Decision Making
How do we make decisions in cohousing, particularly in Wolf Creek Lodge? We use the time-honored consensus process used by most, if not all, cohousing communities. I was struck recently by a statement about consensus decision-making made by Sanford Katz in response to an interviewer’s question about whether decisions are made by majority rule in the intentional community in which Mr. Katz lives. His response: “No, and sometimes our consensus decision making can be extremely slow, but that’s one of my favorite things about communal living; being forced to find common ground with people. It’s valuable work. It forces us to think about better ways of sharing resources and resolving conflict.” While his intentional community is a commune, not a cohousing project, his response speaks to the cohousing decision-making process.
I think we have great advantages in doing that valuable work and finding common ground in a senior cohousing or active adult cohousing project like ours. First, we’ve lived awhile and we’ve learned; we are more “mellow” than we were when we were 30 or 40 years younger. Second, unlike a mixed generational cohousing project, we do not have to make decisions that revolve around children, whether ours or others. While many of us have children and grandchildren, they won’t be living with us. The common meals need not be based on when and what the kids need to eat. We can leisurely enjoy that delicious meal prepared by a few of our neighbors, perhaps with a glass of wine, at whatever time we, as a group, decide works for us.
Pat
