We propose the creation of an assembly of Boston’s cooperative houses with the goal of forming a network that unites both long-term housing cooperatives (who own their own homes and land) and the many collectives of people trying to live intentionally together in rented space. We envision the assembly will:
1. Foster communication between cooperatives….
We want to increase the cohesiveness of Boston’s cooperative community by creating reasons to get together and the logistics to make it happen. We want to spend time in person at co-op-focused social events and to learn about interesting projects and ideas that are occurring throughout the city. By sharing publicity about events at our houses, we can also increase attendance– including the cross-pollination of co-op’ers at each other’s events.
- by hosting a giant bash in mid-September for all members of Boston’s cooperative living community. The event will include an assembly for representatives of each co-op or collective to speak about their home, their goals, their needs, and what they can share.
- by maintaining an active and updated website including space for each collective to share their collective statements or principles, house activities, and resources to share (i.e. event space, bike shops)
- by creating a cooperative tour of Boston for collectives to host Open Houses for other collectives or the public to learn how collectives work and why we choose to live in them (…a collective house bikeride crawl?)
2. Support sharing of resources across cooperatives
Cooperative houses in Boston are dispersed across the city, but also across interests, expertise, incomes, and cultures. We want to multiply the benefits of diverse people cooperating together by connecting the resources and skills of Boston’s cooperative homes. This may mean sharing extra garden food or helping start each other’s gardens; it could mean hosting work parties for projects needing extra labor; it may mean sharing childcare, tools, or simply creating a network of experts to answer questions.
- by tapping into or expanding existing e-mail listserves
- by maintaining an updated calendar of events on the website
3. Develop a fund to support cooperative living in Boston and make it an affordable option for a wider range of people…
We want there to be financial resources available to support opportunities for growth within the network. A fund that is created by and accessible to all members of the network would allow houses within the network to collaborate on projects, but also support new collectives that are starting to form throughout the city. New collective houses, for example, could apply for a grant or loan to fund their down payment on a home or land. Already established collective houses could use monetary support from the fund to continue or start new projects within the house. Outreach about the existence of the fund could help make cooperative living more accessible to a wider range of the Boston community.
- by developing a monetary infrastructure through contributions from houses that will take the form of grants or revolving loans.
Does you cooperative house want to join?
This idea is just being germinated. The actions listed above are what we think we want from an assembly of collective houses in Boston. To craft a real cooperative network, though, we need to gather many ideas and create something new through a collaborative process.
If you are interested in taking part in the Assembly and the creation of the network, please contribute your ideas or suggestions. We urge you to discuss with your house and respond collectively or individually. As we receive input, we will update this website and compile a cooperatively-developed list of the needs, resources, and ideas that each house has to offer. Over the summer, and at the assembly at the Co-op Bash in September, we can work together to create a network that works for us.
What do we mean by “collective house” or “cooperative living”? A residence where people share food, space, stuff, housework, some amount of money though that varies by house, and some values, though again shared values vary from house to house. Many houses in Boston Collective/Cooperative House Network are centered around social and environmental justice values.
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