Sunday, November 10 at Princeton’s IYCC: Building Eco-Communities in an Age of Transformation

There’s no doubt that we’re living through a remarkable time in human evolution, both because of the urgency and severity of our challenges, and because of the possibilities that are available to us in meeting them. There is an imminent existential threat to humanity, from global warming, biodiversity loss, toxic waste accumulation, soil depletion, and so on — not from some new capacity for self-destruction, but simply from our unwillingness to wake up and take action in time. At the same time, many people are waking up, and building communities and organizations designed to address our most important challenges, from reducing carbon emissions to actually restoring the climate to what it was for the most recent ten thousand years in which humanity has flourished.

Some of the people responding to this situation are doing so by building communities founded on different principles and seeking different outcomes. Joel Rothschild, of the Ecovillagers Alliance (EVA), is one of these visionaries, who has laid out much of his thinking in several articles in Green Horizon Magazine (beginning with this issue), will be introducing the Alliance’s new programs on Sunday, November 10, at the IYCC in Princeton, along with updates from a growing number of communities in formation.

Sunday, November 10 … 2:15pm
Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center
301 N. Harrison Street, Bldg A, Suite 1E, Princeton, NJ 08540

The usual potluck, so bring something yummy to share. If you can’t make it, join by Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/8283857296.

EVA’s program involves a high level of engagement, a deep and experiential dive into what it takes to develop a thriving ecovillage, starting with the people who will bring that ecovillage into being.

Continue reading

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Nov. 10: Digging Deeper into the Northeast Ecovillage Movement

Our next meeting at IYCC will feature Joel Rothschild of Ecovillagers Alliance and a new in-depth study program, along with a round-up of reports on the emerging communities in NJ and PA.

Sunday, November 10 … 2:15pm
Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center
301 N. Harrison Street, Bldg A, Suite 1E, Princeton, NJ 08540

Joel Rothschild of Ecovillagers Alliance (EVA) will preview the program his organization has developed for those who are considering joining an ecovillage, either now, or in the future. Since Ecovillage NJ (EVNJ) now has three or four ecovillage communities in development, this is the perfect time for these newly-forming groups to start learning and growing together. EVA’s program involves a high level of engagement, a deep and experiential dive into what it takes to develop a thriving ecovillage, starting with the people who will bring that ecovillage into being.

Joel and his expert team have a vision and a plan for educating, incubating and helping to launch ecovillages all over the Mid-Atlantic region. Ecovillagers Alliance’s financial and legal approaches are designed to enable ecovillages to be established, at scale. Joel will also be highlighting Community Land Trusts, as some of our members are looking into this legal structure for their new communities.

Meanwhile, our members have been busy gettin’ around. So at our November Meetup there will be report-backs from visits to the first cohousing community in Connecticut and the first Community Land Cooperative in Pennsylvania. We’ll hear about progress toward a farming-based intentional community in West Windsor, the vision of an urban cohousing neighborhood in Trenton, and updates from Altair, as well as a report from a visit to Lancaster planned for November 5.

The usual potluck, so bring something yummy to share. If you can’t make it, join by Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/8283857296.

And remember, the ecovillage movement is about more than building a few neighborhoods here and there — it’s about demonstrating a better way to live, ecologically and in community.

Posted in Agendas, Cohousing, Ecovillage, Ecovillagers, Event Listings, Organization, Yoga | 3 Comments

An Opportunity to Revisit Rocky Corner, CT’s First Cohousing Community—Saturday, October 5, 2019

Appleseed watercolor of Rocky Corner land & buildings

We visited the Rocky Corner Cohousing project last January as construction was starting. Now they’re getting close to move-in!

Until recently New Jersey, Delaware, and Connecticut were the only states in the region without an intentional community living option. But now one is being built in Connecticut:

http://rockycorner.org/

Figuring that it will be instructive for us to watch their development, we’ve arranged a re-visit for October 5. Carpools will be available. Please let us know if you can be a driver.

