Looking Up in a Down Market: Effective Marketing Strategies for Cohousing

The Cohousing Model of intentional community is based on the principles of cooperation and connection among people who live in close proximity as neighbors. One experienced developer/land owner recently said: "Cohousing is the only solution I think could work in this economic climate." For developers and builders, cohousing offers an added value that can distinguish it from any other real estate project. For community members, cohousing provides an unparalleled LIFESTYLE.

As those who know the social, economic, and environmental values of cohousing, it is up to us to use effective communication vehicles and inter-active events that expose potential community members to these benefits. We are offering a way of life that is more meaningful and nurturing, safer, more resilent and more sustainable than the social isolation most families and people of all ages experience daily in their homes alone.

Deliverables: This multi-session Cohousing Marketing and Sales Workshop will provide attendees with practical tools to help you reach target home and lot buyers. You will leave with:

• Well-crafted message points you can customize
• Effective techniques to get media coverage of your project
• Sample printed press material and marketing pieces from other projects across the U.S.

Neshama's Bio

Every Citizen An Owner: From the Slavery of Past Savings to Getting Ownership, Income and Power to Every Citizen

Most of modern economics and finance is based on a false assumption: the presumed necessity of existing accumulations of savings to finance capital formation. Prescriptions based on this assumption end up being the wrong thing to do to stimulate a recovery, foster full employment, or achieve sustainable economic development without inflation or deflation.

The first hour of this workshop will discuss how capital acquisition for the great mass of currently property-less people can be financed out of “future rather than past savings”, by democratizing and monetizing capital credit through commercial bank loans, by discounting such loans at a central bank, thereby accelerating private sector growth.

The second hour will be a shared panel looking at the advantages and challenges of Community Land Trusts vs. the Citizen Land Cooperative -- a new iteration of “homesteading” in which future homeowners homestead “financing” instead of land. Capital Homesteading is an analogue of the 1862 Homestead Act. A radical idea? Or an innovative financing tool as old as Lincoln and 160 acres?

Find out more information on Community Land Trusts and Citizen Land Cooperatives in Part 2!

Both these workshops are fully independent of each other.

Robert's Bio

Community Land Trusts or Citizen Land Cooperatives:

A community land trust is a private non-profit corporation created to acquire and hold land for the benefit of a community and provide secure affordable access to land and housing for community residents.

The Georgist school of Community Land Trusts begins with the understanding that Land is our “common heritage” and understands that the “value” of any particular place derives from the communities which hold that place in their midst. This “value” or “rent” is what any holder of a right to use that place returns to the community to provide for the shared interest of that community. It is the shared “values” of that community that determines how “ownership” (i.e. the bundle of rights to use given by titles) is determined and what obligations that “use right” will have. Everything about a CLT begins with and is an expression of how the land, citizens and community values each of these participants and determines the relationship of each to the other.

The Citizens Land Cooperative is a keystone of a new private sector strategy for building livable and inspiring "new communities" in which every worker and resident would be afforded the right and the effective means to participate personally in capital ownership accumulations, in profits and in local decision-making. Similar to the Homestead Act of 1860 in which citizens were given 160 acres of land if they dwelled on the site, this strategy employs giving each participant interest free loans for the purpose of buying into a CLC project that is initiated by a non-profit foundation. Instead of getting 160 acres of LAND, the individual gets the figuratively monetary equivalent of 160 acres of FINANCING.

What are the advantages and challenges of each of these strategies? The workshop presenters will each give a short presentation and then open the floor for Q&A.

Robert's Bio   Brenda's Bio

More FUN Fewer Meetings -- Running Our Togetherness

Is your community gridlocked -- Only "one right way to do things?"   Decison-making making you C R A Z Y?

There IS a solution!  The "secret" lies in adopting and instituting an experimental attitude about your community's structure and the ways it solves problems.  Hear CT Butler, expert in Formal Consensus, and John Buck, expert in Dynamic Governance (a.k.a Sociocracy) talk about their common approach to developing community flexibility and exciting cooperation resulting in more fun, less stress and a deeper quality of life.

This will be a highly interactive workshop! Come prepared to share your traumas and dramas. Leave with some tools for altering the structures that are challenging you.

