2012 National Conference

Community Tours

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Terri These rolling workshops on a biodiesel bus will take you to area communities so that you can experience and learn about cohousing first hand by visiting existing communities in the area and talking with residents.

Your primary guide is Karen Hester, founding member of Temescal Creek Cohousing, a retrofit community in North Oakland, and she will be supported by other cohousing enthusiasts. You will have the unparalleled opportunity to visit a variety of urban, suburban and rural communities. This educational experience provides a great way to see real-world examples of cohousing. As we drive between communities, your guides will lead a discussion offering an overview of cohousing, sharing their experiences of cohousing life, providing resources and information, and answering your questions. It really is a traveling workshop - and more! The diverse mix of tour participants usually generates dynamic conversations and lots of learning in a fun environment, a wealth of new information, and more often than not, the beginning of many new friendships or even new communities.

At each stop, your community hosts will lead you on an informative tour of their community. You will learn about each community's history and values and about the systems that keep everything running smoothly. You’ll have a chance to take a closer look at the community's shared buildings and outdoor space, as well as some homes. You will hear many inspiring stories about living in a cohousing community, and learn about common meals, work parties, consensus decision-making, and community problem solving. You’ll also receive written materials about each community, including a site plan.

Tentative schedule

(pending approval from the communities)

Wednesday, June 13h
Full-day North Bay Tour

8:30-8:45am pick up at Marriott
8:45-10 drive to Santa Rosa
10:00-11:00- tour Yulupa
11:00-11:30 travel
11:30-1:00 tour and lunch at Two Acre Wood
1:00-1:15 travel
1:15-2:00 tour Petaluma Cohousing (an unique affordable-housing rental)
2:00-2:30 travel
2:30-3:30 tour Frog Song
3:30-5:15pm travel back to Marriott

Thurs, June 14th
Full-day East Bay Tour

8:30-8:45am meet at Swan’s Market Cohousing
8:45-9:45 tour Swan’s Market
9:45-10:30 travel
10:30-11:30 tour Pleasant Hill
11:30-12:15 travel
12:15-1:30 lunch and tour at Temescal Creek
1:30-1:45 travel
1:45-2:45 tour Doyle Street
2:45-3 travel
3:00-4:00 tour Berkeley Cohousing
4:00-4:30pm travel back to Marriott

Friday, June 15th
Retrofit Workshop and
Part-day Communities Tour

Retrofit cohousing – communities developed from existing housing stock or buildings– represents an opportunity to develop cohousing under a potentially faster and easier model. Although this model is seemingly less common than the conventional newly built cohousing model, there are many retrofit (or partially retrofit) cohousing communities that have been thriving for years.

How does retrofit cohousing differ from conventional cohousing? What are the ingredients that make it successful? What are the challenges? What does retrofit cohousing look like, anyway?

Learn from panelists who have pioneered and studied the successful models. You will be provided with in-depth descriptions of successful retrofit communities and will find out how the retrofit model can save years of development time. Gain insights into what tradeoffs are required and learn how to develop your forming group into one that can successful transcend the challenges. Hear how the retrofit communities differ from one another. Learn the basics on how to find the right property, how to afford a common house, what some of the key legal challenges are, and what some of the major practical considerations are.

Following the two-hour workshop, you will tour successful retrofit cohousing communities, and throughout the day, have opportunities to continue to learn from and query experienced retrofit cohousers.

Karen Hester and Jennifer Ryan will lead the workshop and tour and will be joined by retrofit cohousing panelists.

8:00–10:00 am Workshop at Marriott
10:00-10:15 break
10:15 10:30 pick up Marriott
10:30-10:45 travel
10:45-11:45 tour Berkeley Cohousing
11:45-12:05 travel
12:05-1:30 lunch and tour at Temescal Creek
1:30-1:40 travel
1:40-2:40 tour Rockridge
2:40-2:50 travel
2:50-3:50 tour Mariposa Grove
3:50-4pm travel back to Marriott

Biographies:
Karen Hester was the force behind the creation of Temescal Creek Cohousing, an 11 unit retrofit community in North Oakland. In 1999, she joined with four other households, adding 6 more homes and a common house over the next thirteen years. She has also successfully consulted with three East Bay retrofit communities, helping them get started. Karen is a community activist and an events coordinator, organizing major events such as Bites Off Broadway (Oakland's first recurring food pod), Rockridge Out and About and the Temescal Street Fair. She is a bike enthusiast and world traveler.

Jennifer Ryan lives Temescal Creek Cohousing. In 2009, she and her partner Bill, relocated to the Bay Area after three-plus decades in Washington DC. Jennifer also lived in two other cohousing communities, Doyle Street (Emeryville, CA) and Takoma Village (Washington DC). She participated in two forming groups and has visited some 40 communities in over a dozen states. Jennifer is a lawyer, and she is semiretired from her career in the publishing industry. She is involved in social justice projects in Oakland and in Washington DC.