ECo-mmunity Bulletin #19 --- NutShell Niblets- - Sept 27th 2010

Ann's very personal, highly biased and incomplete guide to the ecovillage ... in a nutshell.





House Colours

Chuck Durrett has asked us to consider two different methods to pick house colours for the new village. Either we strike a committee and choose our own, or find architect-designers to do it for us.

Not surprisingly, his strong recommendation was the latter. At the last workshop, he showed us some villages where the home-owners picked the colours and it wasn't pretty. To be sure, Windsong Cohousing has recently re-painted their housefronts and it looks great, but our Coco (coordination) Team is thinking it takes an experienced group to pull that off successfully, and is recommending to the Community Meeting that we ask Chuck to include colour in his final plan. ( And no doubt it would be a culminating pleasure for him in the designing of our village, don't you think?).

Also, Coco has noted that it works very well at Windsong that each household is distinguished by its own colour. Would we want Chuck to do that for us, too? Bring yourcolourful comments to the Community Meeting on October 3rd.



There's been a

Groundswell of support for Blackberry CommonsAlan Carpenter has given us a spirited defense of Blackberry Commons as our new name -

"I have been trying out 'Blackberry' and have come to really like it. Blackberries are relentless, and fight back no matter what. To get this far, we have had to be relentless and always there, no matter what, just like the blackberries.
Also, often we may have been a thorn in someone's side, but we are still here."Alan's comments have inspired a number of other fiesty supporters forBlackberry. There are yet others who are keen on Groundswell (for good reason, I might add) . Our minds are open for more ideas until Sept 30 at midnight. Britta has set her alarm.



Red Card -



Our Facilitation Team members have pointed out a mistake in my previous Niblets explanation of the coloured card system use in the Naming process. A Red Card is a much more serious indication of feeling than I had said, and as such, should be a rare occurence.

Tree Bressen, facilitation trainer, says " In a well-functioning group, blocks (our red card) shouldn't happen very often. Consensus guru Caroline Estes is known for saying that a person should only block up to half a dozen times in their lifetime, total, for all the groups they participate in."

Read more abut blocking at http://treegroup.info/topics/A9-blocking.html

So, if you're not at all keen on one of the name suggestions, it's a

yellow card. A red card would indicate you think our community is contradicting its own values, and in a way that's kept you wake in the night.Say! Here's another name idea-- "Green Card Commons". I'm going to stop thinking of new names as of right now. But just because I have, doesn't mean you committed ecovillagers shouldn't. Send any last name ideas to Britta and then be prepared to cast your email vote between October 1st and 10th.



Stream cleanup- Blackberries (or Weeds) Rule!

I've been looking at the bank of blackberries (and canary grass) along the creek with a certain amount of apprehension. When the time comes for stream rehabilitation, how will we ever remove those dastardly canes !?! A healthy creek is good permaculture and besides, I just plain want to see and enjoy the stream more! But, oooouuuch, those thorns!

I'm hearing a Matthew-generated (true) rumour that Dept of Fisheries will help in the removal the blackberries , when we can present a plan for how we'll then keep them cleared away.

There's help available! Isn't that a fantastic concept?

Knowing how we'll remove that massive bank has me sleeping better at night, reassured that if we name ourselves Blackberry Commons, and say "Blackberries Rule!" then that's us, and not them!



A fantastic gift idea



.... give your loved one a gift certificate for a pampering or healing massage from our in-village Massage Therapist.

Genevieve, RMT in Quebec, has a portable table and gifted hands! Leave her a message on 823-0088's massage (that's French for message) machine.



A wee gift idea for the Ecovillage, while you're still thinking early Christmas.



Does anyone have a few hours to spare in the next week, to fill out some forms and take a few pictures, to submit to the Ministry of Environment for stream crossing for waste water pipes? Thereby saving us from hiring the (expensive) engineer from doing it? It's easy, peasy for anyone who's good at filling out forms. Call Yonas (and I'll throw you an apple pie ... sorry, I won't throw, I'll hand over gently!)