John and C.T.'s Bios

Cultivating Ecology

Permaculture Design: Integrative Land Development for Forming Cohousing Communities

The cohousing model can demonstrate ecological land use on a community scale. Suppose we could rejuvenate land simply by protecting it from over-development. What if our presence enhanced its natural productivity, providing an abundance of food, water, shelter, energy, and nutrient recycling?

Site-specific design suits its scale and use to the character of the land it occupies. Learn how to analyze a development site’s natural and unnatural characteristics to explore the parameters for co-housing design. Hard data collection and direct observation determine how the sun, wind, water, climate and microclimate, slopes, soils, rocks, vegetation, wildlife habitat and sacred places create a unique identity. Historic land use and existing infrastructures characterize its human context. Neighboring resources, or interference, and legal regulations expand or limit design potential. An assessment of a site’s opportunities and constraints suggest potential for sustainable development of solar gain/protection, wind harvesting/protection, water collection, nutrient and waste recycling, food production, natural building materials, and wilderness conservation. The Permaculture approach strives for a beneficial relationship between humans and nature.

Patty's Bio

Energy Master Planning for Cohousing-Scale Communities

Bill will describe how it's possible to achieve extreme energy efficiency at the cohousing scale of 20-50 dwellings, using his project Westwood in Asheville, NC as a case study. His total system design/build approach integrates thermal solar; shared walls; high performance building envelopes; deliberate ventilation; district hydronic heating, cooling, and water systems; electrical and thermal demand management; humidity control; micro-grids; and computerized control systems. He will explore the effect of scale and diversity factor, how to get it built so that what you design works, and occupant satisfaction. He will conclude with Q&A.

Bill's qualifications include Texas University Mechanical Engineer degree, Harvard MBA, Cohousing Community Founder and Developer, Integrated Energy System Designer/Builder (Westwood Cohousing Community, in DOE Database of High Performance Buildings).

Bill's Bio

Planting the Seed: Challenges and Adventures in Starting or Finding Your Cohousing Community

"How do you DO this?" is the oft heard refrain of those just starting out on the path to cohousing. Seize this opportunity to network with your peers who are on the same journey. In one action packed hour, you will get to know others engaged in the same efforts to attract new members, grow their group, and give birth to their vision. We are going to look at the challenges we face and share with each other strategies we have developed for meeting them.

Representatives of forming groups will describe their projects (vision, location, multi-generational/age focused, size of desired community, type of homes, stage of development, etc.) and hand out informational material. We expect a good number of groups from all over the US to participate in this workshop.

Individuals who are interested in joining a forming cohousing group are invited to attend this workshop as well. This is your chance to interact with members of established groups and gather information on a wide range of projects. You might even find your future neighbors and friends during this session!

Marlis's Bio

Mixed Ability Cohousing

Co-housing communities come in many different sizes and shapes, but it is probably safe to say that one thing all have in common is idealism—each one is founded on a vision of living in a better world, usually in response to something perceived as lacking or missing in the broader culture. Most seek to create a life that will satisfy basic human yearnings for security, family, relationship, mutual cooperation, creativity and self-expression; a sense of peace and a sense of belonging.

This workshop will explore what it means to create communities that consciously include the very human experience of disability. Some of us grow up with a disability, others become disabled through illness or accident and most of the rest of us will become disabled as we age. With this in mind, how do we create cohousing neighborhoods that are accessible, welcoming and truly intergrated, mixed ability communities?

In this workshop, several models will be presented—some already flourishing, others a field of dreams. We encourage a lively Q & A and discussion following the presentations.

Margo's Bio Judith's Bio

Convenient Truths -- Sustainable Communities and Sustainable Lifestyles

Most of us have heard about the "inconvenient truths" that demand a dramatic shift toward sustainability. But what can we do personally and in our communities to realize this goal?  From exterior lighting to food choices to invasive controls, you'll take away many ideas you can use now and in the future to make a difference.

Whether you're just starting out, in the midst of building or you have moved in to your community, there are lots of things you can do to minimize your energy needs and reduce your ecological footprint

Come to this workshop and learn what you can do right now to make a difference. Many suggestions are low cost as well as easy to implement.

