Three Groves Ecovillage

"Happy Movie" Screening Generated Interest in TGE

The screening of the Happy Movie at Dansko this last Saturday was attended by more than 70 people.  The uplifting and inspiring movie explores the relatively recent science of "Happiness."  The bottom line is that although 50% of happiness is genetic, only 10% comes from external factors such as money and prestige wherease 40% comes from internal factors that are completely in each individual's control. 

KEY POINTS

• Connectedness: strong relationships with friends, family and community make people happier.
• Generosity: giving increases happiness.
• Novelty: breaking out of routine makes people happier.
• Play: people who experience physical aerobic exercise are happier.
• Flow: engaging in a fully absorbing hobby makes people happier.
• Health and Longevity: people who are happy are healthier and even live longer.
• The formula for happiness is not the same for everyone, but research shows that almost everyone can become happier.

 

To top it off, the movie highlighted how living in a cohousing or ecovillage community helps people become happier by promoting many of the points above.

Afterwards it was fun talking to all the people interested in joining TGE!

 

February is going to be GREAT!

February is going to be Great! We can feel it in our bones...hey, you know it's not the cold we feel in our bones; we just haven't had much winter weather.

Yesterday evening, we got our Conditional Use Approval, and if you had only been there for this meeting, you would think it was an quick-and-easy process. In reality, we've been progressing towards this for a couple years now, working together with the township, and developing understanding. London Grove has been very fair, and a delight to work with, but as with all processes, it takes some time. This milestone is now behind us, and it is onward to Land Planning.

We also signed on our 10th member household yesterday evening. Welcome to Victor, Celeste, Sophia, Issac, and Xena. Get to meet them yourselves at the bottom of the page here, or at our next events.

Be sure to keep up with the calendar. We have a showing of The Happy Movie, and a Dessert at Greenable coming later this month. It's going to be busy...as long as winter doesn't show up!

 

To Build Community, an Economy of Gifts by Charles Eisenstein — YES! Magazine

"Wherever I go and ask people what is missing from their lives, the most common answer (if they are not impoverished or seriously ill) is "community." What happened to community, and why don't we have it any more? There are many reasons—the layout of suburbia, the disappearance of public space, the automobile and the television, the high mobility of people and jobs—and, if you trace the "whys" a few levels down, they all implicate the money system."

via www.yesmagazine.org

Hmmmm....maybe what we need is an Ecovillage. Seriously, there are some great ideas in this article that we can implement now, like the Gift Circle.

Home Ownership with a Friend

We know a lot of folks thinking creatively about how they can own a home in today's market. As with anything, you need a plan, and sometimes you need to think outside the box. Some folks have asked us if we would mind if friends purchased a home in Three Groves together. We think that's a great idea, but not knowing all the ins and outs in these situations, we did a little research.

We found an article that discusses some of the things one needs to think about when considering making a joint purchase with someone who is not your spouse. Not that we all like to think about these things, but what if one person dies, or wants to sell? We hope you find this article by Sirkin and Associates as informative as we did.

A New Year's Greeting from Three Groves Ecovillage

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Cookies and Commissions

It has been a fantastic week so far. On Sunday, we had almost 30 people at the Potluck, including half-a-dozen brand new faces, and some folks we have met before, but hadn’t seen in a while. We hope to see them all again, of course. The children had a fantastic time making cookies with Margot. The stated purpose of the cookie exercise was to provide cookies for Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, but there were plenty for the hungry bakers to eat some, too. Judging from the sticky faces, no one left with an empty belly. Be sure to click on the picture to see all of our bakers.

 

Tuesday evening we went in front of the Planning Commission (with plates of cookies in hand) to officially kick off the Conditional Use process. The township engineer had reviewed the plans and submitted a letter listing a number of concerns like moving the workshop out of the setback, potential glare from the solar array, ensuring adequate fire truck access, and ensuring adequate buffering. However, nothing seemed like it was insurmountable. Our counsel, engineer and developer were able to address everything wonderfully. After a few additional questions and a bit of discussion, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that we proceed to the Conditional Use Hearing with the Board of Supervisors. We’re sure the cookies helped, too.

 

Pencil in the evening of January 4 on your calendars for our Conditional Use Hearing. We’ll confirm that on the calendar as we get closer. We would love to have your show of support.

Plan Unveiling - What Fun!

Yesterday was inspiring, gratifying, and amazing. Over 125 people came to the land walk, to the talks at Dansko, or both. Some were old friends, some were recent acquaintances, and some were brand new faces. Whether talking to old friends, or newly-met ones, there was an energy to the air, and a sense that now is the time for an ecovillage.

For those of you who couldn't make it, or those of you who didn't grab a copy of the literature before it all vanished, follow this link for a complete downloadable copy of our Prospective Member Packet.

Many thanks to our two talented shutterbugs, Bonnie and Margot!

(Click on the thumbnails to get a larger image.)

  

Meet Our Newest Members, Jenny and Wick

Nine, what a wonderful number! We now count Wick and Jenny as our newest members, and are exhuberant to do so! Be sure to 'meet' them, and all the rest of us on the Meet Our Members page. Remember that if you click on the pictures, you can see the image in a larger pop-up.

3300 to 1260 (Square Feet, that is)

One of the big worries that we all have in moving to the ecovillage is the size of the homes.  Will they be too small? Will Great Aunt Martha’s hutch fit? Do I need a guest room? Will I have to tolerate the kids playing computer games in the living room? What will it be like to have fewer bathrooms?  For myself at least, I think I can now address this.

