Hi there!
You’re checking us out at exactly the right time! We’re starting the design process of the Wild Life Ranch Co-housing Community over the coming months with regular, monthly meetings. This includes the formalizing and finalizing of the following:
- Legal structure
- Governance structure
- Social commitments
- Architecture and Design decisions
- Community connection and meetings to get to know each other better
Co-housing members at Wild Life Ranch
Our current plan is to build 10-12 houses together at Wild Life Ranch and are looking for 10-12 households willing to join us on our journey.
From our community living experience in the past, these are some of the important points we’ve sussed out to make community life happy and healthy:
- Feeling joy and love at the concept of living together in community, sharing tasks and amenities and excitement around being social with others in the group!
- Willingness to claim feelings and internal happenings in response to fellow members (Strong recommendation to familiarize with Radical Honesty (read book), Non-violent communication or other communication skills to develop conflict resolution practice
- Some training and practice in noticing and expressing emotions and body sensations to others
- Buy-in to sociocratic principles and organization, including circle formation and consent decision making
- Willingness to take up roles in circles and own responsibility in the community (10-20 hours a month)
- Financial means to cover house building costs, likely in the range of $500,000-$800,000 for your home. (Some financial help via community financing may be available)
Early Design of Community Agreements & Values
In our time of living in community one of the big making or breaking points I witnessed is the group’s ability to deal with conflict and differing opinions as well as the wide range of human emotions. To facilitate being with these aspects of our humanity, here is a proposal of values to adopt for us as a community, subject to change and amendment as the group continues to form:
My word is my bond
I do as I say and I say as I intend to do. I live aligned with my word. I’m able to change my mind and previously made agreements and I will let people know about it. I acknowledge if I slip up and recommit to my agreement.
Revealing my reality
I like to and commit to reveal the reality about my body sensations, thoughts and emotions, in particular my moments of tension, as well as appreciation in relationship to other community members. When I notice I’ve withheld something, I go and reveal it as soon as I become aware of my withhold.
Alignment with nature
I live in alignment with nature and honest necessity and abundance. I neither deprive myself nor indulge in experiences that I long for.
Asking for what I want
I take responsibility for my needs, reveal my wishes and ask for what I want. I commit to framing my asks as requests that can be received with a yes or no.
Sustainability
My endeavors are self-sustaining and don’t require charity or capital outside of their own circular nature.
Abundance
We have enough money and resources to do all that we want and are prepared for downturns and always have a little extra to help us get through hard times.
Joining
If the above values and direction resonate with you, we’d love to explore for you to join with us as a Co-housing member at Wild Life Ranch. We currently hold regular monthly meetings where we continue the process of forming, designing and eventually building our dream homes here at the ranch.