One of the best things about living in community is the rich diversity I experience.  Over the years RareBirds Housing Cooperative has been home to people from a wide variety of places, cultures and experiences as well as ages and stages of life.  It’s a common thing among people to gravitate to people who are similar to ourselves.  We congregate in familiar circles of age, culture, interests and world views.  This is comfortable and easy.  No need to stretch ourselves to accommodate new ideas and explore the vast diversity the world has to offer.
No doubt this has always been so as we all seek the homogenous comfort of “our people”.  In today’s rapidly changing and increasingly mobile world homogenous communities are being stretched to accommodate others.  We see it everywhere: the intolerance, biases and skepticism.  In much of my life I find myself in this comfort of “my people”.  My social, and volunteer groups are spent with people much like me.  I have come more to realize my privilege, having lived my life as a white middle class woman well inside the dominant Canadian culture.  While I have friends and acquaintances and family from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, it here in my home that that I experience the uniqueness of cultural diversity.  It is here that I am privy to the nuances of culture in the routines and rituals of every day life. 
Over the years the RareBirds community has been home to people from India, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Iraq.  We have also shared space for several days or weeks with travellers from around the world.  We share meal preparation and household chores.  Mealtimes can often bring rich conversations and unexpected learning.  It is one of the best things Co-op living has to offer and something I have come to value.
 

COME TO THE TABLE
by Mary Jordan    March 6,2020

At the RareBirds’ home we come to the table for our evening meal.
A dinner bell calls us to the table from our rooms, the garden, a chore we may be engaged in.
It signals a time to disengage from emails, phone conversations or work distractions and come together at our table.
When everyone is at the table, we take hands.  Perhaps there are two pair of hands reaching across the table or perhaps it is a table of 10 or more.  We begin with gratitude to the cook and then the ritual words we have adopted.  Thank you for the food before us, the people around us and the connections between us. 

Coming to the table this way invites a sense of gratitude and connection that is a core value of our community.
Consistently people who have lived in this home, whether for weeks or years have articulated that our dinners together have been their favourite part of being with the RareBirds.

Over the years at the table we have shared our histories, our challenges, our disappointments, or our sadness or joy at a turn of our lives.  We have also ranted at politicians and angst over the state of the world.  Together we have fantasized solutions and habitually solved nothing.

At this table we have learned about and from each other.  Even with people of shared values and world views, a discussion or a lecture we have heard, a film, a book or the morning headlines can offer a new perspective. Coming to the table, requires an openness to sharing more than the food we eat together.

Any table requires an openness.

Come to the table, come to our table.  You may at times be challenged or frustrated but you will not be disappointed at the gems you will find at this table.
Listen, perhaps you are called to our table.

We are pleased to be invited to share at this Building Sustainable Communities Conference and to tell you about our intentional community housing project in Kamloops, BC.  Our story involves some rather ‘rare birds’ who have been forming a flock in Kamloops over several years.  This flock is expected to touch down soon and to be settling into one shared nest! 

I am have been asked by many people intrigued with our project what our RareBirds Housing Co-operative project is all about- who are you? and what are you doing?… and why are you doing this?

It would certainly be very easy to quickly provide a ‘quick and easy’ statistical overview as a response to those questions.

The RareBirds are nine lively adults, three couples and three singles, or six co-op memberships in total between us.

We have been incorporated as a housing co-op for almost two years.

We are building a shared 6,000 sq. ft. three level house with a shared kitchen and living space.  

 The house is about 15 minutes walk west of the downtown core of Kamloops. 

The total value of the project is $1.2 million.  We are self-financed and each member invested $200,000.  The house will be completed in February of 2014, we hope!

I could answer the question about who we are and what we are doing this simple way with these stats.

Or I could answer by giving more emphasis to the house itself.  After all, the house is the most visible aspect of who we are and what we are doing. 

Thus, the response might include some features of the sustainable design of the house and some of the environmental building practices that have gone into the construction.  I might describe some of the technical details.

We have active and passive design elements to conserve energy and lessen our ecological footprint.

We paid close attention to the orientation of the house and how best to use the land.

The house is double insulated- both within and without the sheeting of the house reaching an R rating in the walls of R-27 and the roof of R-50 values.

A solar hot water system consisting of three panels and a 120 gallon storage tank will provide an average of 75 gallons of hot water per day.

There are 27 250 watt solar panels installed on our south facing roof with an array that is built to eventually provide a total of 45 panels.  We are approved as one of about 270 BC Hydro net metering projects.  Our system connects to the distribution system; we receive credit for the electricity we generate.  These will generate a total of about 11 ¼ kilowatts of electrical energy or approximately $1200 per year of electricity at current utility rates.

We are using a heat pump for our heating and cooling.

By bringing together six typical Canadian households into one, we are able to reduce both our per person consumption of energy but also reduce the duplication of many day-to-day household items and equipment, such as household appliances.