Grady's Bio

NOT Home Alone! Creating Community for the 50+ Set

When your hair turns grey and you see your children’s children, it is time to go away and grow your soul.

Dene Peterson, founder and developer of ElderSpirit in Abingdon, VA asserts that a community built on the spiritual principles of purposeful living, giving and receiving compassionate care and support, caring for the earth and living simply generates the kind of community that helps people live longer, healthier and happier lives. “People have to know there are alternatives ‘leisure retirement.’ These are the years to find purpose, to find meaning, and grow our inner souls.

Peterson is a 2006 Purpose Prize Fellow. She serves on two national boards: Aging in Community, Denver, CO and Second Journey, Chapel Hill, NC.

Dene's Bio

The Essentials of Dynamic Facilitation

How to get through the agenda and build energy at the same time.

Good meeting facilitation can make the difference between pain and gain. We'll look at the basic qualities needed to become a full-service facilitator, the process agreements needed to spread your wings, and how to recognize those magic moments when passion can be harnessed to transform binding into bonding.

Consensus for Dummies

Making decisions by consensus is an unnatural act. At least it is for people raised in a hierarchic and competitive culture--which is just about everybody. We'll go over the cooperative roots of consensus and explain why it requires unlearning old adversarial responses in order to succeed. We'll go over the essential ingredients of consensus, explain blocking and standing aside, and make the case for why it's the most efficient form of decision making, once you've learned how to do it well. Really.

This is Delegated to the One I Love

A focused look at what should be done by the group as a whole, and what shouldn't.

For large groups working with consensus, it is crucial that they learn to delegate effectively (or the meetings will never end). This workshop will break down what work should/must be done in plenary and what can/should be delegated to a committee or manager. We'll lay out the essentials of a clear mandate, and the proper sequence of consideration that will empower committees and managers, yet keep their work in balance with whole group responsibilities. We'll talk about groups whose work is re-done in plenary and runaway committees who do way more than they were asked (bad, bad, bad.)

Larid's Bio

Permaculture Design: A Tool for Making Your Community More Sustainable

Permaculture is a design method for creating sustainable human habitats by following nature’s patterns. Sustainable systems are ecologically sound, socially just, and economically viable. Permaculture offers practical ways to meet basic human needs for food, energy, water, waste recycling, shelter, and social organization without harming the environment. This workshop will introduce the principles of Permaculture and show how existing co-housing communities can apply them to live more sustainably.

Karen's Bio

Cohousing for ALL of US: Making Cohousing Green, Accessible and Affordable

Permaculture is a design method for creating sustainable human habitats by following nature’s patterns. Sustainable systems are ecologically sound, socially just, and economically viable. Permaculture offers practical ways to meet basic human needs for food, energy, water, waste recycling, shelter, and social organization without harming the environment. This workshop will introduce the principles of Permaculture and show how existing co-housing communities can apply them to live more sustainably.

Don's Bio

Are Your Reserves Running on Empty?

This workshop will focus on the need for establishing reserves, or savings, to cover future facilities replacements, and examining a sample reserve study. What is a Reserve Study? Who does them? Why do we need one? When do we need to start one? Are they good for anything except the future? This workshop will be useful to those planning new communities as well as those maintaining older facilities. Learn how a study will help  you during planning and construction, and how you can use it to manage your facilities. Handouts include a sample reserve study and a reserve study worksheet.

Sharon's Bio

Heigh-ho! Heigh-ho! It’s Off to Workshare We Go!

Come hear how real-world Workshare has evolved in one community over time into a system that is fun, fair and easy-going, with valuable lessons learned along the way.  Workshare is often one of he most contentious issues for Cohousing communities, involving money, labor, fairness, and community needs.  Members will inevitably have different opinions about what should be done, how much work to require, what counts as work, how productive laborers should be, and how to enforce agreements.

A second presenter will share a different approach to all those questions. Can we promote participation and long term care for common grounds and spaces without a carefully structured system? We expect accountability and commitment to the community – can we get that by inviting members to pursue what they like to do best, and can we help to create motivation and pride with a good breakfast? After seven years of this experiment, we have some results to share.

