides broadening your understanding of what it means to live in such a community, this tour has an added benefit: visiting at least one existing cohousing community is one of several requirements for membership in Green Haven (and it’s a requirement for membership in many other cohousing communities as well). Becoming a member of Green Haven is a multistage process that, by intention, takes a while to complete. Don’t let that trip to a cohousing community be the undone step that delays your progress. If you are interested in joining Green Haven, this would be a good time to start.

We are now moving rapidly towards acquiring a property and designing our community, so we’re actively working to expand our membership. Whether you are just exploring the idea of cohousing in general or you know for sure you want to join us, a visit to a few communities will be a great next step.

Architect RFQs go out

2010-04-06T03:29:00.003-05:00

Our design committee assembled a list of architects meeting basic screening criteria and then met to winnow that list down to a manageable number of firms with the appropriate characteristics. Last week we sent out requests for qualifications (RFQs) to eleven firms. The committee will review their responses and select the top few firms to interview. After conducting the interviews, the committee will recommend that one or two of the firms meet with the membership before a final selection is made. We should have an architecture and engineering team on board in a matter of weeks. Stay tuned.

Hello, Spring - Visit to Cobb Hill

2010-03-29T21:54:00.032-05:00

by Charlotte

Last Saturday I enjoyed a visit to Cobb Hill Cohousing in Vermont. Phil, one of the residents, showed me the common house, the farm, cheese-making, Jersey cows, sheep, vegetable gardens, the sugar bush, the ski trails, and finally, the homes.

It's a beautiful setting (I was there on a gorgeous first day of spring, so of course I'm not thinking of their winter weather!) including a flat river bottom for the farm and hillside woodlands and summer pastures.

Here are a few views:

Looking down from the hill toward the common house and the barns below.

Panorama of the homes beyond the common house - amazingly they all share the same core plan but by combining different dormers and bays, they look pleasantly varied. All have solar hot water and little photo-voltaic panels to power the water pumps.

The Jersey cows - they supply milk for the cheese-makers - in their state-of-the-art barn.

Inside the common house:

View from a home living room:

The central area is landscaped with rock gardens and terraces - there are paths across to the righthand row of houses that can be used for deliveries or emergency vehicles.

I left feeling so inspired - if we can do a fraction of the local food stuff that they are doing AND be close to transportation - we'll have our own little utopia!

Spring Events

2010-03-19T09:45:00.010-05:00

As the crocuses and snow drops burst into bloom we are feeling that our community is bursting out in all directions too.

Here's the schedule of events for the next couple of months.

April 3 POTLUCK 6:00 - this is our monthly potluck - a great time for new visitors to meet us and have good food and company.

April 10 Business Meeting 6:30 - 9 pm - visitors are always welcome at our business meetings - listen in and contribute.
April 11 Programming Workshop 3-8 pm - we gather our ideas about the physical form of our future community.

April 25 Business Meeting 6:30 - 9 pm

May 1 POTLUCK 6:00
May 8 Business Meeting 6:30 - 9 pm
May 23 Business Meeting 6:30 - 9 pm
May 30 Extra Sunday - time for some fun!

Email us for the location - we can't wait to meet you!

- Charlotte Hitchcock, March 19, 2010

Moving right along

2010-03-14T09:02:00.007-05:00

We've spent the last six months working intensively, and have a lot to report. There will be a quick flurry of more specific blog entries here on a lot more of the details, but first, a quick overview of where we stand now, since our blog entry last fall.

Our group has been meeting regularly for about four years, but we've now reached that critical place where things are starting to happen very fast.

Like many other forming cohousing groups, we spent several years meeting and pot-lucking, building a core group of intended neighbors, and doing our homework, about cohousing, about consensus training, about ourselves, about the process of moving from wishful thinking to action, and about the real estate possibilities in and around our local area.

So, quick summary, what we've accomplished so far:

2008-fall 2009, up till our last blog entry

Held our first weekend retreat in 2008: Consensus training with C.T. Butler
Wrote our vision statement--that statement of our core values upon which all our consensus decisions are based.
Began collecting our team of professionals: real estate agent, housing consultant, group process consultant, attorney
Formed a fluid group of small committees for accomplishing much of the work we must do to take this from dream to reality
Developed a membership process
Continued looking at real estate

So now a quick update, since last blog entry in the fall of 2009, to the present, March 2010. (These are NOT in chronological order)

We have found several properties that are very good possibilities, and are doing the work of finding out which will work best for us.
Green Haven is now incorporated. This is the entity which will form and construct our cohousing community; it will dissolve once we move into our new space and form a new legal entity of those living in the community.
We had our second weekend retreat, in February 2010: Review of formal consensus for members and intro for prospective members. C.T. Butler was our consultant again, but this time we did the training and used him to observe and critique.
We are actively looking at architects and expect to begin interviewing and screening within the next few weeks.
On Sunday April 11th, we will have a design programming workshop from 3 to 8 pm to generate ideas and preferences from both members and potential members (that means you) for the types of spaces and square footage for the cohousing homes and common spaces. This is to develop input for the selected architect so that preliminary work can begin quickly. Save the date. Place to be determined. More on this in another entry.
We have an active marketing committee working on ways to get the word out. Our brochure is going to the printer this week. Our website is finally moving forward (but your help is welcome).
Most of our members have become lenders to Green Haven, Inc., funding our payments to professionals, deposit on the property, etc.
Our policy & procedures and membership committees are working together to review our membership process, updating and tweaking it as we learn from our prospective members actually going through it.