So, I could answer these questions about who we are and what we are doing by referring to our approach to sustainable design and building.

One other option that is always available for a response is the story of how we got here.

It has been about a three year development.

That initial meeting of friends came about because some of our group had viewed a documentary: ‘how to boil a frog’.   It was not a cooking film… it was a documentary about how to live more simply.  Indeed, you could say that a slowly boiled frog drew the interest of some birds!

This prompted a desire to gather some other friends together to see if there might be an interest in a shared living arrangement.  At this first meeting, the group only had a vague idea in mind- but soon a growing set of intentions and a common shared purpose was articulated.

We drafted a Living on Purpose document early on to help guide us:

PURPOSE:

The purpose of our Intentional Community is to create a model that will enable us to live into the possibilities of social and spiritual transformation.

INTENTION:

 ·       To create more financial freedom and emotional enrichment for each of us by living          interdependently, mindful of environmental responsibilities and sustainable practices in our             community living.

·       To create an inclusive environment that embraces our extended families and welcomes our friends

·       To create sustainable practices which embody our values

That initial gathering was the nucleus of an emerging idea that gained clarity and scope as we met together for that first year. 

We spent months of focused learning and research about the options of shared living; there are many models and experiments going on. 

We settled on a combined/hybrid model of a registered self-financed equity housing co-operative and an intentional community with shared kitchen and cooking rather than independent living units.

We incorporated as a BC housing co-op in January 2012.

As we worked on our way-of-being together and we researched further aspects of common life, we started an active search for both a suitable property and additional members.

In July 2012, we purchased a ½ acre lot near the downtown core of Kamloops.

Our project was successful through public hearing and rezoning and after a process of design and approvals, the construction began in May.

We have our full membership and are now accepting interested people onto our waiting list.

We have also sold our homes along the way to provide financing for the project… thus, the period of house sitting and co-habitating with friends is at last coming to an end in a few months!

This is a quick scan of our story… but it still misses some of the heart of the answer to the questions:

Who are you? What are you doing?  Why are you doing this?

I am grateful for the four simple words in the C4 Approach to Community SustainABILITY.

Opening them up this morning with you helps me to come closer to a deeper level of response.

Curiosity

Creativity

Communication

Collaboration

Curiousity

We are curious birds!

I have to admit that I do tend to prefer the word ‘wonder’ over ‘curiosity’.  Curiosity is very valuable- it is a mental process of trying to know more and understand more… this is all good.

Yet, wonder is more of a heart word.

Wonder holds some of the mystery of life. 

One of our touchstones that we refer to in our group decision process and sharing together is this:

“when the going gets rough, turn to wonder”

And we ask that question first about ourselves… I wonder why I am reacting in this way to what is going on? 

Curiosity and wonder have been gifts to us along the way.

Creativity

We have accessed a few guides to help us along the way… someone to guide us through incorporating as a co-op, our architect to assist us with designing a building, a builder to help us construct the home… but we have mostly relied on our own creativity and pondering together to determine our way forward and to answer the most essential questions: who will you be and why are you doing this?

We realized early on that no consultant will be able to answer those questions for us.

One creative element that we have worked on is how we meet together in a circle process and in consensus decision making.  This process of deep listening, silence and careful practice is still evolving and fine tuning but it has served us well.

Communication

Nine people using the same kitchen… each member cooking for the house one night each week… coordinating groceries, chores, guests, and events…

Do I need to say more about the value of communication?!!

We have also been aware of how valuable it has been to communicate not only internally but with the broader community: in telling our story.

Telling stories is powerful.

We find out that a crazy scheme over a glass of wine with friends just might be actually taking place somewhere… maybe even in our own city.

So we are making an effort to communicate our story, as much as we can.

Find us on Facebook!

Collaboration

I have been reading some of the writings of Peter Block recently.  Peter is an American writer and social thinker who has reflected on what it means to create community.

He believes that when people truly collaborate they are accessing latent resources that already exist among them.

It is not just making decisions.

It is an energy release- an activation of gifts hidden from view or ignored or underestimated.

This has been our experience as we navigated through a myriad of decisions.

Thank you for the opportunity to share this morning. If you are in Kamloops and would like a cup of coffee and a tour of the home, please contact us via our website or by talking with us today.

We would love to know what you are doing, as well.

That is after February when we are moved in… unless you have experience in building retaining walls, then you can come next week and bring a pair of gloves too!

I have a new life
Chosen with intention
Called Living in Community

In my old life
It didn't matter if I read the paper too long in the morning and dashed away with my breakfast dishes in the sink and crumbs on the counter.
They would be there unaltered on my return and no one would have noticed.

In my old life
If I was tired, the sun called me outdoors or I spent an hour on the phone with a friend, it didn't matter that the floor wasn't swept, the bathroom mirror wiped or the dishwasher unloaded.
My priorities could shift on my whim, my mood, my momentary need.