For the last 18 years, I have lived in a 3300 square foot, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. It was 11 large rooms to heat, cool, maintain, insure, pay taxes on, and clean. The guest room was used 1-2 times per year. As I could afford it, I actually bought furniture to fill rooms that were empty, not because I desperately needed to use the rooms, but just because they were there. Generally, our stuff expanded to fill the space we had. I realize all of this in hindsight. At the time, it just seemed to happen without plan or reason.

I just moved to a 1260 square foot, 2.5 bedroom, 1 bath farmhouse with my two girls.  It’s a rental, and the landladies know that we will leave when the ecovillage is ready.  In our new home, the girls’ bedroom has an incredible set-up with a loft bed, regular bed, and a “fort” under the eaves. My bedroom has an adjoining alcove (the 0.5 bedroom) that serves as a study. Large closets and the ability to store a few things in a nearby workshop helped ease the transition. We have a few green amenities we couldn’t at the old house like a solar and wind-powered clothes dryer (aka clothesline) and “pig-cycling” (kitchen scraps go to the pigs on the farm instead of down the garbage disposal or in the trash). I’m really enjoying both of those, but come January, I think I may be glad for the indoor electric clothes dryer that is here, too.

Knowing the move to smaller quarters was coming, I spent the last many months cleaning out accumulated junk, and deciding which furniture had the most sentimental value to me. I made use of a consignment shop, FreeCycle, and the trash to de-clutter and reduce.  If I had been more organized, Craigslist and the community yard sale would have been good opportunities, too.

The biggest challenge has been adapting to having only one bathroom. We all have had to learn proper shared-bathroom etiquette. (1. Don’t knock unless you really need either the person or the toilet. 2. Be prompt when it is your turn.) Otherwise, the house is great. Careful planning was key, but the space suits us well, and I now fully realize how poorly we used the 3300 square feet in the old house.

Just in case you were wondering, Three Groves is planning on 2 bathrooms in the homes with multiple bedrooms. That’s probably best for the girls and me, too. The teenage years are closer than I want to think about.

Liz Walker Book Signing Event, May 15

COME JOIN US for a presentation and book signing by LIZ WALKER, author of Choosing a Sustainable Future and EcoVillage at Ithaca: Pioneering a Sustainable Culture.  As founder the nation's first ecovillage, Liz Walker has become a leading worldwide advocate for sustainable living.

Three Groves Ecovillage is hosting the event at:

Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale PA.

Sunday, May 15
6:00 pm.  Lecture
7:00 pm.  Reception & Book Signing

Liz Walker will describe how the City of Ithaca, New York has embraced the sustainability revolution with incredible enthusiasm. From co-ops and carshares to credit unions and community health care, Ithaca is rising to the challenges of the day with practical, real-world solutions.  The real-world, real-time examples of citizen engagement in Ithaca are a taste of what life could be like in a sustainable city of the future.

This event is part of a book signing tour organized by Mid-Atlantic Cohousing, http://www.midatlanticcohousing.org/booktour.html.  This will be the third visit by Liz Walker to our area.  She last spoke at the Stroud Water Research Center in April 2008.
 
To RSVP, please call Anthony Aufdenkampe at 484-748-0252 or send an email to threegrovesecovillage@gmail.com

Pocket Neighborhoods

Here's another type of community that resonates with us-- a "Pocket Neighborhood". 

"Pocket Neighborhoods grew out of the work of Ross Chapin and his colleagues, but the idea is beyond any one person or style. It is pattern of housing that fosters a strong sense of community among nearby neighbors, while preserving their need for privacy. Examples can be found across the sprectrum, from small towns, to suburbs to urban areas."

It sounds very much like Cohousing, and we consider ourselves to be both a cohousing community (emphasizing social sustainability) and an ecovillage (emphasizing environmental sustainability). We're delighted to discover a sister movement to house people more wisely.

Investor Equity Commitment and Extended Lower Membership.

Folks, we are just so excited…we’re going to let you in on a some breaking news: Three Groves has verbal commitment for investor equity to get us through the Design Phase.

This is a huge milestone—one that many young cohousing communities don’t get past. We still have to do some legal paperwork to do to set that all up, but here’s what it means for the project:

1.       We are going ahead and interviewing Architecture firms to select one to take us through the design effort.

2.       We are anticipating doing Design Charettes with the selected Architect in the early part of 2011.

3.       We’re so exuberant that we are extending the lower membership offer to the end of 2010.

We do intend to do some design pre-work that would be open to a wider audience, but the Charettes themselves are Members Only. Now is the time to check the calendar for upcoming TGE events (Nov 17 talk and Nov 21 Potluck), come meet us, and make 2010 the year to join Three Groves!

The Land Conservancy - Volunteer Opportunities

Fall Volunteer Days

 

Every Saturday
October & November, 2010
8am-12pm, pop by anytime

Stateline Woods Preserve
818 Merrybell Lane
Kennett Square, PA 19348

Rain or Shine

Help The Land Conservancy maintain three public nature preserves and earn community service hours.  Please come prepared with proper clothing and water to drink.

Volunteers will work on projects such as:

• Enhancing the parking areas
• Building and setting up a native tree nursery
• Maintaining and blazing trails
• Weeding, mulching, landscaping
• Hanging bird boxes

For more information, call 610-347-0347 or email education.landtrust@

verizon.net

Our mission is to ensure the perpetual preservation and stewardship of open space, natural resources, historic sites, and working agricultural lands throughout
Southern Chester County.

Three Groves on YouTube

Now we've made it to the big time...we're on YouTube. When frequency555 reached out to us to do a video blog, I was not sure what to expect, but was willing to try it. I think they did an outstanding job. You can watch it below, from frequency555 here, or from YouTube here. Take your pick. Be sure you also check out frequency555. They're a new green blog, currently traveling the country in search of green folks and green events.

