I t's safe to say that our lives have dramatically changed over the last few months. One of the biggest changes has happened within our work and communications culture and converting our communication methods to mostly zoom and other online platforms that let us talk from a distance.

Some professionals are really beginning to feel the drain of another zoom call and some are up to the task of continuously finding best practices to keep moving forward in such a challenging time.

Desiree Kamea, Director of Autism Housing Network says "It's important to know what type of Zoom gathering meets your needs best. A webinar and a meeting have different Zoom functions and limitations. We chose a webinar because we expected about 100 people and wanted to be able to use the Q&A Zoom function to tease out the most relevant questions quickly without "giving people the mic" so to say." Desiree recently kicked off a webinar about "neurodiverse cohousing" and why it is important and needed. Next, her and our very own Katie McCament will do a "Get it Built" workshop all over zoom!

One of the biggest benefits is the power of zoom recording! Last weekend, The CoHousing Association hosted their "Life is Better" workshop series over two days on zoom. A great advantage of zoom is that you are able to record and instead of missing a lecture or not being able to make it to a workshop you have been looking forward to all year, now you can sit back and listen to your favorite speakers any time of the day.

The Life is Better workshop featured many panelist including cohousing architect Bryan Bowen, Dick Kohlhaas and Joan Huntley who are two of the founding members at Casa Verde Commons and Alan O'Hashi who spoke about "the secret sauce" of cohousing.

What has been your secret sauce to finding the balance of community, work and communicating from a distance?

Cohousers have been thinking of clever new ways to come together while staying 6ft apart. From picnics to dances, shared outdoor meals to pool gatherings, we have learned that we can't break the community spirit!

Bozeman Cohousing in Montana is also rocking their social distancing! Their last weekly socially distanced picnic had almost all of their members, an explorer, a guest taking a tour, as well as two visiting members from Arboretum Cohousing in Madison, WI, who were meeting their newborn granddaughter. Bozeman member Marci Young said "On a sultry summer night, eleven of us dined together on salads and season fruit and tortellini on the bench overlooking Matthew Bird Creek which runs through our new property. The dogs laid in the shade and our expectant mom enlightened us about hypnobirthing. Tonight we immerse ourselves in our first of two Design Synthesis workshops edging ever closer to the reality of our cohousing home together". What a way to spend an evening!

Are you having a hard time figuring out who could be in your cohousing community? Interested in attracting more young families? Not sure how to attract the demographic you would like? Say no more!

Email Elise@cohousing-solutions and ask about our new household composition training!