Winslow Cohousing Group Community Values

Adopted October 1993

Community Participation

Each of us acknowledges that to be part of this community is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is a privilege to choose to come together with others to live and thrive for a common vision. Each of us aspires to act from these common values and principles:

Mutual respect in a community that honors differing viewpoints and beliefs.
Fairness and caring in our attitudes and behavior towards all residents and visitors.
Cooperation and equal rights through consensual management of the community.
Fun — for in all things the human spirit is endowed with the capacity for playful expression.
Stewardship to conserve and protect the natural environment through means, including site planning, architectural design, gardening, recycling, and caretaking.

Each of us acknowledges our responsibility to both individual needs and community needs through a creative balance of individual time and unique individual contribution in service to the community. Each of us makes available our experience, strengths, and interests for ongoing personal and community development. Each of us aspires to live by the following personal decisions:

To take complete responsibility for myself and my decisions.
To see ourselves as a group of cooperative leaders.
To establish relationships of trust.

Children

All residents of this community, regardless of age, are equally valued. Their voices shall be heard equally. All residents need to be advocates for those unable to articulate their needs, especially children. We intend to create a community which is safe and attractive to children of all ages. We seek to meet the special needs of children and families with regard to affordable housing and shelter, health, safety, play, and belonging. We will use diverse long-term and short-term strategies to achieve these objectives. It is our intent for our children to have a community of interest with one another. We also want to integrate children in residence at any time into balanced and friendly relationships with the adults in our community. All decisions by us shall be considered for their impact on the children of our community. In considering new policies, we will conduct a “Kid Impact Statement,” inviting the input of youth before adopting a new procedure or program.

Safety

Riding bicycles with helmets while on WCG property shall be encouraged and supported.

Environment

Where we walk we leave a footprint. May we walk lightly in the world. The global ecosystem is undergoing rapid and dramatic change as a result of human behavior and pollution. The choices we make affect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and also that of others.

Our community's intent is to strive toward choices that benefit us directly as individuals and minimize our impact on the Earth and others. This statement represents our group stance to the world community (e.g. visitors, newspapers, publications) of which we are a part. We shall endeavor,to act through policy and design to promote health, safety, and harmony within the community and with the Earth. This is a statement of community values.

Design and Build

As persons in community we wish the physical environment to reflect and sustain the quality of our community. Where possible and feasible we shall strive to design and build with an eye towards long-term cost effectiveness, design integrity, and durability in harmony with community esthetics. We shall strive to place the quality of materials and systems ahead of expensive design and short-term cost savings. We understand that to do so the community may increase its initial costs in order to achieve enhanced livability and long-term savings in the labor and expense of community operation and maintenance. We acknowledge that as a community we support each other through our combined resources and seek creative ways for all member households to afford decisions that benefit us all over the life of the community.