In this issue:

• Wolf Creek Lodge celebrates 10 years!
• Thanksgiving traditions in cohousing
• Katie's trip to Calgary
• Book review: We Built a Village
• Cohousing resales

Wolf Creek Lodge's 10th Anniversary

Wolf Creek Lodge may be one of the few California housing developments on the verge of starting construction in 2008, that actually got built by the same developers. Last week, residents gathered round for a special dinner party in the common house to celebrate 10 years of living in community. They shared stories about how Wolf Creek Lodge got built and showed their appreciation for the founders, which doesn't happen enough in cohousing communities. These important women are pictured here with their developer and our president (L to R: Katie, Barbara, Virginia, Suzanne). Suzanne went on to shared three of the group's potential names: Silver Wolf's Lair, Lofty Heights and Lofty Wolf Creekers. I hope this inspires forming groups struggling to find a name. A community's name is a big part of their identity, and we're so glad they didn't choose to identify as Silver Wolf's Lair!

Resident Jackie (pictured below) shared her memory of the "come to Jesus" meeting in September of 2009; Members had to decide how much they could contribute to keep the property, while they waited for financing to reopen after the Great Recession. They initially came up short. It seemed like the kiss of death, until one Member asked everyone to try again. Under threat of total loss, the group rallied and raised the money they needed. Jackie's story brought tears to those who had been there. 

"The only reason this community exists, is because some of you stepped up and put in your money, in a really scary time."

- Katie McCamant, CoHousing Solutions President

Despite the group's trials and tribulations, Katie told us about a few of the little miracles that got Wolf Creek Lodge built. Wolf Creek Lodge wasn't originally meant to be cohousing at all, it was supposed to be nice, steady, architecture work for an apartment building. Plans changed once Katie saw the site; she could envision a walkable cohousing community on the hill, with a 1,000 lineal feet of wild stream and open space at the bottom of the property. Despite contractor sagas and the Recession putting all financing on hold, they finally started to build in 2010. After everything, Katie's former assistant Nisanda claimed the site was haunted by a spirit named Ed. Nisanda put a large crystal in the construction trailer to ward off any evil, and Katie joked it was the reason Wolf Creek Lodge was finally completed.

Residents of Wolf Creek Lodge gifted Katie with white roses as a token of their gratitude for her persistence and perseverance in sticking with the community, and reminded us all to show gratitude whenever we can.

How cohousers celebrate their

harvest & gratitude in November

Contributions courtesy of the Cohousing-L archives

Many of us have second thoughts about the colonialist's Thanksgiving, but we all have much to be thankful for this time of year. Communities have done a wonderful job showing each other gratitude, even through the pandemic.

"During dessert, our community life committee organizes an activity. For example, they hand out colored maple leaf cut-outs and folks are asked to write on the leaves thoughts about gratitude and living in cohousing. These leaves then get assembled on a large maple tree poster and displayed in the foyer." - Patti, Jamaica Plains Cohousing in Boston, MA (2022)

"We will collectively publicly read a Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving address to the natural world, followed by socially distant chatting. The event includes a pie swap! Please bring Thanksgiving pies cut into slices and containers for you to take home pie slices. While at this point it feels safest to have masks on the whole time, we invite people to select a few different pieces of pie to bring home to enjoy." - Melissa, Nubanist Neighborhood & Farm in Peterborough, NH (2020)

"People sign up to bring various courses, or to be in charge of decorations or set up. This year those who bought the turkeys and flowers for decoration will be reimbursed (cost shared by all those who ate); other dishes are contributed. Guests (priority goes to... people who used to live here but don't anymore) are not asked to pay anything but are asked to bring a bottle of wine as well as a dish to share. This year, for the first time we paid a couple of people (not community members) to come in to do the cleanup." - Joani, Doyle Street Cohousing in Emeryville, CA (1998)

Photo credit to PDX Commons.

Katie's Mosaic Village Workshop

Katie recently visited Calgary to do a workshop with Mosaic Village. Meeting people face-to-face is always a treat, but hearing Katie explain cohousing reminds us all what we're fighting for. Katie delved into finances, how it gets built and Mosaic Village's projected timeline. By all accounts, people walked away from the events feeling hopeful and invigorated.

"I didn't shy away from talking about the risks. We're all grown-ups who have to decide if we're gonna make a difference in the world or not." - Katie McCamant, CoHousing Solutions President

Janice reported lots of really positive conversations and two new Members following the events. One woman even suggested they speak to her senior group about cohousing, opening a door the group may not have found on their own. "I only wish some of my friends and family had come so they could appreciate why we're doing this," Janice said. We hear that!

Check out their Events or call Jocelyn at 403-970-6554 for more information.

The CoHousing Solutions Book Club:

We Built a Village by Diane Margolis

Diane Margolis cofounded Cambridge Cohousing, where she has lived since 1998. She has made major contributions to the cohousing movement in North America, including cofounding the Cohousing Research Network and serving as a former member of the CohoUS Board of Directors. Most recently, Diane released We Built a Village, a memoir.

In We Built a Village, Diane details Cambridge Cohousing's tug of war between the market and the commons. Diane's community went from their first meeting in 1995 to moving in 1998 — an impressive but impossible timeline in today's market. Though much has changed since 1998, many of the issues Diane explains are relevant to current forming groups. For example...

Client cohousing resales

1. Nevada City Cohousing (intergen): 3+bed/2 bath in Nevada City, CA
2. Wolf Creek Lodge (senior): 1 bed/1 bath in Grass Valley, CA
3. Village Hearth Cohousing (senior): 2 bed/2 bath in Durham, NC

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