More to come in our next blog posts:

The programming workshop April 11th. Whether you intend to move in, or are just interested, you are invited. We want the input of a lot of different possible community members, so that we design a space that will attract and serve families, couples, and singles beyond our current cadre of members.
More information about our members, prospective members, and our professionals. What incorporation means. How this interfaces with consensus decision making. Possibility for renting.
More about the property, once we have an accepted offer and are in our "due diligence" phase, which is to say: getting professional evaluation of the property, the buildings, soil testing, working with architect, presentation to the town, going through zoning, etc.
Our vision and values, and what this means for our community, and for decision making by consensus.
The membership process: what it involves, how to get started.
And much much more....

Tina Smillie, March 14, 2010

What is cohousing?

2009-09-09T10:36:00.003-05:00

From the Cohousing Subgroup of the Working group on Building & Housing

Transition Town Totnes (UK)

Cohousing is a form of housing provision common in Scandinavia, Holland and Germany, and North America. In the UK, there are four fully-established cohousing communities up and running, with up to ten times as many in various stages of development. The key features of cohousing projects include: The combination of self-contained dwellings with shared facilitiesA lifestyle which can be more affordable and more ecological

Projects are developed and managed by the residents for mutual benefit, with the site held in common ownership. Developments are designed to encourage social contact and a sense of neighbourhood and community, while honouring private space.

Therefore, cohousing provides a means by which people can maintain a level of independence and control over their living situation, whilst gaining from the mutual support and neighbourliness that cohousing projects engender. It also provides an ideal structure for developing lower-carbon lifestyles. Car pooling, food growing and laundry facilities are just three examples of resource sharing that can be in-built into cohousing projects. But aside from pre-planned interdependence opportunities like these, the development of a community spirit will encourage a wealth of beneficial relationships to flourish between members and beyond, which can benefit the environment as well as the individuals involved.

More at

http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/buildingandhousing/whatiscoho

NY Times Feature on Cohousing

2009-06-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

To Your Left, a Better Way of Life? -- NY Times feature

A tour of co-housing communities was one of several this season in different parts of the country designed to give participants an up-close look at various co-housing communities, and to address an increasingly common feeling that one pays too much for one’s home, sees friends too little there and generally lives a more isolated life than is desirable.

Green Haven: Moving right along...

2008-06-16T19:33:00.003-05:00

Team
We are assembling a team of outside professionals to help translate our vision into reality. This team includes:

One of New Haven County's most respected real estate agents to help us locate and purchase a suitable property
An attorney who is aligned with our vision and who advises us on legal matters as we move forward
A housing consultant who will shepherd the project through financing, selection of our technical team (architects, engineers, and contractors), and construction

Process
We have participated in training workshops that have helped us organize and focus our efforts:

In January, a workshop led by an organizational behavior consultant resulted in a much clearer approach to delegating work to committees, as well as a schedule to move us toward our goal.
Consistent with that schedule, in April of 2008 we underwent intensive training in the Formal Consensus decision-making process.
Using that process, we are formalizing our vision statement.
Several members have also received additional training in meeting facilitation.

Progress
We are working, both in committees and in regular business meetings, toward completion of key documents:

The vision committee organized our visioning retreat in April and is coordinating our continuing efforts to elucidate our common values, principles and goals.
The process committee has researched the membership policies of many cohousing groups and is refining a draft of our new membership policy.
The logistics committee is working with our outside team members to locate suitable properties for evaluation.
The outreach committee is working on improving our communication with people who may be interested in our community.
The personal finance and resources committee is working to help members figure out what they can afford to contribute to the cost of building and maintaining the community.

Goal
We intend to select a piece of property, put a plan together for its purchase, conduct engineering and architectural studies, and put enough information in front of prospective residents for everyone to be able to make a decision as to whether they want to be part of Connecticut's first cohousing community and whether they are ready to put up funds toward that end.

For more information, please visit our website (under construction, link removed) or email us.

Excellent review of "Creating a Life Together"

2007-02-07T19:41:00.000-05:00

A review of "Creating a Life Together."

This review provides a clear summary of the process that Diana Leafe Christian recommends for community building.

Together We Can Grow Better

2006-12-20T13:20:00.001-05:00

This video program illustrates the characteristics of smart, community friendly land development and examines three examples (a rural town, a suburban town, and an urban center are profiled.) The results of a survey by the University of Connecticut regarding citizens' views of development are presented, as are the dangers of "sprawl." Produced by Geomatrix Productions of New Haven for the Capitol Region Council of Governments of Hartford, Connecticut but applicable wherever communities are concerned about land use.

We are taking steps toward cooperating with State and regional "Smart Growth" initiatives. Cohousing is a perfect way for communities to promote growth while preventing "sprawl" and alienation.

Our Handbook

2006-12-05T20:30:00.000-05:00

Creating a Life Together: Practical Tools to Grow Ecovillages and Intentional Communities

by Diana Leafe Christian

We've chosen this as our study guide. About every other meeting we discuss a chapter or two. The author says that two-thirds of forming cohousing groups have failed. The book aims to give groups the information and guidance they need to succeed.