 

Garage Youth Center in West Grove

Here's something to get excited about in our very own West Grove.The Garage Youth Center needs our help to get funding from Pepsi, and it's very easy for all of us to do.

 The Garage Youth Center has wonderful goals:

• To open a Youth Center in West Grove, PA!
• Empower students in the Avon Grove area to reach their potential.
• Become a “center of community” connecting local people to students.
• Provide a safe, fun place for students to call their own.

Everyday this month you can lend your voice to bring the Garage and it's services to the students of the Avon Grove area. Help get enough votes to win the Pepsi Refresh Grant in October. 

You can do this in two ways each day.
1. Through the web, visit refresheverything.com/westgrove
2. Text 103432 to Pepsi (73774) - standard text message rates apply.

Other things you can do to help

"Like" the Garage Community and Youth Center on Facebook.
After you vote you can share with all of your friends, co-workers, and networks and ask them to vote for our project too.
On their pepsi page you can find simple tools to share with your facebook, twitter, and even get a widget to post on your blog and website. Help spread the word and get the votes.
Finally, anyone can sign up to receive daily email reminders at http://eepurl.com/bbziM,

Together we can do it!
Thank you for your votes!

Pool Party and Thunderstorms

It was summer, and we were feeling like kicking back a bit. We’d had minimal newcomers at Potlucks during the summer, so we decided that instead of a normal Potluck, we’d have a Potluck/Pool Party. One of our members has a great pool at their house, so we planned on rendezvousing there with our dishes. But then, the newcomers started calling and emailing. They wanted to see the land and meet members, so our Pool Party suddenly turned into a Newcomers’ orientation.

Without us advertising anything, suddenly we had six newcomer households visiting us that afternoon, from as far away as State College, PA, and New York City. The weather didn’t cooperate, and several of us worked between thunderstorms, ferrying the newcomers between the land and my house where we had the posters and literature. They asked a lot of great questions, but when it came time to go to the Pool Party and meet more of our members, they looked (as one) out the window, saw the sheets of rain, and kindly declined.

Brave (or foolhardy) souls that we are, all of the Three Grovers continued undaunted in the rain to the Pool Party. Amazingly, as we got there, the clouds parted, the sun came out, and we got to enjoy a lovely evening of eating, talking and swimming.

We think we’ll see some of our newcomers again soon, and hopefully get the pleasure of meeting more newcomers as we get our Zoning Amendment moving. (Stay tuned for the date—the Board of Supervisors has agreed to schedule another hearing for us.)

Green Drinks at the Land Conservancy's New Office

On behalf of The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, we invite you to a special edition of Green Drinks (www.greendrinks.org) on Monday, August 23rd, 7-9pm, in the Willowdale Town Center. Check out calendar for the address. Green Drinks is a monthly social meet-up of green minded people from all over Chester County and beyond. They generally gather at Victory Brewing Company, but to celebrate the summer and the new office of The Land Conservancy, Green Drinks will be at in The Land Conservancy's new location!

We hope you can join us at this casual, merry-making event. It’s BYOB with some appetizers and drink samples provided. There will be a short presentation by the Chester County Citizens for Climate Protection (4CP) at around 7:30pm, lasting for ~20 minutes, with the remainder of the evening free for mingling, networking, and socializing. We welcome you to bring materials to help you display your organization/business. There is no charge to attend or participate in this event and we welcome you to spread the word!

We will plan on being there, so if you want a chance to chat with like-minded people, here's a great chance.

Extended Lower Membership Fee – Join Now!

As a group, we’re very eager to meet new members and have them join us in our efforts…socially and financially.  At the same time, we understand that it’s hard for people to make a financial commitment to a project which is still very early in its life.

That said, we are on the cusp of a major milestone when the risk inherent in any development project goes down: acquisition of our Zoning Amendment. Once we have the Zoning Amendment in place, we know we can build a successful community. Although we still have to get through various other steps before we can break ground, the hardest part will be past.  For those of you who have been carefully watching the project, and contemplating someday owning a home in Three Groves, this is important to understand.

As incentive to join our group now, we have decided to extend our lower Membership Fees until the end of the month in which the Zoning Amendment is passed.  While each household ultimately makes a $25,000 down payment on their house before ground-breaking, the privileges of membership are available at a lower initial rate now. Membership Fees are Capital Contributions which are credited towards the down payment on your house.

Before the month-end following passage of our Zoning Amendment, full membership requires $5,000. Placement on the Lot Selection Priority List requires an additional $5,000.

After the month-end following passage of our Zoning Amendment, full membership requires $8,000. Placement on the Lot Selection Priority List requires an additional $7,000.

Why do you want Full Membership and placement on the Lot Selection Priority List?  Full Membership gets you the right to participate in our decisions and upcoming design work. Right now we are working on our Homeowners’ Association Policy and Procedures document to write things like Pet Policy, Parking Policy, and rules for use of the Common House. This Fall, we will be working with the Architect to do detailed design of the homes, the layout of the community and the Common House. These are Members Only events, so if you want to help design the community, now is the time to join.

Placement on the Lot Selection Priority List gets you a place in line to select the location and size of your home. Decide whether you want to be right in the middle of things, or at the edges. High on the hill, or nestled into the side. Near parking, or further away.

If you are interested in someday living in Three Groves, or if you simply want the project to succeed, now is the time to get involved. Come to a Potluck, drop us an email, or give us a call. We’d be happy to answer any questions you have. We hope to get the Zoning Amendment passed this Fall, so don't wait too long!

New Cohousing Community Forming: Metro-Village

Ann Zabaldo, a friend in Takoma Village Cohousing, wrote to tell us about Metro-Village, a new community that is forming in Washington DC. Ann writes:
 

Hello all!

