Newest Shared-Living Idea!

I'm currently exploring a new shared living idea. There are many churches on the market as participation in religious services is down. So what about converting a church into condos with community space? The parking areas could be converted to garden space, there would be a shared workout room, maybe a community kitchen, shared outdoor areas, etc.

Churches are found in all kinds of neighborhoods and urban areas. They are often large and have interesting architecture. I watched a Selling New York segment where someone had done this very thing. It was an interesting and beautiful conversion.

On the negative side - my husband. He says I need to find investors up front. That's what I get for marrying a man in finance. Always looking for ways to pop my bubble with the pinprick of reality.

So just as an informal poll - how many of you would be interested in living like this? I'm not asking ANYONE to invest! This is just a beginning point. It may not be a church - it could be some other kind of building. But I'm just curious to know if any of you have ever thought you would like to live with others in a shared-living environment of like-minded people.

I'll put a poll up on the sidebar for a couple of weeks, just for fun.

Entrepreneurship

Our family is currently exploring the idea of starting a couple of different businesses. Several ideas are being floated, and nothing is firm yet, but the energy is flowing and ideas are popping.

We come into this with a variety of skills and experience in a number of fields - finance, research, investor relations, accounting, management, computer modeling, experience with start-ups, resource development, alternative energy, human development, psychology, human relations, marketing, teaching, cooking, writing.

Surely we can create a business opportunity, don't you think?

If fact, I would bet that you have family and/or friends that come with a variety of skill sets that create something completely different when you put them all together. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I would also bet that same set of family/friends have some great ideas - just simmering on the back burner.

New ideas, new businesses, fresh starts. I think we're going to have create our own opportunities in the future. Maybe we can do it the way it should be done - with mindfullness, gratitude, and environmental awareness. 

Bright Neighbor

CMN had this little video on a community farming project. I had to laugh because as I was watching it I realized it was in Portland (OR) - which is where our girls live, and home to a very forward-thinking group mentality. The clip includes ideas on how to start an urban shared-resources community, which you know is near and dear to my heart. The young man's enthusiasm is contagious. I love the hoot he lets out at the end. :-)

I'm also working with a friend on this type of community for women who are trying to kick addiction and take care of their children. It is only in the ideas stage, but I'm excited about the possibilities.

Sharing resources is going to be something we take very seriously in the future. We need to find a way to feed, shelter, and employ people in a way that utilizes our innate skills. Some people love to cook, some love to garden, some love children and are good care-providers, some are good at fixing things. All of these skills are valuable in a shared-resources community.



In his new book, Someplace Like America: Tales From The New Great Depression, writer Dale Maharidge, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and professor at Columbia University, writes:

One thing I’ve discovered in all these years of hearing Americans talk about their lives and dreams is that collectively we are strong. We are survivors. We emerged from hard times in the 1930s. We will do so again and will begin the long process of rebuilding an economy that works for everyone, but this can happen only if we relearn some lessons about caring for and relying on one another. And relearn we will, for we have no other choice.


The reality is that we're on our own. We cannot look to government to fix these problems because our elected officials are nothing more than a function of the money flowing in to Washington, which is not coming from people out of work, destitute, and homeless.

But one thing we do have is each other. And we have American ingenuity, a strong work ethic, and the ability to reinvent ourselves. So don't count us out just yet.

For more on Bright Neighbor go here.

Living The Expat Life

My daughter sent me an email today from some friends that have relocated to Ecuador. It seems they have leased acreage for a organic farm and are looking for investors to build about eight eco-friendly homes on about 1 acre per household. Sound familiar?

So since this is right up my 'shared-resources' alley, I thought I would see what real estate prices were like in Ecuador. You can get this house for $180,000 in Cuenca:

Under Contract means the realtor has a signed contract to sell the home.

How about this one on acreage outside of town for $370,000? It has six bedrooms and six baths, full maids quarters and the taxes for 2009 was $145. (My older daughter thought the maid's quarters would be perfect for her younger sister. :-) I'm thinking an extended family could live here:

I guess these places are starting to look better and better to me when I realize the opportunities for our children are no longer in the United States. After reading a long article on the "lost generation" of new college graduates today, I realized this country is not what it used to be. Our "economy of war" is leaving me sad and dispirited. The huge shift to corporatism, with it's lack of moral obligation, is going to drive the best and brightest to other places, offering brighter futures.

Maybe it's time to look elsewhere, where we may not have as many amenities, but life can still be good. Maybe we can afford to retire before we're 80 years old. What do you think?

Here is a free handbook for moving to Ecuador.

Look For The Signs

I believe that when we commit to something - truly commit - the universe starts organizing to make it happen. Even if we don't know the details, we can daydream the perimeters of how we want our lives to look. For example, I have been dreaming of a shared-resources community for some time. I've posted about it more than once on this blog. But the place to form this community has eluded me. I vacillate between Portland, OR and Maui, HI. Portland is where my children reside, and we love the city - well to be honest, I probably love it more than my husband does. In fact, he feels the rainy winters more than I do. We lived there for about 2.5 years, a few years back.

Maui, on the other hand, is where my husband feels he is most comfortable. There is something about the Aloha Spirit that inspires him to be the man he wants to be. Corporate America has not been the place to feel connected to what he feels is important - all those fuzzy things like love, kindness, the environment. So when he sees himself retired - it is not in a city, but much closer to whales - his current obsession.

Which brings me to the gist of this post. When we commit to what we want in our lives - the universe begins organizing, little signs and synchronicities emerge, and the puzzle pieces begin to come together to make it happen.

