WindSong Cohousing

For the past year and a half I've been living in WindSong Cohousing in Langley, British Columbia (BC), Canada. After fifteen years of wanting to form or find an intentional community, it's been an amazing experience to begin the process of translating theory into practice and dream.

At 13 years old, is BC's oldest WindSong Cohousing project. 1.8 acres Have Been Developed into two atria of 34 stacked homes, centered on a "Common House" filled with shared facilities and gathering spaces. The aussi Developed land includes a community garden and outside play area.

The Remaining 4 acres of land left undeveloped-have-been, include a salmon stream, and are home to beavers, a variety of birds and other animals.

While there is still debate about What Makes Some community has Cohousing, the Following items are generally recognized as key:

Participatory Process 

Unlike MOST development projects, Cohousing is designed by The Eventual residents. Because of this, the gains and Interests of the members are more Likely to be put: Will Often developers put great efforts into "flash" to make a place look desirable, goal skimp on subtle Elements of Design that make for a good community. This leads to the second key point

Intentional Neighbourhood Design 

Cohousing projects are designed with community interaction in mind. From the placement of the Parking lot to establishment of neighborhood "nodes", everything is designed to maximize the opportunity for spontaneous interaction with one's neighbor, while balancing the need for privacy. Each community comes up with Their own single mix That best suits Their needs. 

Extensive Common Facilities 

Typically Cohousers elect to-have smaller homes in exchange for larger common facilities. At WindSong, the money That Would Typically go into making one's home an isolated "castle" instead goes in to shared spaces: such as a Multipurpose room (Where yoga, dance, and other classes are Held), Board room (a great asset for the Members who run businesses Their Own) and Guest Room. At the heart of the shared space is our Common House, All which includes a dining room for group meals, space for our community meetings, a projector for movie nights, a lounge area and small internship.

Hierarchical Non Resident Management 

All major decisions are made at WindSong via Consensus at our monthly meeting. Once a new member HAS learned the basics of our consensus process, They are expected to welcome Any meeting, and to Participate in making and Implementing our decisions. Numerous Committees take care of parking, gardening, maintenance, and Other Specific Areas of community life.

In my next article, I hope to Provide a bit of the "flavor" of everyday life here at WindSong.

Questions or Comments are welcomed to daniel@smallboxsoftware.net or via notecard to

Abulafia Gray