Have you ever wondered how it would be:
• To live in a safe, multi-generational neighbourhood where you are valued and feel you belong?
• To have privacy and autonomy AND really know your neighbours?
• To live lightly on the earth and not have to own and do everything yourself?

Cohousing is a form of collaborative housing in which residents actively participate in the design and operation of their own neighbourhoods.

Join us for four webinars from 7 – 9 pm starting Tuesday 28th April 2020, using Zoom.

Webinar 1: 28th April: Introduction to Cohousing – Flourishing Sustainable Neighbourhoods

Webinar 2: 5th May: Community Governance and Effective Group Decision-Making

Webinar 3: 12th May: Design By and For Community – Social and Environmental issues.

Webinar 4: 19th May: Project Planning – From Vision to Built Reality

Cost: $100.00 for the series, or $30 per webinar

To register, email robin.allison@earthsong.org.nz

Webinar 1: Introduction:

COHOUSING – Flourishing Sustainable Neighbourhoods

Living in a connected, diverse and multi-generational neighbourhood is more supportive, more sustainable, and lots more fun! Cohousing is a practical and well-tested model for groups of people to plan and develop living communities that support both autonomy and healthy connection. Cohousing is also a great model for self-managed communities of older people who want a better option than retirement villages. There are 1000’s of successful cohousing communities throughout the world and especially in Scandinavia and the USA, as well as NZ’s own Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood in Ranui, West Auckland. This seminar will introduce both Earthsong and the cohousing model, and show many examples of cohousing in urban, suburban and rural situations.

Webinar 2:

COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE and EFFECTIVE GROUP DECISION-MAKING
Enormous creativity and strength are possible when empowered individuals work together for the common good. Consensus decision-making draws on the skills and perspectives within the group and finds a way forward that all can support, often going beyond what any individual could conceive or achieve. However there are underlying organisational structures and agreements that are key in setting the conditions for effective community governance. Robin will introduce those structures and processes, including the “coloured cards” method of consensus decision-making, that have served Earthsong so well both during project development, and in the ongoing vibrant life of the community.

Webinar 3: 

DESIGN BY and FOR COMMUNITY – Social and Environmental issues.
Physical design doesn’t create community, but it can powerfully encourage or discourage the possibility of community. Intentional community design is intrinsic to cohousing, and ranges from macro issues of site layout and common facilities, to more subtle relationships between individuality and overall coherence, privacy and interaction, diversity and inclusivity. Eco-design issues of solar orientation, materials and services also make a huge difference to comfort, connectedness and ongoing costs. Key aspects of designing for community, and the synergies between social and environmental design that enhance both, will be discussed. It is extremely rewarding for a group to design their own cohousing neighbourhood, and this seminar also covers key collaborative design techniques.

Webinar 4: 

PROJECT PLANNING – From Vision to Built Reality
Cohousing is created by a group of committed people working together over several years, and involves a wide range of issues and steps that may seem daunting to begin with. But many, many groups have negotiated these steps and achieved a successful cohousing project. This seminar will introduce some of those key steps, from developing a cohesive group vision, through membership processes and decision-making, to collaborative design, legal and financial structures and other development issues. Drawing from her hard-won experience as Development Coordinator of Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood, Robin will share some key learnings and processes that will assist new groups to understand and navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of creating community and building a neighbourhood. Both the journey and the destination are so worthwhile.