I’m delighted to announce the launch of a new, green, ultra-urban cohousing initiative in NW Washington, DC: Metro-Village!

Please let people know about this new community.

Metro-Village is targeted to folks who ride the Metro, walk or ride a bike to work. The Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail runs right outside the community’s front door all the way to Union Station which is just three blocks from Capitol HIll.

Metro-Village will be an ultra-urban, walkable, green and sustainable community with a mix of studios, lofts, and 1 and 2 BR condo homes. The projected budget calls for home prices from the low $200’s to the
mid $400’s. Situated in NW DC, the community has the luxury of easy access to Takoma Park, MD -- often referred to as “The Berkeley of the East!”

Want to know more?

Check out our very new, squeaky clean website:

http://www.Metro-Village.org
 


Join our mailing list on-line at the website!

Attend one of our weekly Site Tours starting Sunday, July 25th -- see calendar on the website for days, dates and times!

Attend our upcoming inaugural Orientation on Sunday, Sept 12!

Call or write me directly! I’m always happy to talk about cohousing!

Ann (at) metro-village.org

202 573 9113

Urban, transit-oriented, green and sustainable cohousing -- how sweet
is THAT?!

Pass the word! Join in the fun! Sign up today!

Best --

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church VA
703 663 3911

A Cohousing Weekend

Mount Eden Ecovillage is a newly formed group in New Jersey. We've known Steve for years, and wish him the best in getting the ecovillage going. They have a beautiful piece of land. Steve just sent information on "A Cohousing Weekend" in New Hamshire, and we hope it will be of interest to you.

-----From Steve----

The Mount Eden Ecovillage project invites you to join us for A Cohousing Weekend on July 16-18 at the World Fellowship Center, a secular intergenerational camp and conference center in New Hampshire ("Where Global Justice Meets Nature").

Mount Eden will provide information and arrange carpools.

Contact Steve Welzer (609-443-6782; stevewelzer[at]msn.com or Delane Lipka (908-689-8345; dlmounteden[at]gmail.com

 
Event schedule:
 

Friday July 16	Activity
1:00pm onwards	Check In
5:00pm	Introductions - Overview of cohousing today
6:00pm	Dinner
7:30pm	Fun Night (staff and guests volunteer to perform)

Saturday July 17	Activity
8-8:30am	Breakfast
9:30am	Review of schedule/check-in for those not present on Friday
10:00-11:30am	Workshop 1: "Marketing and Resale". Presenter: Diane Simpson, Jamaica Plain Cohousing, Boston MA. Workshop 2: "Getting Community Work Done". Presenter: Norma Wassel, Cambridge Cohousing, Cambridge, MA.
12 noon-1:00pm	Lunch
1:30-3:00pm	Workshop 3: "Consensus Decision-Making". Presenter: Jerry Koch-Gonzales, Pioneer Valley Cohousing, Amherst MA.
3:00-6:00pm	open time for networking, swimming, hiking, biking
6:00-7:00pm	Dinner
7:30pm	Contra dance with Seth Austen and Beverly Woods

Sunday July 18	Activity
8-8:30am	Breakfast
10:00-11:30am	Workshop 4: "Cohousing and Sustainability". Presenter: Laura Fitch, architect and resident, Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community, Amherst MA.
12 noon-1:00pm	Lunch
1:30-3:00pm	Cohousing Roundtable - Open discussion about developing new cohousing and strengthening existing communities. Q&A on topics of interest. Presenters: Steve Hecht, New View Cohousing, Acton MA and other workshop leaders.

All workshops, and other programming, are included in the daily accommodations rate. There is no separate conference fee. Please go to www.worldfellowship.org  for information about accommodation options, costs, and reservations. A free program for children ages 3-9 is provided daily from 10:00am-12 noon.
 
At the end of the conference at 3:00pm on Sunday, you are welcome to enjoy the various activities of the Center for the afternoon.
 
World Fellowship Center
PO Box 2280, Conway, NH 03818-2280
(603) 447-2280
reservations@worldfellowship.org
 
Mount Eden Ecovillage
http://www.MountEdenEcovillage.org

New Green Mortgage Blog

One of our favorite bankers, John Lodise from Bryn Mawr Trust, has just started a Mortgage Blog. His first topic is the Energy Efficient Mortgage, also known as a Green Mortgage. How appropriate! I'll be sure to add this to our Resource Page, too. Follow along with John as he explores this topic that will be near and dear to all of us.

Three Groves Tee Shirts

As part of our effort to get the word out, we’re going to start having Three Groves Ecovillage tee shirts available. They are medium-weight organic cotton, grown in Texas, pieced in North Carolina, and printed in Florida. The dyes are vegetable dyes, and the cotton is unbleached. The best part was that when I opened the first box of them, there was no chemical smell. I’m the kind of person who can’t abide the smell of most new clothing and I have to wash it before I ever wear it. Not these.

We’ll be offering these at the fairs where we have a table, $10 cash or check only. This is our cost because in truth, our goal is to get you to wear and enjoy the shirt, not to make a profit….OK, OK, we want you to wear our advertising, too. Until we see how this goes, we’ll order small quantities of adult sizes (S – 3XL) to have on hand, but if there is demand for children’s sizes, we can order more of those in later batches. One thing I learned from my sister was that you should not order several hundred tee shirts at once without a good plan to move them. (On the bright side, no one in the family bought tee shirts for years.)
Please find us at our next event (check the calendar) and get your Three Groves Ecovillage tee shirt to wear often and proudly.

MAC Spring 2010 Cohousing Tour

Saturday May 15, 2010
In the Washington DC area.

