Cohousing Ecologies – Part 1

A forum (Part 1) and workshop (Part 2) exploring what, and how, residential communities can share, and do, from design to operation.

It’s hard to do it all alone. Individual responsibility and collective inertia limit our potential. But at a collective level we can design houses, communities, and lifestyles, that are rich and fulfilling, and good for the planet. In cohousing, participants are instrumental in designing places and processes that achieve sustainability but share the load. From microgrids to productive gardens, pandemic support group to bushfire preparedness, we will explore what we can do better together.

Part 1 event has a stellar lineup of cohousing and resilient community legends:

MC: Anitra Nelson
Activist and academic, author and editor of books including Small is Necessary, Housing for Degrowth, and soon to be launched Food for Degrowth.

DARYL TAYLOR is co-hosts ‘Facing Fire: international fire ecology communities forum’ and post-Black Saturday was an elected member of the Kinglake Ranges Community Recovery Committee. He is the director of biocultural futures and owner-builder of ‘kinship’ (Kinglake Earthship) a biotecture- and permaculture-inspired solar passive new dwelling constructed with natural, secondhand and upcycled materials and the biotecture-retrofit of a pre-existing solar-passive fire-damaged mud-brick house. When complete, the whole home will be off the grid for water, energy, waste and food and has been designed to be fire and flood resistant. 200 people have contributed time, energy and skills via participatory community building workshops, including a 100 acre fire-resilient human settlement development design lab.

DAVID HOLMGREN is the co-originator of the permaculture concept and lives with his partner Su Dennett at Melliodora, their 36 year old permaculture demonstration site in Central Victoria, which they share with two other couples. David will share how that is helping him design new projects and how the thinking is transferable across scales.

CATE GRANT has lived in Murundaka Cohousing Cooperative Community for 9 years. She is involved in developing and implementing the processes which are essential for an environmentally aware community to be successful. Cate thinks intentional community living is predominately about people learning more about their relationships to everything, therefore the benefits can flow through to all aspects of life and our environment.

Panelists will share their perspectives on how our housing, town planning, and dominant socio-economic paradigm embeds poor environmental outcomes. The panel will then explore how collaborative approaches can be used to facilitate social resilience and interdependence, renewable technology systems beyond the household scale, and provide mitigation and adaptation opportunities in our communities to help us better steward the land on which we dwell, because in more conscientiously serving the land so will it better serve us. The speakers will then answer questions via a brief Q&A forum.

Part 2 event will invite back the speakers and guests for round table conversations where participants can go deeper on these topics and avoid talking at but share our collective wisdom and passion for this work.

Register in advance for this meeting. Register here

After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Event via Facebook