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Earth's New Season by Guy Dauncey
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| Sharing Spaces
at Windsong Village
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There may be war in Iraq, global warming all around us, and cruel
poverty that persists in the world’s most prosperous nations and yet
amid it all, we have to go on living. For as long as we have been
mammals, humans have lived in close, neighbourly, mammalian villages,
helping and supporting each other through life’s challenges. Today,
a new movement is emerging that restores this sense of closeness,
while preserving the privacy we have come to cherish. Among other
things, it creates child-friendly, car-free spaces, and helps us to
share many resources, living in closer harmony with nature on a smaller
ecological footprint. I am handing my column over this month to people
who share one of my many dreams for making this Earth a more beautiful,
caring place.
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Courtyard at Quaryside Village, North
Vancouver |
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Living in Community
by Gerry Kilgannon and Val McIntyre
Several years ago, a group of people from different walks of life with no building experience formed a development company to oversee the design, financing, and construction of a five million dollar cohousing project in Burnaby. The result was Cranberry Commons, an urban village built to meet its residents’ needs, respect the Earth’s limits, and create a friendly, caring, multi-generational neighbourhood. Solar panels, in-floor radiant heating, rainwater collection, composting, recycling, reduced automobile use, and shared resources all contribute to making this a more environmentally friendly way to live.
Cranberry Commons is one of five completed cohousing communities in BC, with more in development. Cohousing is not government subsidized, and tends to be slightly costlier than normal housing due to the added quality, environmental features and common amenities.
Cohousing enthusiasts start by defining their vision of a good home and a good lifestyle. This often involves a desire for honest relationships, mutual support, sharing, and a respect for privacy. They translate their dream into reality using consensus to reach creative decisions that respect everyone’s needs. Along the way, they develop effective communication and conflict resolution skills, self-responsibility, and a strong feeling of community.
Each community is unique, depending on its members, location and design. Urban communities tend toward apartment and townhouse designs, while rural communities may include clustered single family homes. They all tend to include jointly owned common amenities such as a dining room, kitchen, lounge, guestroom, playroom, workshop, laundry, office space and community gardens, within a pedestrian, car-free design.
Completed Communities in BC:
WindSong (Langley), Quayside Village (North Vancouver), Cranberry Commons (Burnaby), Cardiff Place (Victoria), Middle Road (Nelson). WindSong and Quayside have homes for sale and hold regular tours.
Groups in Development:
Roberts Creek Cohousing (Sunshine Coast), Pacific Gardens (Nanaimo), Chuckleberry Community (Nelson), Yarrow Ecovillage, OUR Ecovillage (Shawnigan Lake). New members enthusiastically welcomed!
Groups Forming:
Vancouver Cohousing, Kelowna Cohousing, Talking Cedars (Tofino). New members enthusiastically welcomed!
For more info visit: www.cohousing.ca
or call 604-878-3311
Living in Community: Our Hope for the Earth
On Sunday April 12th, 12 4pm, there is an open forum on Living in
Community: Our Hope for the Earth at Langara College, 100 West 49th
Ave, Vancouver. Speakers include Sean Pander (Canadian Cohousing Network),
Brandy McPherson (OUR Ecovillage, Shawnigan Lake), and John Irwin
(South East False Creek Working Group). There’s time for networking,
and a keynote address by Guy Dauncey. Everyone welcome. By donation
($10 - $15). Details, call Leslie Kemp, 604-323-5981. (second article)
The Yarrow Eco-Village
by Michael Hale
How does an ecovillage come into being? In the case of Yarrow Ecovillage a few years ago about twenty people gathered at Windsong Cohousing in Langley to talk about creating an ecovillage. What brought the group together was an idea and a specific parcel of land that would have been ideally suited. The group members gathered in a large circle in Windsong’s dining room. They were from various walks of life, a gamut of occupations, and various socio-economic backgrounds.
Two features were particularly striking about this group. One was the respectful way they listened to one anothera characteristic, perhaps, of those who live, or have lived, in an intentional community. The second was their environmental engagement. For these folks, the environment meant far more than merely recycling one’s garbage.
Ecovillage was an idea looking for a place to happen in the lower mainland of BC. While the initial plan didn’t go ahead, group members continued to meet, convinced that they were onto something. In early 2002 they sponsored a meeting on ecovillage financing. Shortly after that one of them spotted a property in Yarrow. It was a 24-acre former dairy farm in the centre of town, on the main street. For years people in the area had puzzled about what should happen with that farm. It seemed that history had passed it by. Many thought it too small to be a viable dairy farm anymore, yet it was too big for a hobby farm. We purchased the farm.
Our vision translated into new possibilities for the land:
A village square on the main street with a mix of cottage industries and residences.
Preserve the historic barn as a produce sales centre and arts and crafts cooperative.
Use the loft for gatherings (and barn dances!)
Create an organic farm with shelterbelts around the perimeter.
Restore the riparian zone along the creek, and daylight another creek.
Ponds, alternate energy sources, green building, water reclamation, a learning centre.
These are some of the ideas coming forward as the Yarrow Ecovillagers dialogue with the surrounding community.
The emergent ecovillage now has about 20 members and associates. We
meet every second Saturday on site for a work bee, meeting and potluck,
and every second Thursday at Windsong for a business meeting. Decisions
are by consensus. "That’s nice," one might say, "but consensus takes
such a long time." Well, it doesn’t have to! We have developed a decision-making
process and use the green, yellow and red card system used in some
cohousing communities. Green means, "I agree," yellow means "I can
live with it," and red means "I don’t agree but am willing to try
to find a better way." It works. People listen to one another and
decisions get made surprisingly quickly. Some say the red card is
the key. People don’t use it lightly, yet it is empowering. Everyone
has an equal voice.
The Yarrow Ecovillage Society is nearing its first anniversary. The land has been purchased, a cooperative formed, two meetings held with the local community, and two acres plowed for farming this summer. An exciting vision is emerging, and through it all there is a spirit of collaboration, stewardship and ingenuity that is a characteristic of ecovillages wherever they have sprung up on the planet. YES, something mighty interesting is happening in Yarrow!
The Yarrow Ecovillage is open to new members. For more information, contact Michael Hale in Chilliwack (Tel: 604-824-0800 or e-mail: sunfolk@shaw.ca).
Guy is author of 101 Ways to Stop the War on Iraq (www.earthfuture.com),
and other titles.
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