Mid Atlantic Cohousing (MAC) is sponsoring a Spring Cohousing Tour of six MAC member communities in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.

Join us on a comfortable tour bus with knowledgeable guides while we tour Eastern Village, Liberty Village, Catoctin Creek Village, EcoVillage, Blueberry Hill, and back to Eastern Village. Residents of each of these communities will lead an on-site visit. Join us for an exciting day of real-life examples of neighborhood choices from urban, to suburban, to rural.

You must be 18 or older to be on the bus.

Date: Saturday, May 15th, 2010, starting at 9am, ending around 6pm.

Starting/Ending Location: Tour starts and ends at Eastern Village, near the Silver Spring Metro station. See Directions below.
Food: Included are morning coffee and tea, lunch around noon, and late afternoon snacks.
Cost: $80 per person until May 1st, $85 per person after May 1st.

Register Online.

Learn about MAC and the communities that will be visited.

Directions to Eastern Village: From 495S, go South on Georgia towards DC.  Turn right on Eastern Avenue, and EVC will be on your right. EVC is at 7981 Eastern Ave on the border between Silver Spring and DC.  It is in the section of Eastern Avenue between 16th street and Georgia Ave and more specifically on the block between Newell and 13th Streets.   It is a U-shaped building with a metal arch and a courtyard.  Walk through the courtyard to the entrance to the Common House.

TGE Open House at Dansko – What a Blast!

  We’re declaring the Three Groves Ecovillage Open House at Dansko a smashing success with almost 100 people in attendance. It was great to see so many old friends, and even more new faces. While I could wax poetically about how great I think it was, I think I’ll let Howard, one of our guests Saturday do it instead. In case you didn’t see his comment on the Invite, he wrote:

 “What a well organized, friendly and informative event! I especially liked Sandy's definition of sustainability: "a state of perpetual vitality supported by resources local to a place". His brief history of the world presentation gave the background to his point that if everyone in the world consumed the resources of Americans today, we'd need three more planets just to accommodate the population today. He did a nice job of showing how we need more good examples, such as ecovillages, for society to look to model more responsible development and consumption patterns. Sandy described how the costs have to be looked at in a broader context than just actual construction. He and Anthony did a nice job explaining how you may pay more for the unit initially, but with the goal of Net Zero Energy, it adds up to considerable savings in the long run. I was also interested when Sandy announced that his company will be starting a bank for mortgage lending to ecovillagers.

“Anthony gave an impressive description of the Three Groves Ecovillage project. Questions were answered honestly based on where the project is currently at. Add to that the great Dansko hospitality and tasty food and beverage, and it was a very impressive outreach event with a good turnout. We'll certainly be back to learn more.”

Special thanks to:
-    All the great folks at Dansko who helped with set-up, AV, food preparation and making sure the Open House ran smoothly. We didn’t even get to meet the ones hiding in the kitchen until the very end.
-    Twelves Grill for the delicious kettle chips, and platters of cheeses and hors d’oevres.
-    The Perfect Cup Café for the cookies, scones, muffins, and of course, the coffee.
-    All the friends of Three Groves for getting the word out, coming early, staying late, and putting in the extra mile to make this happen.
-    All of our guests. You asked great, thoughtful questions.
-    Howard, for unknowingly writing this blog entry, and for standing in last minute for a Q&A Panelist who had to leave before we got to the Q&A part.

Three Groves Ecovillage Open House at Dansko

OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 2010
3-7 PM DANSKO HEADQUARTERS

Join us for an informative and fun-filled afternoon at Dansko (33 Federal Road, West Grove PA). We invite neighbors to learn about our project to build a green community, setting an international example of what sustainable living can be. We will seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, the highest LEED certification available. Come meet future residents and the developer.

• Keynote Speaker: SANDY WIGGINS
  NET ZERO ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIVE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT 4 PM
• Followed by ANTHONY AUFDENKAMPE
  THREE GROVES ECOVILLAGE PROJECT
• Q & A SESSION
  Moderated by BOB VANELLA
• TOUR OF DANSKO HEADQUARTERS
  LEED® Gold Certified Building
• WINE & CHEESE RECEPTION
• 10% DISCOUNT AT THE DANSKO COMPANY STORE

RSVP Requested: 610.643.4411 or threegrovesecovillage@gmail.com

Download and share our flyer, or use it as a poster.

Mid-Atlantic Cohousing Conference

Mid-Atlantic Cohousing and the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation present ...

Cohousing: Growing Smart Communities

A one-day conference for people passionate about community in the Mid-Atlantic Region on Saturday, March 20, 2010.

The conference is followed by Open House tours at local cohousing communities on Sunday, March 21, 2010.

Come rub shoulders, elbows and toes with the people who have created, are creating or helping others to create their cohousing community. This is YOUR local conference for those of you who are building cohousing, living in cohousing, interested in the idea, or who are professionals in the field.

When you are ready to register, go to the Registration Page.

The growing list of those committed to presenting include Zev Paiss (Keynote Speaker), Neshama Abraham, John Buck, CT Butler, Elana Kann (developer), Dene Peterson, Laird Schaub, Don Tucker (developer), Sharon Villines and Jack Wilbern (developer/architect.)

In these pages, you will find information about the upcoming conference, including presenters, workshops, time and place, how to register ... oh ... just everything!

Registration is handled through an event registration service. When you click on any of the Registration links in these pages you will leave this website. There is a link on the registration home page that will bring you back to this web site.

Please note: This is a work in progress. They are adding details to information that’s here already as well as new workshops, speakers, events, and more ... daily! Check back often here!

(Special Note: Three Groves will have a table at the Conference.)

Cohousing Newsletter - Fall 2009

Periodically, I get a Newsletter from the Coho Association. I started reading, and thought I should share with you all. Enjoy!

