This has been circulating via email - I finally decided to throw a copy on the web.  Fred

Cohousing exploration conversation
Blossom Hill Cohousing Community Initiative - Buffalo, Minnesota
Sunday, October 14th, 6-8pm,
Lund's Community Room, 3455                  I think this was written by
Vicksburg Lane, Plymouth, MN  55447.         Dave Strait   accesspro {at} gmail.com
                                             (converted from MS Word by Fred)

Head, Heart & Hands -- Creating what we truly want in our lives.

Blossom Hill Cohousing Community Initiative - Buffalo, Minnesota
Invitation to Wisdom/TMLP, interested parties for a cohousing exploration
conversation, Sunday, October 14th, 6-8pm, Lund's Community Room, 3455
Vicksburg Lane, Plymouth, MN  55447.

Faith Popcorn introduced the term "cocooning" in the 90's as the act
of insulating or hiding oneself from the normal social environment. Its
popularity continues to rise. The 'average' American watches 28 hours
of television or movies each week. Census.gov say:s "In 2007 the
'average' adult will spend 65 days in front of the TV; 41 days
listening to the radio; a little over a week on the Internet; a week
reading a daily newspaper; and another week listening to recorded
music." That adds up to about a third of the year, even with
multi-tasking, a huge commitment of time. No wonder we hear "too busy"
so often.

I want to explore an alternative.

If community is the secret to sustainability and community forms wherever
people gather, would people absolutely love coming home to a cohousing
community on what is now my 12 +' acres?  Would walking into the lodge,
asking "What's for dinner?" with family & about 80 friends be fun?
What would life look like when people could be self-expressed and pursue
their passion whether for art, gardening, being social, exploring  &
learning new things or reading a book in front of the fireplace knowing
All is Well & the dishes are being taken care of? Can we have a life of
luxurious abundance economically?

Located 26 miles west of Plymouth/I494, 2 miles east of Buffalo,
Minnesota, '1/4 mile south of Highway 55, the area is slated for upcoming
development. The property sits in the proposed Highway 25 Buffalo ByPass
Greenway (10 yr plan) and in the Buffalo Orderly Annexation & Development
area (3-8 yr estimated) which will bring city water, sewer & natural gas.
Commuter rail is in the works for Big Lake, 10 miles north. Highway 55 is
being widened to 4 lanes coming west from Medina. Adjacent 5-20 acre
parcels along with ag land creates the possibility for considerable growth
& expansion.

The site itself is pretty. 5 + acres of towering, ancient oaks, tall
pines, cottonwoods and abundant wildlife including Goshawks, Bald Eagles,
foxes, occasionally deer & even coyotes, raccoons, rabbits and more. 7
acres has a great view of Lake Mary, popular with migrating birds and
geese, sloped to provide lake views to most parts. Site work completed
includes about an acre for sun-drenched, raised bed gardens along with
ample areas for shaded gardens & paths and several areas suitable for
greenhouses, poultry, goats, llamas and for parking.

For years I've considered many ways to live in a more organic
relationship with this land. Amid all the great ideas and experiments,
what I failed to see was to open it up for bigger conversation and
participation. Join me in a Wisdom/TMLP conversation to explore
feasibility and opportunities around the cohousing concept. Sunday,
October 14th, 6-8pm, Lund's Community Room.

What is Cohousing?

Many neighborhoods just aren't very social. The close ties that were once
common are now becoming rare. Modern housing developments seek to offer
privacy, not community. The age of the automobile perhaps created the
modern "Get To", a word play on ghetto, we drive right past our
neighbors' homes without ever saying "Hello" and zip into the predominant
feature, the garage, and close the door on the world.

Cohousing communities are small-scale neighborhoods that provide a balance
between personal privacy and a commitment to consciously living socially
with people who know and care about each other. Most cohousing communities
share an environmental ethic with a commitment to "living gently on the
land" in terms of building eco-friendly homes, using organic gardening
methods, and incorporating community recycling and composting. Expanding
that creates the opportunity for sharing to include things like electric &
hybrid vehicles, coordinating activities and transportation, to bring ease
to daily chores and much more.

Individual dwelling units enjoy convenient access to shared commons
including a lodge with facilities such as a gourmet kitchen, dining room,
recreation, fitness, meeting & activity rooms, laundry facilities, guest
rooms, library and sitting areas, wood & mechanical workshops,
fax/printer, sitting areas with fireplaces, movie & TV rooms, porches and
patios, greenhouse, community gardens, goats & chickens -- you get the
picture!

Each living space is entirely self-sufficient, complete with a kitchen,
but people often prepare common meals together in the kitchen of the
lodge. These meals are very appealing to those with busy lives and most
people choose to participate.

Cohousing developments are designed, planned, and managed with a high
degree of resident participation. Most major decisions are arrived at
through a consensus decision-making process. These developments are based
on democratic principles that espouse no ideology other than the desire
for more practical and social home environments. Communities often include
a diverse mix of people, including singles, couples, families with
children, and elders. Most communities strive for a multi-generational,
pedestrian-oriented neighborhood that fosters frequent interaction.
There are 80 completed cohousing neighborhoods in North America. An
estimated 60 cohousing groups are in various stages of the development
process. These stages range from newly formed groups, whose members are
just being introduced to the concept of cohousing, to those that are well
into the planning and construction process.

The cohousing concept was created in Denmark over 25 years ago with over
125 such communities in that country alone. As the movement has developed
in the United States, some decidedly American characteristics have emerged
in order to meet the needs of the culture.

Communication between cohousing communities is facilitated by individual
list-servers and through The Cohousing Network, a non-profit organization.
If you would like to learn more about cohousing, click on the links below
for references to other communities and additional sources.

Cohousing Association of the United States

Wonderland Development -- Many examples of Cohousing