The other day I had read something that made me feel that I no longer wanted to live in America. I won't go into the details, but it just felt as though the country has been going in the opposite direction from all the things I believe to be important and true. I started looking at New Zealand properties, I looked at Canadian properties - but both felt very far from home. (I know, I just said I wanted to move away from America - but let's face it - it is my home and I do love it in so many ways.) Anyway, one of the other issues that I have been noodling is the fact that there are very few people in my life that share my same belief system, that see consciousness as anything more than having one's eyes open. We have plenty of friends - just none that share my worldview. I feel like such an oddball sometimes.

So I was feeling a bit down about things when I looked down and noticed Maui Vision Magazine on my automan - which is all about holistic living in Maui. Many people advertise alternative business practices in this magazine. I had one of those "light-bulb moments" when I realized that the small island of Maui is where "my" community resides. It is where my husband wants to live, and where at least one of my daughters would like to raise her family.


I had also talked about a school in this post, and my youngest emailed me the other day saying that since her nephew could not find a preschool that didn't require being on a waiting list from birth - maybe she and I could create a preschool if she couldn't find a job with her masters in education - which she begins in June. She was thinking Portland, but why not Maui?

My post from yesterday was written by a man by the name of Mark Sheehan. I mentioned his name in my post. Look what I found in Maui Vision Magazine today:

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE THE FUTURE

There is a growing movement that recognizes how small sustainable communities can make a big difference for the health of the environment and the quality of life for everyone. Even in big cities there are co-operatives forming to share resources and reap the rewards. Maui is the perfect place for new models of community to grow and flourish.

HOW CAN YOU GET STARTED?

Consider making a list of people you know who share your values and have specific skills and resources. Go online and look at types of shared living to get ideas for what you want. Start a list of your needs and resources.

THE RIGHT PROPERTY FOR THE RIGHT COMMUNITY

For the last 25 years I've been helping people locate and buy ideally suited sustainable Maui properties and know what it takes to form a functioning co-operative. If you want help from a realtor with a lot of experience in this realm, give me a call.
Mark Sheehan - Coldwell Properties

I think we are going to give him a call...

Heavenly Hawaii - The Dream Continues

As I mentioned in my last post, Hawaii is on our radar for our shared-resources community. We have found the Upcountry of Maui suitable for growing food, especially the Kula area, which produces much of the island's organic produce. The tropical weather is cooler in the Upcountry and heating is mostly by fireplace or woodstove. Few homes have forced air heating/cooling. The down side is expensive land prices. But not to be deterred, this is my dream after all, so I have envisioned this community to start with my family, and then to grow from there.

I loved these houses, some of which were manufactured in Bali, made of coconut wood, and sold through a company on the island. Coconut trees do not have branches, so the wood is very strong - able to stand up to the fierce winds that occasionally blow through the island. The homes are very small and beautifully carved. Emphasis is on outdoor living in Hawaii, so the lanai is very important.

I would like to start with 5 to 10 homes on about 2 acre parcels, for a total of 10 to 20 acres. The land would be owned by the association, but individual homes would be owned by the occupants. Between the homes would be fruit trees, organic gardens, edible flowers, native flora and fauna, and pathways. A gazebo-like structure would shelter exercise equipment, with a yoga studio on the top deck that would be open on all sides. Of course in this dream we have a (salt water?) pool, (it is Hawaii after all,) and an outdoor cooking/eating/meeting area. The property would have chickens, and possibly a barn for horses and other animals shared and cared for by the inhabitants.

Barter is very important, especially with the larger island community. My background qualifies me to run a pre-school and my younger daughter will be qualified to teach older students. Maybe we have a school on the property, and if we get paid in fish, then so be it. I see daytime retreats and other possibilities - Reiki, holistic nutrition classes taught by my older daughter and her husband who enjoys cooking, a spiritual center, or possibly a place serving healthy, organic lunches in a serene atmosphere.

I would hope that many island friends would live here and/or visit often. One of the problems for the Hawaiian people is affordable housing. The Hobbit houses are very inexpensive, and dirt can be found anywhere. This community would grow and utilize many designs, especially those that are eco-friendly and blend into the environment.

Of course I will write a book about the experience, providing a template for what works and what doesn't, which would be one of my contributions.

Okay. I'm done. Care to throw out an idea or two?

Here are the two companies used in this post:
Mandala Homes (Balinese)
Mandala Custom Homes

I Have a Dream

http://www.terragalleria.com/index.html

Lately I have been ruminating on a new way of living. A lifestyle I have not even considered for the last forty years, since the 1960's, but has been a recurring thought that bubbles up with some frequency. I don't know if it's the state of the world, the economy, my age, or some intuitive thought processes that lives deep in my psyche. But I have the feeling that I should put together a "shared resources" community of like-minded people. I have gone so far as to find property. I have designed the perimeters in my mind. I have thought of the book that I would write as it progressed, giving others a template for their own community. They could learn from the mistakes we made.

In this community the land would be owned by all, like a condo project, and small, "green", homes would be built into the landscape. There would be open spaces for wildlife, marshes for migration, large organic gardens, and shared items, such as cars, trucks, tractors, etc. A common exercise room and maybe even a pool. Another possibility could be a child-care facility for working parents, a large common kitchen for canning and baking, etc.

Is this a waste of time?

It may be, but I'm not alone. It seems others have been imagining, and designing, a world based on Cooperatism. Phantsythat did a blog post on an economic system, already in place, that utilizes a system of sharing, as opposed to capitalism or communism. It was very interesting, and I plan on reading the book she recommended.

In the meantime, I continue to dream, look at property, and see a world that moves beyond greed, to one of sharing and cooperation.