Rail for the Valley

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/groundbreaking-report-on-interurban-light-rail-released-today/

Rail For The Valley is extremely excited to announce the release of a

comprehensive independent analysis of the potential for light rail service on the existing and publicly owned Interurban Rail Corridor, connecting communities from Chilliwack to Vancouver with an affordable, sustainable public transportation system. The study, now complete, was performed by Leewood Projects.Leewood Projects is a British-based company that has professional expertise in light rail solutions, providing comprehensive project management and planning services to the international railway industry. Leewood Projects has in the past had involvement in prestigious rail projects such as the Channel Tunnel.

Beverly says

I read the report, and I think I've figured out where the Yarrow/Cultus Lake stop would be -- 1 km from the ecovillage on Yarrow Central Road!

The report suggests that trains would run every 20 to 30 minutes and that it would take about 70 minutes from here to Surrey skytrain.

This is the most comprehensive light rail study ever undertaken in this province, performed by a company with professional expertise in light rail solutions. This report at long last provides us with an honest accounting of the potential for light rail service on the Interurban corridor.

-John Buker, Founder, Rail For The Valley


Poem of the Week

Moon on the water

broken and broken again.

Still it is there

Basho

Community Bulletin #18 --- NutShell Chunks- organic, unsalted - Sept 21th 2010

Ann's very personal, highly biased and incomplete guide to the ecovillage ... in a nutshell.

Dream House

What's my idea of a dream home?

I bet you think that I already have mine ... a timber-framed, cordwood beauty with a view to die for. I love it, I do. But I said 'dream', and mine's a reality, so it doesn't count. The dream homes I have in mind, are being built right outside my window ... units 1/2 and 11/13.

The new construction of homes next door are dreams coming true, because they're being build by all of us ... in collaboration ... they're being built with love, care, attention and ... extra insulation for warmth in the winter and coolth in the summer.

Imagine!

Our neighbours are wielding the hammers, over-seeing the quality of construction, choosing eco-features, putting money to good work and understanding what creates community. They're making homes for new friends in cohousing, nested in an Ecovillage. And you're included in all sorts of ways, because that's what cohousing is - people making their own villages.

Does this make your dream home, too?

And lest you think I've gone off the deep end of idealism ...well, I have, and it's okay!

I hope you know me by now, that I write from a personal perspective about what I see really going on here. Warts and all - septic systems, construction loans, struggles of all kinds. I don't hold back. I want you to know what you're in for, when you come here.

And I can write about beauty, seeking, pleasure, simplicity, friendship and abundance, too, just as easily and sincerely.

So tell me, am I being starry-eyed, or realistic?

　

Lots more Beauty on the way.

Consuelo, our newest Village shopkeeper, is setting up a 'Beauty Booth' snuggled under the Chestnut trees, beside the Deli. This new location for her retail shop puts her into our commercial zoning and allows her to sell all manner of good stuff, besides her beauty and skin merchanise. She'll continue the manufacturing part at the end of what we affectionately call the 'Machine Shed'

Ecovillage Money : First installment :

Construction Financing- where it comes from, where it goes, and how we make very good use of it in between.

Prepare to be inspired!

Here's the conventional way to finance construction ... it works here at the village, too.

Buyers: you make a down payment, securing your chosen unit. If you need financing to buy a home, you approach a lending institution and determine your qualification for a conventional take-out mortgage, (your on-going monthly payments after move-in), based on your credit rating, income and ability to pay it back, etc. There are various servicing costs involved in this process.

In the meantime, Cohousing Village, as the builder, gets construction financing from a financial institution, based on the total amount of money raised from new purchasers, (or from Chief - more about this special option later). The more our members raise, the less we have to ask from the banks. The bank or credit union supplies the funds to the builder in stages, as the building progesses.