In my old life
I could spend all Saturday morning with my coffee and the Globe and not feel guilty that someone else was vacuuming, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes or planting the garden.

In my old life
No one cared if I left my mouth guard in the bathroom sink, forgot to empty the garbage, updated the shopping list or ate the last cookie.

In my old life
I rarely woke to the smell of coffee brewing in the kitchen nd no one kept the pancakes warm for me in the oven while I showered

In my old life
I didn't come home to the smell of short ribs simmering in homemade pasta sauce or opened the fridge to greens from the garden.  No one vacuumed my bedroom or put fresh flowers on my dresser.

In my old life 
There was no one to listen to my impromptu rants at the evening news, no one to beckon me for an  evening walk, a spontaneous movie, an evening cup of tea.

In my new life
I live with a woman whose relationship to food includes delicacies I've never heard of, who considers mascarpone a  staple and who regularly kisses a package of lamb or a box of special tea.

In my new life
I live with a man who lives graciously every day with a debilitating illness and whose wit and humour beguile the reality of his new life

In my new life
I live with a woman whose friendship has many years of rich deepening and whose commitment to our chosen community regularly restores my own

My new life, this community, includes a wider circle that have yet to challenge and nurture me in day to day living.

In my new life, I have chosen change and I am experiencing the discomfort of the loss of familiar routines, the independence of being a single, the sweetness of my own space.

I have also chosen to go down an unfamiliar road with amazing people who embody a spirit of compassion, integrity, curiosity, hope and joy in life.

How could I not be on this journey in this community?

I have always been intrigued  by the concept of interdependence.  We live in a culture that values and covets  independence and has a fear and abhorrence of dependence. 

We seem to  polarize on these with little concept of what interdependence even means.  Yet  interdependence is the reality of how everything works.  We are all interdependent in a myriad of different ways.
 
In earlier cultures interdependence was the way of survival, acceptance and belonging. It was how a community thrived.  It was about the common good.  What was best not for one but  for the commons, the community.
 
I am recognizing the need for  a deeper understanding of what this means and the need for new skills to really  live into the value of the common good.
 
As in most co-op housing arrangements, our chosen decision making model is consensus.  This requires deep  listening, a willingness to consider options, striving to understand.  It means  examining our own perceived needs, our biases, our judgments and expectations.
 
It seems there should be a familiar and unconscious rhythm to interdependence; as life fundamentally lives that way.  Yet we seem to have moved away from this.  We draw our lines in the sand and keep our deal breaker clause in our back pocket, hoping for the best.  Wanting to be understood, accepted and valued.

What if there were only us, I  wonder.  No way to opt out.  No place to go.  What if leaving the community was  to be alone in the desert?  Would living interdependently be different then?   Would we find the lost rhythm of community?  Would we know enough to sit in  circle and wait patiently for our own wisdom?
 
Wonder-Bird

For some time now I have shared my home,  on and off, with other people.  I prefer  it to living alone. My whole adult life I've had an open door policy at home. In  my own way I've been building an intentional family-and often been  referred to as the social coordinator.I currently share my home with a lovely  dog companion named Guujii (Oo-gee) He is a Belgian Tervuren who will be five in  May. For people who don’t know the breed I describe him as looking like a cross  between a long-haired Shepard and a collie. His colour is called grey with black  overlay. Guujii is a Haida word meaning wolf. I think he looks similar to a wolf  and I was spending time in the Charlottes when he came to live with me thus the  Haida connection.  

I like to travel and would like to do a lot more of it which is one of the reasons the co-op housing appeals to me. I dislike leaving Guujii behind and don’t feel as bad if I can leave him in his own environment with people who know his routine and care about his well being. He is a very social dog and I know he would love to have more people to pay attention to him and I have to say I do find him somewhat demanding sometimes so  it would take the pressure off me as well.

What brings a smile to my face when I think about the co-op are the incredible meals we will share and the fact that I will also share the cost of the food and other expenses which will create more  financial freedom. We intend to share cars as well and to eliminate the use of  as many cars in our household as we can by using the public transit and walking  more. 

This experience will give me the opportunity to downsize and simplify my life considerably. The thought of sharing the decision making and workload of a household makes me joyful.

I am a pretty private person so living in  a home with 5 others  will present me with opportunity to grow, the step out  of my comfort zone and to lighten up. Guujii on the other hand will not have a  moment’s hesitation. I’m excited for him. 

I work at living a sustainable life - in  my home and yard by conserving water, heat, electricity, not wasting food and  xeriscaping my yard. I enjoy the outdoors, it is where I find my balance and  centre, I love to hike in the hills, practice yoga and go to the beach with Guujii.

Sandi, Sandra,Sandrina Cecconi Baloni & Guujii, Nudge, Yub Yub Wolfie