Cohousing Now! #14

Cohousing Now! provides timely information on Cohousing... Now! It's from the Cohousing Association of the United States, highlighting new information from Cohousing.org. This email is assembled at www.cohousing.org/now for those who prefer to web browse its content.

IN THE NEWS

The Boston Globe (MA) - 11/22/09
A model for the future with an eye to the past

Learn about the relatively new cohousing community in New Hampshire, Nubanusit Neighborhood and Farm, and how they have created a community close to the land and close to each other.

OregonLive.com (OR) - 11/20/09
Northeast Portland cohousing group blends sustainability and sociability

Read about how one early cohousing group created their own sustainable community on a small scale.

The Durango Herald (CO) - 11/17/09
Senior cohousing gains initial interest from residents  The turnout was unexpectedly high at a recent meeting held to gauge interest in a senior cohousing community in Durango, CO.

San Diego GreenLife (CA) - 11/16/09
Growing Green Communities: Eco-villages & Co-housing Read about how some cohousing communities and eco-villages have used green technology to lower their carbon footprint.

Trendhunter Magazine (National) - 11/14/09
Detached Accessory Structures: Garden Cottages Add Residential Capacity in Portland A housing ordinance provision for cohousing creates new options for Portland, Oregon, homeowners.

Serialized Cohousing Books

Recent installments of our Online Cohousing Books.

Reinventing Community

 

• What I Learned from Children about Giving and Receiving
   
  
  
• Sharingwood Stories
   

2010 National Cohousing Conference - Featured Speaker: Dave Wann!

We're pleased to announce that Dave Wann will be a featured speaker at the 2010 National Cohousing Conference (June 16-20 in Boulder, CO)

 

. In addition to being a widely sought after public speaker, Dave authored Reinventing Community; Stories from the Walkways of Cohousing

 

. This fine book is published serially on Cohousing.org (see above) - the stories are a great way to help people understand Cohousing on a human level.

Please Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Nearly every ecovillage or cohousing neighborhood has experienced it, and now we have too – neighbors who fear the worst.  Last week sometime a sign was put on our proposed land with the following message:

Wake Up London Grove
No Ecovillage, No Septic? No Commune
It will co$t London Grove!!
Not here!

A friend and supporter of ours pulled it out of the ground and brought it to us, knowing that the accusations were far off target from what we plan.  We’re fine with open dialog and debate with anyone who doesn’t understand or even disagrees with our approach to building a neighborhood. Seeing this sign, however, was really discouraging. We have a detractor who doesn’t understand what we are planning or what we are about, yet who has imagined and fears the worst.

The bottom line is that we want to be good and helpful neighbors to all of West Grove and London Grove.  In fact, we’re very interested in feedback from the community.  One future neighbor on Thistle Court expressed concern about the “Natural Pool” (naturally filtered swimming pool) that was shown against his property line in our earliest Concept Sketch. He didn’t specifically request it, but we moved it away from his property. No problem.  Also, partially because of concerns about obstructing views to the homes north of the property, our plan is place all of our homes further down the hill, preserving the pristine meadow to the north.  Not everything will be so easy, but we do want to work with our future neighbors to create a win-win solution. We’re not a typical big-wig development company who wants to sell big houses, make big profit, and move on to the next town. We’re future residents who would like to be friends, neighbors, and supporters of the community.

In that neighborly spirit, and knowing that the negative reaction is based on misunderstanding, now is a great time to clarify what we plan. Since the creator of the sign didn’t discuss his or her concerns directly with us, I will have to assume that his/her concerns are similar to other conversations or questions we’ve had. Let me try to address them based on the phrases in the sign.

“No Septic?” OK, this one is true. We don’t want to use septic systems; we want to do better than that. Modern plumbing is really cool and I won’t live without it. You sit in comfortable and private surroundings, finish your business, flush, and the “problem” goes away…right? In truth, a septic system simply re-locates the “problem” to an underground tank where the solids settle but the liquids drain into the earth via a “leach field”.  In principle, pollutants and germs are removed by biological activity in the few feet before the waste water reaches the shallow ground water, but in practice septic sytems have contributed to highly polluted groundwaters throughout the country. Public sewer mixes the “problem” with a lot of water, pumps it across town, treats it biologically and chemically, and then typically dumps it into the nearest stream or river.  The direct economic costs of municipal sewage treatment are considerable, but the indirect economic costs of polluted streams and rivers is probably higher. 

We want to be responsible for our own “problems”. Just as the septic system was a vast improvement over the outhouse, Constructed Wetlands are a vast improvement over the septic system.  These systems drain the liquid waste from a settling tank through a series of lined, gravel-bed rooting zones of wetland plants, where naturally occurring “good” microbes and plant roots break-down wastes and take up the excess nutrients.  The wastewater is always 1-2 feet below ground and can not leak.  There is no smell.  The result is that water is purified to levels that are cleaner than local streams and groundwater (it’s nearly drinkable) before it is released, usually via subsurface irrigation to landscaping. No septic system, and few municipal sewage treatment plants, will match that; we are setting our standards very high. We are aware that most people are not familiar with this technology, but the state is advocating it, and in fact, has given a grant to the Stroud Water Research Center to build the first one in our area. We understand that approvals will have to be given, but we’re willing to go to bat for the area’s groundwater.

“No Commune.”  If I thought a Commune was moving in next door, I’d be pretty frightened, too. Images of unemployed hippies, tin shacks, free love, rampant drug use, loud music, and hordes of mud-covered children come to mind. However, even if we use less imaginative definitions of Communes, and simply talk about pooled resources, shared labor, and commonly held property, it’s still not a model that we’re interested in.  To reiterate specific points that we’ve made before:

• Homes will be privately owned, either as Fee Simple or using a Condominium model. Projected house prices are comparable to or higher than the surrounding houses, starting at about $175,000 for a 1-bedroom, and going up to about $385,000 for a 4-bedroom. The price points obviously necessitate gainful employment or other resources.

