Eating together
One of the advantages of living in community is the opportunity to share meals. We have a variety of types of community meals, some of which are prepared by a team of volunteers. We also have potlucks once or twice a week, and sometimes agree to order out together from a neighborhood restaurant. Community members sign up to help with set-up, cooking and clean-up. Meals in the winter take place in our Great Room; in the warmer weather, we often migrate to the outdoor patio.
Playing together
We love to celebrate milestone events among our members: births, weddings, and retirements; we also have monthly birthday gatherings, with homemade treats. Halloween and New Year’s Eve bring special occasions for dressing up! Individuals host game nights, lego-building events, group sings, vinyl listening evenings, and propose outdoor activities, such as hiking or cross-country skiing. We share films, and have watch parties for key political, entertainment and sporting events!
Governing together
One of the defining features of cohousing is self-government. Our governance structure has three primary branches: the Board of Directors, Community Life, and Administration, with a variety of groups overseen by these committees. Community members are encouraged to join one or more governance groups, and we are proud to say that we have over 90% involvement. It is easy to find a group that fits your interests and abilities.
Major policy and financial decisions are made at the monthly meetings of the entire membership. Our decision-making process can be described as “modified consensus”; we strive for unanimity, but if it cannot be reached after addressing the concerns of the minority, we require 75% agreement to approve a proposal.
Working together
Everyone at Linden Cohousing is expected to participate in the life of the community, whether it be serving on a committee, cleaning our common areas, weeding the gardens or organizing social events. There is a recognition that some folks have barriers to participation, such as health limitations or full-time work and childcare responsibilities, however most everyone can do something. Twice a year we have a community-wide work day, which not only gets tasks accomplished, but allows for us to enjoy each other’s company while doing so.
Learning Together
We enjoy sharing our knowledge with each other, through workshops as varied as skills for improving facilitation, to pie crust baking, to genealogy, to sustainability practices. We have a book group focused on social justice. Begun during the pandemic, we have periodic presentations by community members entitled “TED Meets the Moth” about topics of interest to the presenters.