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Hey all!
Amidst all the news that's been going around recently, here are some happy notes to lift your spirits. In this edition, we'll be talking about...
- Quimper Village residents moving in to their newly built community
- Why Denmark is one of the happiest places in the world
- Quinoa and Cohousing: how persistence is all-important in getting an idea to spread
- Upcoming Getting It Built Workshops in Truckee, CA and Houston, TX
Enjoy!
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The CoHousing Solutions Team (Katie & Bethany)
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Quimper Village Residents Moving In!
New Senior Cohousing in Port Townsend Successfully Accomplishes Project
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Quimper Village Residents all together and ready to reap the rewards of staying persistent and successfully creating a cohousing community!
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Quimper Village, a 55+ cohousing community in Port Townsend, WA has completed construction and residents are moving in! The moving process is an exciting time for everyone involved. Though, to fully embrace the fact of aging and prepare for the next phase of life is no small task. Moving from a big house tucked away in the woods to more community-centric village lifestyle is a major shift.
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Here’s what one Quimper Village member, Cheron, had to say about it…
“A few years ago, a neighbor here in the woods became quite ill and when she recovered was no longer able to drive. From our neighborhood, the only way to the grocery store is by car – no buses come to this neck of the woods. My friend went from being involved in her church and community to being isolated and cut off from doing the things she loved. Watching her become so isolated was disturbing and made us look at what alternatives might be available. We did not want a future that had isolation at its core.
We discovered the people who were dreaming about cohousing – Quimper Village people. For the last few years, we have been working side by side with them to make the dream a reality.
Yes, we are certainly trading one life-style for another and it might look confusing to those on the outside. But what we get in return has much more value...
Sharing. Stimulation. Camaraderie. Community. Let’s get packing!”
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Why Denmark is considered one of the happiest places in the world...
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Why is Denmark considered one of the happiest places in the world?
Well, for one thing, they've realized the importance of daily face-to-face interaction and living in community.
Watch this video from the Today Show
to see how cohousing contributes to the overall happiness of this culture and place.
Katie McCamant and Charles Durrett discovered cohousing in Denmark and were so inspired that they studied it further,
wrote the seminal books on the subject, and imported this concept to the U.S. In fact, they were interviewed on the Today Show the year their first cohousing book came out in December of 1988!
Read Katie's Insights below about how
persistence is key
in helping an idea to spread widely, whether it's quinoa or cohousing.
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Ever wanted to attend a Getting It Built Workshop?
Two Opportunities to attend GIBs with Promising New Groups!
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Truckee Cohousing: Creating Community in the Sierra Nevadas
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Architecture by McCamant & Durrett Architects
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Truckee Cohousing's very first potluck was a great success!
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The newly formed Truckee Cohousing is gaining steam in their efforts to create a
"community-designed eco-friendly neighborhood" in the Sierra Nevadas!
They will be hosting Katie and Chuck for a
Getting It Built Workshop
this November 4-5. If you are interested in learning more about Truckee Cohousing, visit their website at
truckeecohousing.com and check out their
Facebook page. To receive their newsletter with information regarding upcoming events,
click here. And if you're ready to dive in,
register here for their November 4-5 workshop.
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Cohousing Houston: A Resilient Community Comes Together
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Cohousing Houston is already proving to be a resilient community. After Hurricane Harvey and the ensuing flooding that
affected several members and their families, they are going ahead full force with plans for creating their cohousing community. They will be hosting Katie McCamant (
CoHousing Solutions) and Charles Durrett (
McCamant & Durrett Architects) for a public cohousing presentation on November 17, to be followed by a
Getting It Built Workshop on November 18th and 19th.
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The weekend-long
Getting It Built Workshop (GIB) is when participants learn about the legal, financial, developmental, and social pieces of creating cohousing. The GIB is one of the first steps for groups who are serious about creating cohousing and it will be a great opportunity to work with cohousing professionals Katie and Chuck in a small group setting. If you know anyone who would like to live in Houston and enjoy the benefits of living in cohousing, please let them know about this opportunity! Check out
Cohousing Houston's website and "Like" them on Facebook (@
cohousinghouston). To register for their November 18-19
Getting It Built Workshop, email
info@cohousinghouston.com.
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Cohousing Houston at a recent community building event
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Katie's Insights
"Quinoa and Cohousing: It Takes Persistence for an Idea to Spread"
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Katie cooking common dinner in Nevada City Cohousing's Common House
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Thinking about my Dad this morning. The other night we had a yummy quinoa dinner in our cohousing common house. Thirty years ago, when quinoa and cohousing were just being introduced to the US, their prevalence today would have been a wild dream. My Dad played a key role in introducing quinoa to the US. In 1987 he was sending out samples to anyone he could think of. When we went through his papers after he died, we found a copy of the letter written to Julia Child, with a quinoa sample and some recipes.
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Importing cohousing to the U.S. took perseverance as well. Today there are 166 cohousing communities across the US, and I bet everyone of of them has served quinoa at a common house meal! Just goes to show that if you are persistent and stick around long enough, stuff happens. Thanks, Dad!
For those that want more of the quinoa story,
this article in the Atlantic was written by my cousin. Here is
Part 2 of that article.
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Quinoa Crop: Photo by Angela Tchou
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It's important to recognize the important roles that persistence and tenacity play when trying to introduce a new concept. We at CoHousing Solutions know how worthwhile it is to build your community, and we'll be there for you every step of the way as you realize your dream!
Contact us today to see how we can help.
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Getting It Built Workshop in Truckee, CA
November 4-5
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Public Presentation and Getting It Built Workshop in Houston, TX
November 17-19
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Cohousing Presentation with Chuck Durrett in Spokane, WA
December 15th
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We provide
development consulting services to help you create your sustainable neighborhood. Our team pioneered the development of cohousing in North America, and we have helped create dozens of successful communities.
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Our newest venture involves training passionate cohousing entrepreneurs through the year-long
500 Communities Program. We'll be recruiting for the next class in early 2018, with applications due around May/June 2018.
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Architecture by McCamant & Durrett Architects
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CoHousing Solutions | (530) 478-1970
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