• The Club House and most of the land will be owned by a Home Owners’ Association, just like many developments in the area.

• Paychecks will be retained by those who earn them.  A quarterly fee will be paid to the Homeowner’s Association for maintenance of the Club House, insurance, and other expenses.

• As we generally state in our presentations: “No shared houses, no shared spouses.” Although we’re positive that none of our future neighbors had to assure others on their choice of hobbies, we’re clearly stating for the record that we’re not interested in “alternative arrangements”.

• We do anticipate gathering in the Club House for community dinners a few times a week, and rotating responsibility for cooking those meals or other duties. However, this is not a requirement.  Rather, it is a way to help us get to know people and to re-create that sense of community that our pioneering forefathers had, but that seems gone from much of today’s world.  I’d be delighted if our future neighbors in the surrounding community joined us for dinner, too.

“It will co$t London Grove.”  This one is a little harder to figure out, but I think it is related to the hordes of mud-covered children produced by the hippies practicing free love. The question of whether we wanted to attract families with children did come up at the last Board of Supervisors meeting, and there is legitimacy to the question.  School taxes are assessed based on the value of the home, and each child in the home costs a certain amount to educate.  If a low-value home has many children, it produces a loss in the budget for London Grove. The most profitable thing for London Grove is to only allow high-end 50+ or retirement communities, where the number of children is limited and the homes have high value.

How many children do we expect to have in our community? Let’s put on our Statistician Hat for a moment. If we look at Census records we find that Pennsylvania averages 0.83 children per household, or 1.85 children per household with children. That is, any randomly selected household has 0.83 children, but once it is established that a household has children, the average is 1.85 children. Setting aside visions of partial children, if we build our desired 34 homes, that would work out to 28.2 children in the community. However, because our Ecovillage wants diversity of incomes and ages, we will be offering 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom houses. It’s my personal theory that families with children would be attracted at average rates to homes with 3-4 bedrooms, and at much less than average rates to homes with 1-2 bedrooms. If we assume 0.83 children for each of 22 larger homes, and .2 children for each of 12 smaller homes, we come out with 20.7 children.  That’s only about 75% of the children that would be expected in the typical neighborhoods around us.  Furthermore, because our home values will be higher than the median home around us, we’ll be paying more in school taxes.  In truth, I think our Ecovillage would be a benefit to the tax base as far as home value and school taxes go.

I’ve gotten a bit long-winded, but I hope that I’ve addressed some concerns that seem to be out there. Please let me know if I haven’t!

• We want to do better than septic systems.
• We’re really not hippies or a commune.
• We probably would be a plus to the tax base rather than a minus.

So, as Mr. Rogers sang, “Please, won’t you be my neighbor?”

Potluck Recipes

Whenever we have a Potluck, we never know what we will be eating. Sometimes there is a run on salad or bread, but there is invariably a dish or two that really stands out. Here are some of the recent recipes that folks have requested.

Leslie's "Egg" Salad

1 lb. tofu
1/2 c. mayo
2 T prepared mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
optional:
1/2 c. diced scallions
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. dicd carrots
Drain tofu and mash well w/ ork, mix w/ spices & mayo. Add choppe veggies & mix.
Serves 4


Melanie's Toasted Quinoa & Eggplant
1/2 lb tofu, cubed
4 teaspoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce, divided
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons walnut or olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed well (see Tip) (i used a combo of red and white quinoa, but all white or all red is fine)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium eggplant, unpeeled, sliced, salted, drained, and cubed (about 2 cups)
1/2 sliced poblano pepper
1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1 Tb. toasted sesame seeds

1. Toss tofu with 2 teaspoons tamari (or soy sauce), vinegar and sesame oil in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Place a large, high-sided skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and quinoa. Cook, stirring constantly, until the quinoa begins to color, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add water and salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover and cook over medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. (Do not stir.) Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
3. Whisk 3 tablespoons oil, the remaining 2 teaspoons tamari (or soy sauce), in a large bowl. Add the quinoa; toss to coat.
4. Meanwhile, remove the tofu from the marinade. Heat a large skillet over medium-high until hot enough to evaporate a drop of water upon contact. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons  oil and cook the tofu and the eggplant until golden and just firm, about 5 minutes total. Add the poblanos and cook for 2 more minutes. Gently stir the tofu/eggplant mix into the quinoa salad. Serve garnished with tomatoes, pecans and sesame seeds.

TIP:  you must wash quinoa before cooking. Rinse twice to rid it of the saponin that naturally coats the grains.


Janet's Soft Pretzel Rolls
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
• 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• Vegetable oil, for pan
• 10 cups water
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Pretzel salt

Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece of dough into a ball and press a starburst pattern into it with an apple cutter or a knife.  Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the rolls into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. (This is the step that will make them browner and chewier than a regular roll.) Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Walking the Land

As we started to walk the land that will be the future home of Three Groves Eco-village, the prospect of an environmentally sound developed community brought some thoughts to mind. In conversation with friends the night before, who are not knowledgeable of LEED, we started on the subject of what it would mean to them to live here.

I explained to them that the community itself embodies a respect for a number of things near to our hearts. Not only is the community built with regard for its own land, but that of its surroundings. It has a harmony with the wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, something that my friends found very attractive. What will be nice is that you can sit back and watch the stars at night, and actually see them. As it is constructed, it not only meets the local zoning ordinances, but thru achieving LEED as a guideline, exceeds it on many levels. It looks to allow water infiltration back to the ground and the surrounding stream, thru the use of materials that expedites this process (unlike paved parking lots that create runoff). The construction practices will return debris to the recycling centers, where it will be better for the environment.