The schedule for the day, tentatively, will be:
* drive to Connecticut in the morning (3 hours from central NJ, 2.5 hours from northern NJ)
* Noon – gather for lunch at Grimaldi’s Italian Kitchen – 1646 Litchfield Turnpike, Woodbridge, CT 06525 (same place where we ate lunch last January … phone no. 203-553-9889)
* presentation at the restaurant from Rocky Corner representatives (with time for Q&A) 1:00 to 2:00
* 2:30 – tour the under-construction site of the community – 58 Old Amity Rd, Bethany, CT 06524
* dinner together in New Haven for those who want to discuss what we’ve seen … 5:00 to 6:30
* drive home, arriving back in NJ around 9 or 9:30

For carshare arrangements, email ecovillagenj@gmail.com.

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**9/22/2019** – Updates on Cohousing Initiatives & Membership Profiles

Our September 22 meeting will include updates on all of the communities-in-formation, including a special video appearance by Mike Bellamy & Peg Hoh (on their 29th wedding anniversary, no less!). We’ll also demo the new Co-op web site, and discuss how we can create an online listing of interested cohousing participants.

As we did last month, we’ll be meeting at the Princeton IYCC at 2:15 p.m., having the meeting – and then having a potluck starting at 5. Bring something yummy to share.

 

Sunday, September 22, 2019 
Meeting from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. with Potluck at 5:00

Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center
301 N. Harrison Street, Bldg A, Suite 1E, Princeton, NJ 08540*

* The Studio is located in the Princeton Shopping Center above the McCaffery’s Market. As you face the Market from its big parking lot, go to the far right side of the building and take the elevator to the second floor. 

Meanwhile, the proposed NJ Cohousing Development Cooperative has gotten off to a bit of a difficult start. All of the original circles that were set up have met, and have done useful work and had important discussions.

Here, for example, is what the Membership Committee has developed.

What’s now needed is to translate all of this into further action. And frankly we need a lot more in the way of participation by the self-declared members of the Cohousing Development Cooperative.

If you’re one of those who expressed interest but did not join a Circle, or chose to step forward in some other way, now is the time to do so. What that looks like is really up to each of us as individuals, but your voices need to be heard, your needs, interests, and abilities shared, and your commitment fully engaged. Please step forward and be heard, acknowledged, and celebrated.

 

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End of Summer Ecovillage Concert

PartyPoster

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Reminder: Saturday, September 7, 2019: End-of-Summer Party for Cohousing Community

Music, Food, & Community:
Come Celebrate Our Progress on Saturday, Sept 7, 6-10 p.m.

Let’s celebrate our milestone accomplishments with the wider Cohousing Community in NJ and the Region. Could this be an annual affair?

Whether you’ve been involved with Ecovillage New Jersey (EVNJ) — or if you’ve just heard about us, you’re invited to an evening of Music, Great Food & Community!

Saturday, September 7, 6 – 10 pm
8 Revere Drive, Basking Ridge (or Bedminster, depending on GPS)

Live Music + Potluck + BYO
Suggested donation: $10 (tax-deductible if requested)

Our new Cohousing Development Cooperative represents a milestone accomplishment for EVNJ and the surrounding NY/PA/DE region. We are inviting people who’ve gotten us to a new stage in our evolution, from NJ, eastern PA, the Hudson Valley & Metro NY. Community is what we are creating as we foster and build Cohousing and Ecovillage Communities in the region.

Posted in Ecovillage, Event Listings, Organization | Leave a comment

End-of-Summer Party for Cohousing Community

Music, Food, & Community:
Come Celebrate Our Progress on Saturday, Sept 7, 6-10 p.m.

Let’s celebrate our milestone accomplishments with the wider Cohousing Community in NJ and the Region. Could this be an annual affair?

Whether you’ve been involved with Ecovillage New Jersey (EVNJ) — or if you’ve just heard about us, you’re invited to an evening of Music, Great Food & Community!

Saturday, September 7, 6 – 10 pm
8 Revere Drive, Basking Ridge (or Bedminster, depending on GPS)

Live Music + Potluck + BYO
Suggested donation: $10 (tax-deductible if requested)

Our new Cohousing Development Cooperative represents a milestone accomplishment for EVNJ and the surrounding NY/PA/DE region. We are inviting people who’ve gotten us to a new stage in our evolution, from NJ, eastern PA, the Hudson Valley & Metro NY. Community is what we are creating as we foster and build Cohousing and Ecovillage Communities in the region.