There will be time for Q&A.

Brigitte's Bio  Kevin's Bio

Life Preservers: Strategies for the Blocked and Hijacked

Professional Best Practices: Including Clients in the Development Process – It’s Not Just a Focus Group!

Come find out the key issues to address and the best practices you can use, when involving the community of people that will live in the place you develop together.  Sustainability is often broken into three components, Economics, Environment and Society. A truly sustainable project and process incorporates all three in order to withstand the test of time.  This session will cover how to make the society part a real asset for your project.

Having ready access to the people wanting to create a strong community gives the developer three key benefits, clarity as to what the ‘market’ wants, committed pre-sales/capital and an active, ‘viral’ outreach team.  To gain these benefits it takes good communication, education, management of expectations and clarity of roles. Its been done successfully on multiple projects and can be a fantastic way of having a project that is not just another boring and risky shot in the dark.  Develop a sustainable project you’re excited about and that people want.

Jack's Bio

Sprouting Your Community Life & Governance: A Starter Set of Effective Practices

Let's assume that your community's development phase is almost done, perhaps construction is underway, and now the members of your community are turning to your most crucial role: deciding how you will live as neighbors and govern yourselves.

Policies and guidelines: how many there are! They cover everything from pets, to children, to noise, to Common House and guest room use, meal systems, workshare, team or committee charters, etc. etc. etc.

During this workshop, we are going to review together 12 Effective Practices dealing with everyday living in cohousing we call The Starter Set. We will discuss six of them.

These are practices we have gleaned from our own experience developing, building and living in cohousing for more than 10 years each as well as from cohousing colleagues and neighbors in other sister coho communities.

After settling in and trying things out, you might change and adapt these to fit your unique needs. But to get you started … come to our workshop and learn how you can save time, energy, money, stress, conflict, and therapy fees by adopting The Starter Set.

Elana's Bio Ann's Bio

Cohousing for Developers (and other Professionals!)

Maybe you’ve been developing housing for a while. And now you want to push the envelope and develop a community with deep roots. A place where neighbors actually know each other right from the beginning. A place where neighbors are friends. And you also want the opportunity to experiment with new technologies and building practices.

Cohousing may be your answer!

Whether you’re an old hand or a brand new developer if you are interested in creating a cohousing community be sure to attend this overview workshop on cohousing for developers.

Why build cohousing? What does this rapidly growing market niche offer developers? Can you REALLY make money at it? What are the risks? Rewards?

Hear from three seasoned developers about the benefits and challenges of developing a cohousing community. Each presenter will discuss his or her particular development model: developer-driven, Joint Venture and member-driven models.

Don's Bio   Dene's Bio   Jack's Bio

Aging in Community

"Getting older is no problem. You just have to live long enough." -- Groucho Marx

And we ARE living longer. But how shall we live? And WHERE shall we live? “Aging in Place” or “Aging in Community?” The American Association of Retired People (AARP) says that 89% of respondents in their survey want to remain in their own home. An entire industry has grown up around “Aging in Place” which aims to keep people in their homes as long as possible by providing support services directly to the individuals such as shopping, driving to doctor appointments, repairs to the home, providing social activities. The cohousing model offers all of this support as a natural part of what it means to be a neighbor. Cohousing adds the dimension of Aging in Community – that is with a group of people you know and by whom you are known and who care and support each other.

But at some point even the cohousing model has difficulty sustaining individuals in the community. Cohousing communities are good at providing support for children and families. Because of the relatively short time cohousing has been here in the US we have we are just now exploring how we will keep our members at home in community as we age. How can cohousing communities … indeed intentional communities of all kinds … meet the needs of its members as they age?

This workshop is open to all. And it is hopefully the first of multiple conversations that will take place at the conference on Aging in Community. Please check the Free Form conference offerings for additional time to explore this important topic.

Hear from three seasoned developers about the benefits and challenges of developing a cohousing community. Each presenter will discuss his or her particular development model: developer-driven, Joint Venture and member-driven models.

Joan's Bio   Rita's Bio   Dene's Bio