The homes themselves will surround you with comfortable features such as good air quality, well insulated walls, windows, doors and floors. Most importantly, it will be energy efficient. They will use solar panels to harness the sun, in essence, “free” electricity. This means, no utility bills...also known as “net zero energy”. (Something that I was excited about, as I have an all electric home and the high bills to go with it)!

The Eco-Village itself will be a community within a community.You can co-exist with neighbors who embody the same ideals and where you children can roam safely.  It is looking to have a community center for central gatherings and a space for the gardener in all of us.

As I explained this to them, the anticipation of such a community took on a life of its own. They could see the possibilities of such a place to live.

The excitement is that it is here, in our own backyard.

Gray Ladybug Pajamas

Spring is the time for many things; birds and flowers, early gardens and erratic weather, and of course the Children's Wardrobe Review. Each Spring I get out the box of clothes that I put away the previous Fall, and see what is actually still usable, what can be passed along to those with smaller children, and what is more suitable for the trash. Sometimes things make it into storage more as a way of discouraging the use of sandals in December, or taking a favorite-but-too-worn garment out of circulation. At the same time, I review the items in the closet and drawers, making the same assessments and spiriting winter clothing away for Fall.

This Spring's review began with the discovery that almost everything I put away in the Fall was too small for our use. One box went to friends, and another will go to my sister. This is Re-use at its best since I get to see encore performances of the outfits my girls enjoyed. My girls are wearing sizes 7-8 now, but somehow we discovered a size 4 pair of pajamas still in circulation. They were threadbare and dingy gray instead of the vibrant red and white ladybug pattern they began as. The collar was stretched out, there were holes in the chest where they'd been chewed, and the hem was starting to come loose. I threw them in the pile for trash.

"But Mom, can't we give them to Emma??"

"Ummmm...no." The thought of anyone seeing the tatters my child wore the previous night stunned me.

"But Mom, what will you do with them??"

"Throw them away?"

"What a waste of perfectly good fabric!!" There was exasperation in her voice.

Ahhhhh...my budding environmentalist! Gray ladybug rags, anyone?

40 60 70...Major Milestones!

We can now say with assurance that we are doing well achieving age-diversity in our group, with members ranging in age from single-digit, all the way to 70. In the space of only a week, 3 of our members hit major birthday milestones (40, 60, and 70), so we folded away the maps and zoning ordinances and decided to gather for a little party at Bonnie and Anthony's place. It was potluck (of course), with delicious cupcakes and trick can't-blow-hard-enough-to-keep-them-extinguished candles. The kids had fun playing dress-up and dancing upstairs. Downstairs, the adults learned about Debbie's daughter's latest successes in the film industry (Production Designer of 'The Merry Gentlemen'). We laughed over the difficulties of staying sane when dealing with the insane antics of young children, and in that vein, Bonnie and Anthony related the story of why there is massive water damage in their living room ceiling. I confessed that I had harvested the last of the tilapia from my Aquaponics (small indoor re-circulating fish-veggie farm) system and sold the system to free up time to work on the ecovillage. Anthony seemed distressed at this, but it's not to worry. We can all decide to build a new one if we want to raise our own fresh fish.

We spent a lot of time wishing we were already building our homes and discussing the latest finds in the land quest. But mostly, it was great to just enjoy each others company.

Applesauce Day

While we have been getting some great compliments on the website, we want it to be even better. Graphic Designers generally charge a pretty penny for their work, but we know one who is willing to barter. (OK, she also happens to be my sister, but she does really cool work for major publications you've probably even read. See Joyce's work at Spur Design.) That leads us to Applesauce Day. Joyce loves home canned goods, but has trouble getting enough time to do the canning. Several of us decided we could make applesauce together and trade it for some graphics work. As added bonus, we got to spend a fun day chatting and getting to know one another even better.

I collected jars, lids and a bushel and a half of apples from Glen Willow Orchard. Bonnie, May and Leslie came over, and Bonnie brought a camp stove so we'd have extra burners. It turned out that each of us had one of those nifty apple-peeler-slicers where you turn the handle and end up with peeled apples cut in a spiral. With two kids and three adults, we really made short work of the apples. Elise and May worked together to peel the apples. Bits of apple peel and sticky spots decorated every surface in the kitchen, but there was also the wonderful aroma of simmering applesauce, and the happy chatter of children. By mid-afternoon we had two dozen quarts of applesauce and the satisfaction of working together to bring our dreams just a little closer to reality.

Joyce, I'll have a little something in my trunk for you when I see you at Thanksgiving.

Canoeing on the Brandywine River

One way to develop community is to doing things together. Leslie and I had been trying to get in one last kayaking trip before the water got too cold. Sunday Oct 12th looked like the best chance; but we had a Concord Ecovillage meeting scheduled for 4:00 p.m. at Bonnie and Anthony's house. When I mentioned this to Anthony, he said "Why don't we go together for a short trip down the Brandywine River?  We can get back in time to have dinner at our house; and then we'll do the meeting." What a great idea!

We met Bonnie and Anthony at Northbrook, where we put in our boats. Leslie and I were in our tandem kayak. Bonnie and Anthony had their three darling girls: Lily, Ruby, and May with them in their canoe. We did a little paddling, a little floating, a little pushing or pulling our boats through the "too shallow" places, and a lot of playing on a sand-bar about half way through the trip. The sun was out. The Autumn foliage was turning beautiful. We were building friendships-creating community.