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Aug 11—Creating the Organizational Structure to Build Cohousing

The Cohousing Development Cooperative’s Kickoff Meeting
It’s a Working Meeting – Let’s Get Started!

On Sunday, August 11, 2019 at 2:15 p.m., join us in Princeton at the Integral Yoga Community Center (IYCC). Don’t forget that you’re welcome to join in via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/8283857296).

The goals of this meeting are:

  1. To begin work on a group governance process to ensure that we each have a voice in Ecovillage New Jersey Cohousing Development Cooperative (EV NJCDC) decisions and
  2. To begin developing the organizational structure of the EV NJCDC.

AGENDA ==> Continue reading

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Deepening Our Foundations

On July 14 twenty-four people registered their interest in joining the Cohousing Development Cooperative, and three more have since signed up online. Several of us, constituting the “agenda circle” for the group[*], have been hard at work planning the August 11 meeting as a first opportunity to practice sociocracy (or dynamic governance), which most people see as the best way to run a neighborhood or a cooperative over the long run anyway.

In the process, we’ve taken a crash course in the model, thanks to Rosemarie Stupel’s series of bite-size videos and other presentations, which I propose to post online for the benefit of all co-op members.

This would be part of a new web site, for co-op members, where we can post profiles, projects, and activities — essentially an intranet, accessible to and usable by everyone in the organization.

It’s worth pausing for a moment to recognize just how remarkable it is, that this number of people have already committed to working together to create a collaborative community development organization. Our proposal for the cooperative is posted here, along with a form that people can use to express their interest in joining the organization. But there’s so much more that we can do, if we’re willing to approach it imaginatively and systematically, in order to move most effectively into action.

Continue reading

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Aug 11: Let’s Develop the Organizational Structure to Build Cohousing and Ecovillage Communities

Can you provide a ride to the event from North Jersey?

The Cohousing Development Cooperative’s Kickoff Meeting
It’s a Working Meeting – Let’s Get Started!

On Sunday, August 11, 2019 at 2:30, join us in Princeton at the Integral Yoga Community Center (IYCC). At this working meeting, we’ll focus on two important efforts:

  • Learning about the sociocracy decision-making process and beginning to incorporate elements of sociocracy as we move on to the rest of the meeting.  Many cohousing communities use sociocracy (also known as dynamic governance) as the tool to facilitate meetings and make decisions, so this presentation will be an important introduction to sociocracy and a way to add this new skill to your cohousing toolbox.

  • Beginning the process of developing the structure of the Ecovillage New Jersey Cohousing Development Cooperative (EVNJ CDC). Setting up the mechanics of the EVNJ CDC is essential to creating a strong umbrella organization to help and guide the cohousing projects currently in their infancy in NJ and those that will come later. The framework of the EVNJ CDC won’t be built in a day, but we’ll be able to tackle some critical questions at the meeting.

You’ll hear more about the agenda as the Agenda Committee develops it over the next couple of weeks.  If you’re not able to attend in person, you’re welcome to join in via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/8283857296).

Sunday, August 11, 2019  –
Meeting from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. with Potluck at 5:00 

(Be sure to note that having the potluck following the meeting
is a change from earlier meetings).  

Bring something edible to share — preferably something healthy!

Whether you’re ready, now, to live in an intentional community… or you may want to live in one, someday… or you just like the idea and want to contribute your support… Come and be part of making cohousing/ecovillage living REAL in NJ and the region!

Princeton Integral Yoga Community Center
301 N. Harrison Street, Bldg A, Suite 1E, Princeton, NJ 08540*

* The Studio is located in the Princeton Shopping Center above the McCaffery’s Market. As you face the Market from its big parking lot, go to the far right side of the building and take the elevator to the second floor.

RSVP HERE

Posted in Agendas, Cohousing, Community, Cooperatives, Dynamic Governance, Ecovillage, Event Listings, Organization, Sociocracy | Leave a comment