Of course, if you have the necessary savings, you may be able to pay for your home outright, instead. (Perhaps you've been able to sell a home prior to coming.) You would supply your own financing as construction progresses, just as a conventional lender would do. You'll be saving on the extra charges and interest that banks would have added on, had you gone that direction. And there are additional routes for circumstances where you haven't yet sold your previous house, but I don't know what they are. Luckily there are knowledgeable people to ask!

OR ... You can take advantage of

a special and extra option here in the cohousing world. You may pay the whole amount right up front, and receive a discount dividend off the final purchase price. You'll have saved Coho from borrowing money and paying interest, and so you can share in the benefit of that.



Now something special

- CHIEF investments to contribute to, or benefit from.

CHIEF

You too, and your friends as well, may invest, and choose either to support a particular unit ( your own, or a friend's) or construction in general. Unless you're rolling it into your own purchase, you'll be given the opportunity to withdraw your investment upon completion of the specific building, or asked if you'd like to keep your money in for a longer term.

A number of the units here have taken the Chief route, and avoided the rigmarole of conventional construction financing. As a result, they have saved the many extra charges a bank would have demanded. Also, folks who might not otherwise qualify for regular financing, receive the support of cohousing friends, who understand, in a way banks and even credit unions don't, how stable and safe an investment in cohousing is.

This is an excellent and easy way to participate in the creation of the Ecovillage, putting your money where your heart is.

This has been an artist's summary of how construction financing works here... we have folks here who are talented at finding creative funding options and can give you lots more details. ( And I'm expecting that you'd ask them penetrating questions to make sure my portrayal of cohousing and Chief as safe investments is accurate.) Try them!

is a lending, investing and borrowing vehicle, administered by Alan Carpenter. CHIEF (Cohousing Investment Equity Fund) was created especially for the support and creation of cohousing villages. Friends of cohousing invest their money in Chief and receive a reasonable return, about 5% per annum, based on the risk and length of time of the investment. Chief funds currently are being put towards construction financing at Yarrow Ecovillage, and are properly secured by a mortgage on the property.



The next Ecovillage Money installment will cover-- What you get with your purchase price... the land lease, the house unit purchase and a share of common facilities. And the realtor fee - what about that? Stay tuned.

Community Bulletin #17 --- NutShell Niblets --- September 13th 2010

Ann's very personal, highly biased and incomplete guide to the village ... in a nutshell.

Sunday's Community Meeting - in a nutshell

It was raining, the loft was chillier than expected, the facilitation was excellent. We discussed --Strata fees, Waste water treatment, and How to share more information. I coerced the group to make animal noises and Yonas gave a development report. We wish you'd been there too, but did okay without you.

Surprise!

The folks who are building houses right now, want to be able to move in when they're finished and flush their toilets. Can you believe how fussy they are ??? They want to flush!

Just kidding.

But seriously, the Solar Aquatics waste water company hasn't started digging yet, the current system isn't large enough to accommodate these homes without spending more money and we want these families to move into their homes as expeditously as possible. I see some worried faces. But you know what? We're all in this together, and at the October 3rd Community Meeting 1pm -3pm - together- we'll make sure it happens.

Families will be flushing soon.

Strata fees-

At our Community Meeting on Sunday, Beverly and Maureen presented an exercise from their Ad Hoc Strata-fee-determining Team, to get us moving towards a consensus of how we'll pay for the everyday, shared, expenses of living here. And so we have no surprises later, they asked us first to brainstorm and then list all the possible fees we might need to cover - from lawn-mowing to house insurance and Common House maintenance etc. And next, they asked how we might balance various ways of determining fairness in paying--- by household --- by assessed value -- by square footage etc. Wearing various 'hats' like 'single person in small unit' and 'large family in large house' we put ourselves into others' situations and expressed our/their values and concerns about the various routes.

For example- If we determine by income level, it is certainly a way to share payment responsibility between those who have plenty, and those with less; but it might challenge folks' wish for privacy about their sharing their income information.